Charlie Craft ’18 has spent more than 2,500 hours playing the hugely popular video game World of Warcraft.
While in high school, his teachers dissuaded him from devoting so much time to this interest. But, at Whittier, Craft has been able to turn his passion for gaming into a major and career path.
In his first class, microeconomics, Craft’s professor described ideas that he was already familiar with from video games, but didn’t have a formal name for, such as supply and demand. Throughout the semester, his professor encouraged him to use gaming as a way to talk about economics in his papers.
“Whittier College was the first to not dismiss my interest, but to ask, ’What can you do with your interest?’” Craft said.
Craft initially thought he would major in economics. During his early time at Whittier though, he realized there was another option, a way to hone his focus on his original goal: a game design major that—fittingly—he would design himself, thanks to the Whittier Scholars Program.
The program allowed him to mix a wide range of coursework, including English, art, psychology, and computer coding. In May, Craft graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Game Design and Media Production, with a minor in economics.
“It was just so cool to be able to explore what I love,” said Craft, who found a research opportunity with professor Patrick Davison, investigating video game history and recreating early computer programs. The research culminated in a paper analyzing gaming’s evolution. In addition, while at Whittier, Craft developed two board games that he hopes to continue developing after graduation.
So far, his post-Whittier plans involve becoming a game journalist before ultimately working for one of his dream companies, Riot Games (the developers of League of Legends) or gaming giant Blizzard Entertainment. As a matter of fact, both companies employ Whittier alumni. Craft hopes to be counted among them, some day.