WVU-Parkersburg is excited to announce new courses in Animation and Digital Game Design. Students can begin taking classes September 29th. The courses will become part of an associate’s degree that the college is currently planning. CS 297 Interface Design (September 29th) and CS 297 Digital Game Design September 30th) will be offered in a 10 week-short format. There are no prerequisites on the courses.
The program is being taught and designed by game designer and web developer Laura Kerbyson. Kerbyson released Tertullian’s Tomb, her first video game in 2005. She followed up in 2007 with Fleming Castle and also began making web browser games. Kerbyson left Parkersburg in 2007 to become the original web manager and animator for the new
Hard Rock Park, the world’s first rock ‘n’ roll theme park in Myrtle Beach, SC. She spent a year working on the $400 million dollar project. The park opened to the public on April 15th. She has a 20-year career in business and academia.
“Creatively, it was exciting because there were parts of my life that I could really draw on. It really did combine some of my passions and interests – rock ‘n’ roll and theme parks. To have been there when it started is really a unique piece of history. We were all there to pursue a dream and share in a vision.”
Hard Rock reached international recognition by opening 143 Hard Rock Café’s in over 36 countries. The brand went on to expand into hotels and casinos. The park in Myrtle Beach is the brand’s first venture into theme parks.
“Playing Walt Disney is a lot of fun and there are few people in the world who get to say that, but it’s not the same thing as building people, as teaching, as making a lasting impact on someone’s life,” Kerbyson said. “For me, I really missed that. I missed the students and the interaction. So I am back, in my hometown, with a passion and a desire to teach it all. But most of all I really want to build something that’s innovative, lasting and enduring for the school. And it’s kind of cool to show Rolling Stone magazine with a full page ad for your work and your silver Founders Edition pin that only a few people will ever have.” Many local residents may not realize Kerbyson’s connection to the school. “I took classes when I was in high school at what is now West Virginia University at Parkersburg. I’m going to be able to walk into that classroom and say, ‘I started in the seat you’re sitting in,” Kerbyson said. “I think I’m one of the success stories of this school. No one understands the value this school plays in this community better than me.’”
“One of the things that really motivated me to want to do this in Parkersburg was that I accidentally discovered that the current President of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Ed Catmull is from Parkersburg,” Kerbyson said. “Then I started reading his background and it was ironic because we had many things in common. Then I thought, it seems a shame that we came from Parkersburg and this town doesn’t have an animation or game design program. We can either bottle the water or we actually teach it.”
West Virginia University at Parkersburg is seeking an additional $160,000 to further fund the program. They will make the formal application this fall. Kerbyson has been busy gathering supporters. “I think the list should knock your socks off,” she said. “I really want to thank the people going to bat for us. The support really does mean a lot.” Supporters who’ve written letters include the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association, Jason Della Rocca; Rockwell, Natural Motion Synthesis (the makers of the technology behind Grand Theft Auto and Star Wars video games); and Areae, a company that creates virtual worlds.
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