[game_edu] Lab Configuration

[kevin at kogsspin.com]

The first lab I inherited was as you described (rows of computers  
facing a whiteboard). My first move was to make it more like the  
studios I worked in.  Fourteen workstations (Dell PCs with dual  
flatscreen monitors) were spaced along three walls of the room on a  
continuous table setup shaped like a "U".  Inside the "U" was a  
cluster of tables that let us make one big conference table or break  
out into smaller groups.  The LCD projector was ceiling mounted over  
my seat at the head of the table so I could connect any console I  
wanted with RCA cables, or use the instructor station which was offset  
in the front corner at the end of the whiteboard.

This setup gave us maximum flexability to meet as a group or in teams.  
More importantly, we allowed the students to personalize the space.   
We had the walls plastered with game posters (easy to get from retail  
stores at the start of the month when they change them out),  
upperclassmen could claim "their" workstation and used it for all  
their coursework (even if that meant doubling up sometimes due to the  
luck of the course enrollments no one seemed to mind). We also had a  
small library table where I stocked my back issues of Game Developer,  
had a running file of job openings and flyers I got at GDC each year,  
and a SWAG pile everyone was free to raid.

We made the room as close to a studio as we could: flexible setup,  
personal space, group areas, etc.  If I could have done more I would  
have added a couch or other informal seating, a boardgame library, and  
found a way to keep it open 24 hours.

I'm not at that school anymore, but I sure do miss that lab.

--Kevin