Collaboration #2 – In the Real World (Story)

By Michelle Harrell and Emily Kotecki

Looking to the real world for examples of collaboration provides a model for student interaction. Many of the larger scale works in the North Carolina Museum of Art (e.g. Lines that Link Humanity and Doors of Jerusalem) as well as works in the Museum Park (Ogromna and Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky), were created collaboratively because of the size of the work and technique. Other works at the Museum feature stories of collaboration such as Spring on the Missouri and Jim Smyre and family planting tobacco, Iredell County, NC. Use these objects as talking points for how people work together toward as common goal in your classroom.

Digital forms of art, such as games, can also be examined for the use of collaboration. In the Museum’s Art of Game Design online course, students learn how creating a game enlists individuals with different ideas, skills, and perspectives. From designing backgrounds and characters to technical programming, games require attention to a variety of nuances that require multiple individuals.

Chad Dezern, Studio Director at Insomniac Games, explains how games in their studio are always created through a collaborative process. Each person brings his or her expertise (visual art, programming mechanics, written narrative, etc.) to the table to develop a powerful and fun game.

Watch the video below to see how important collaboration and versatile skills are in developing games.

Chad Dezern on Collaboration from The North Carolina Museum of Art on Vimeo.