(Marietta, Ga. – July 14, 2016)
Pokémon Go has quickly become a global phenomenon since its launch, and while many college students are using their down time to hunt and capture the game’s animated characters, one Chattahoochee Technical College instructor is tapping into the game’s explosive popularity by using it as a way to promote a career in Design and Media Production Technology.
CTC Design and Media Production Technology student Amber Davis of Woodstock captures a Pokémon near fellow classmate Josh Coulter of Lithia Springs.
“Pokémon Go, an augmented reality game, has gone viral. More than half of my students this summer are engaged in this game. This is a phenomenon and social networking at its best,” said CTC Instructor Glenn Reid. “I think what is going to happen now is that when my students, or future students, get to the augmented reality assignments, they will really appreciate the program.”
The college’s Design and Media Production Technology program, which is located on the Mountain View Campus, encompasses computer animation, graphic design and motion graphics – it’s a dynamic field of study that opens doors to countless job opportunities in the growing electronic media market. With an emphasis on hands-on production, the program offers courses such as advertising and promotional design, three-dimensional animation, and character rigging.
Students enrolled in Chattahoochee Technical College’s Design and Media Production Technology program also learn about augmented reality and have been doing so long before the Pokémon Go craze.
“Simply put, augmented reality is an indirect view of the real world. It is where a graphic designer can put a digital piece of art — whether it is a video, animation or another graphic — into a defined target. Pokémon Go uses augmented reality to place animated characters into a reality-type setting,” Reid said.
CTC graduates with a degree in Design and Media Production Technology could work as production artists, animators, three-dimensional modelers or even videographers. Opportunities are also available for students to work in collaboration with web developers or app developers as graphic designers.
“We make the pretty stuff, so to speak,” Reid said.
Design and Media Production Technology students Amber Davis of Woodstock and Stacey Laney of Powder Springs are Pokémon Go enthusiasts and both said playing the game has piqued their interest in augmented reality.
“Technology is advancing so fast. The game just shows us how augmented reality is becoming the future. For a long time, people didn’t think this would happen and now everyone is jumping on the idea,” Davis said.
Since starting the game, Lithia Springs resident Josh Coulter said he is now interested in learning more about interface design – a course that exposes students to the basics of information architecture, usability studies and web graphic element creation.
With several of Chattahoochee Technical College’s campuses being used as PokeStops, which are places in Pokémon Go that allow players to collect game accessories, the augmented reality game is driving traffic to the Marietta, Mountain View, Paulding and Appalachian campuses. Pokémon gyms are also located at the Woodstock Campus and Marietta Campus.