The number one game design studio in Canada
Vancouver Film School (VFS) is the number one game design school in Canada. Having opened its doors in 1987 VFS has become a global leader in entertainment arts education, offering 15 programs to more than 1,000 students across eight campuses, including India and China.
With fourteen different departments related to the creative fields and close partnerships with Adobe, Native Instruments, Nvidia, and Unreal Engine, VFS stays in tune with the needs of the industry, and the needs of students. Courses include film production, 3D animation, sound design, and board game design.
The Challenge
Vancouver Film School (VFS) presents a first-of-its-kind virtual board game design workshop. Understanding board games and how they work is an essential component to becoming a good game designer and an integral part of the VFS Game Design curriculum. Taught by award-winning board game designer Jay Cormier, the workshop introduces you to the key concepts of game design. This direct experience workshop features numerous activities (including playing games!) that will lead you to make and present your own game on Tabletopia.
During the opening stages of the 2020 COVID pandemic, VFS faced a challenge that needed a fast and robust solution; how to continue running integrated and focused sessions with every game design student while adhering to social distancing rules.
VFS had some initial experience in running and maintaining quarterly workshops online prior to the pandemic, however it was sufficient to provide the basis for working with Tabletopia to build on that experience for their game design courses. The true challenge came from a need to move to sustained online workshops, catering for multiple students, across a diverse range of game designs on a regular basis.
The Solution
The logistical challenge of moving to an online virtual classroom is something Tabletopia were happy to assist with. Working together with VFS we were able to respond quickly and offer the development and gameplay tools required for such extensive design courses.
“Tabletopia provided us with the ability to continue running this course and the creation of online workshops related to board games outside of Game Design curriculum”
Vancouver Film School uses a combination of bulk workshop and player accounts covering up to 30 students regularly to ensure everyone can stay engaged with the course material in a virtual tabletop environment. Workshop accounts allow for teaching staff to design and build games specifically for the courses, as well as offering a direct hands-on build environment for students to build games during a learning experience. Player accounts offer engaging gameplay sessions that facilitate design feedback and student interaction.
Tabletopia is here to support each course session launched by Vancouver Film School and to assist them in a smooth, evolving transition from physical learning to virtual workshops.
Get in Touch!
The best way to discuss your needs is to talk to us. We don't use pushy sales techniques or blind you with technical acronyms. Book a one-to-one chat, grab a coffee, and let's see if we can make it work. First question will always be to name your favorite board game!