You've got to be kidding!

Nope. You heard right. They take the study of toys and games seriously here.

Liu Neng-yao, currently a second-year student, happily shows off 56 "Saint Seiya" characters that he personally designed.

Originating in Japan, these garbed human-shaped action figures have been around for more than two decades and were made into animated characters in 2003. The latest models have stirred up a fad worldwide. Saint Seiya comics are set in the wars of ancient Greek mythology. The armor of each character can be removed and assembled into a mascot representing the constellation associated with that particular warrior. For example, Pisces' armor can be transformed into a fish and Pegasus' into a flying horse. These toys were favorites of the generation born in the 1970s. Liu is no exception.

Using different input devices changes the way players interact with games. Interaction and a sense of "being in the game" are crucial to making videogames more fun. This is an action video game developed by one of the graduate program's students.

Not just a toy

From breaking them as a child, taking them apart, and collecting them, to thinking about ways to make and improve them, toys have always been part of Liu's life. But even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined he could get a master's degree in playthings.

Liu's research topic is "Garbed Action Figures: Structural Design and Material Application." There's more to these figurines than you might think. Not only do they have to meet the standards of the human physique, designers have to take other things into consideration, like suitable materials and making sure all the parts are a nice snug fit. We're talking beaucoup knowhow here.

Having majored in architecture, Liu has a strong background in materials and structural design. He now uses these skills to design toys. Using soft stretchable materials to produce joints that are finely adjustable, he solved one problem of the armor worn by Saint Seiya characters--the need to use a separate framework to support them during their transformations.

His thoughtful design has been well received by collectors. Liu has already made some characters that the manufacturer hasn't even sold yet. Sources have revealed that his new improved Saint Seiya can be bought online and in Hsimenting's fashion market.

Using different input devices changes the way players interact with games. Interaction and a sense of "being in the game" are crucial to making videogames more fun. This is an action video game developed by one of the graduate program's students.

Play is the best teacher

Feeling jealous? There are currently some 30 graduate students (or playmates?) who, just like Liu, are having a good time in NTUE's graduate school of toy and game design, established in 2002.

The "research materials" include wooden toys, TV and computer games, action toys, figurines, things ridable, remote controlled toys, models--the list goes on. Some students are researching card and board games as well as physical, mental, and interactive games for individuals and groups.

"Games are the highest form of education," explains school chairperson Chang Shih-tsung, whose own mish-mashed academic background spans architecture, art, and education. Games challenge you personally and give you an opportunity for "self-actualization." They are activities that anybody can participate in and that give you a great feeling of accomplishment. As humans, we play almost from the moment we are born, without anybody telling us to. The graduate school of toy and game design encourages students to make the next logical progression--games that educate. The program's goal is to "use toys and games to produce educational entertainment and entertaining education."

The school's teachers and students are searching for the "fun and games gene" to find answers to a myriad of questions like--Why do we find toys and games so much fun? How can we make them more so? How can teaching be incorporated into amusement? Apart from educating, what other functions do toys and games have?

Let's take a look at graduate student Peng Chai-chen's study of "input devices and game interaction" as an example. He took Ballance, a game popular on the Internet, and exchanged the keyboard for a handheld round control device to make the game feel more convincing.

Peng explains that his inspiration comes from watching children play video games. "When kids use keyboards or push buttons to play the game, their bodies tend to move involuntarily along with the action taking place in the game, leaning this way and that as if they were part of the virtual game." This observation gave him a brilliant idea--a new input device to increase that feeling of "being there."

Chuang Hsueh-wen, who majored in information engineering, finds educational toys fascinating and is currently researching the idea of using the computer game Tetris to teach mathematics. Research topics being studied by other students include toys that help with physical rehabilitation and educational toys for autistic children.

The world at their feet

Chang's twin objectives for this graduate program are to incorporate toys in education, and to integrate the principles used in traditional toys into modern ones and share them with the world.

Taiwan's children no longer play with traditional toys from years ago; rather, they prefer battle tops, Pokemon, beetle cards, BB-Daman Bakugaiden, and every flavor of video game imaginable, all of which can be found on the shelves of toy stores almost anywhere in today's global village.

Chang has collected and researched Taiwan's traditional toys, like "seven-piece puzzles" and "nine magic rings," for years, and is dedicated to reintroducing to the world the wisdom that went into them. He explains that brainteasers like the nine magic rings, which are based on the binary principle, were once known as "a way to keep your guests from leaving." It's a pity that today, they are likely as not to scare them away.

Chang points out that Cambridge University's Professor Joseph Needham once praised the seven-piece puzzles and nine magic rings as the epitome of China's brainteaser games. They look deceptively simple, but these brilliantly enjoyable puzzles will put your noggin through the wringer. The principles behind them are worth incorporating into the design of modern toys.

The return of the king(dom)

Toys and games--not just for fun anymore. It's common knowledge that back in the 1980s, Taiwan was renowned as the toy OEM capital of the world. High production costs, however, have scattered manufacturers to the four winds. But profits from the two sides of the "smile curve" (R&D and marketing) are much higher than those of the dipping center (manufacturing), so to stay alive, Taiwan's game industry needs to shift its focus to R&D and design.

The Graduate School of Toy and Game Design is a new program that brings together a variety of fields from architecture and art to education and IT in hopes of attracting students with backgrounds in design and like to "work hard and play hard."

If you like to play and have that all-important "fun gene," the Graduate School of Toy and Game Design wants you to come out and play!