In 2005, the total U.S. sales of video game hardware, software and accessories grew to over $10.5 billion dollars. The gaming industry is growing by leaps and bounds and has no sign of stopping. Kevin Maney of USA Today summed it up well, "If you’re under 35, games are a major entertainment and a part of life. In that sense, they are similar to what rock ‘n’ roll meant to baby boomers."

At the same time, the usage of the same principles applied to the video game industry such as rich dynamic graphics, complex interactive digital environments and artificial intelligence are becoming more widely used in the industrial and military sector. Simulation in aviation, military training, automobile design, military weapons systems, mechanical rendering software, and robotics controlled factory automation are just a sample of the applications currently being used or developed that use many of the same tools that the gaming industry uses.

As a result of the tremendous growth of both areas, Daniel Webster College has designed the Bachelor of Science Degree in Gaming, Simulation and Robotics, a revolutionary new degree program to offer students the benefits of both the home entertainment software design industry and the industrial simulation and robotic applications industry.

Gaming, Simulation and Robotics focuses on the theories and tools that allow students to create facsimiles of situations that allow for safe and effective training in fields as diverse as: human relations, emergency management, automotive design, avionics, mechanical packaging and military training.

"Most traditional computer science majors have very limited exposure to simulation and get their experience primarily through on-the-job-training," said DWC President Robert Myers. "This represents a national workforce development issue which we are trying to resolve locally and regionally through our offering of a dynamic and unique new degree program."

According to Computer Science and Information Systems Division Chair Tom Goulding, "Products being developed today in virtually all industries are characterized by highly advanced two and three dimensional graphical displays, complex computational software and embedded code that controls a wide arrange of hardware." Goulding continues, "Gaming software is just the most visible of this type of software since games are a part of the everyday home, but a whole host of other industrial products and industries are driven today by the same type of software that is used in Xbox, Sony’s PlayStation or different internet gaming software."

DWC has been a pioneer in Computer Science as the information super-highway has grown and the new degree is no exception. DWC has strengthened its abilities in training students in a technological driven world by offering some of the best technology programs in the fields of not only computer science, but aviation and engineering.

Goulding ended saying, "With this new major, our students will be given a much richer and more complex array of challenges which will prepare them for immediate effectiveness in a whole host of industries."

Our partnerships with companies like Holo-Dek in Hampton, NH allow you to play in an even more exciting environment. Holo-Dek is pioneering total immersion gaming and is putting a new competitive spin on the computer gaming world. Holo-Dek hosts tournaments at DWC and in Hampton that draw gamers from as far away as Canada and Virginia to compete. These tournaments showcase amazing gaming talent and are great opportunities to play on amazing hardware against challenging competitors for real prizes.