Partnership pairs business experience with games

A partnership between the College of Business Administration and Central Michigan University’s game publisher will provide students with a unique opportunity to get sales and marketing experience.

Pages of the Press will give students with an interest in games an opportunity to develop business skills and provide business-oriented students with experience putting classroom learning to practice.

The program is the latest step in the evolving partnership between the College of Liberal Arts and Social Science’s Center for Learning through Games and Simulations and the business college.

“Pages of the Press is the type of opportunity that defines CMU,” said CBA Dean Chris Moberg. “When students apply what they’re learning in real environments, alongside faculty and industry professionals, the experience becomes transformative.

“We’re proud to collaborate across campus to give students meaningful, hands-on learning that builds confidence and prepares them for whatever comes next.”

The partnership is natural, said Veronica Gregory, coordinator of outreach for the CLGS, which administers Central Michigan University Press. When someone submits a game to the Press, it is peer reviewed for playability and whether it has market appeal.

Games from CMich Press target both casual gamers interested in mechanics and educators looking for a viable, relatable teaching tool. The Press also crowdfunds to raise money to publish the games.

“We’re essentially a start up,” Gregory said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen and you have to kind of roll with it.”

Students participating in Pages of the Press will help sell CMich Press games at conventions like Gen Con, North America’s biggest tabletop gaming convention. There are also local and regional conventions that CLGS plans to participate in.

One place they get experience is participating in CLGS events like Break Our Games, which takes place on campus. There, participants play test games and teach others how to play them.

“That teaching is a vital component to selling games,” she said. Real-world scenarios require students selling the games to fully understand their product.

The partnership was formed last year to help strengthen the CLGS’ foundation and support its continued growth, said Alisha Draper, marketing and communications director for CBA.

CBA can also connect CLGS with business students to get hands-on learning opportunities like marketing and sales while supporting the game publisher’s workload, she said.