SAN BERNARDINO - They met in Room 102, an anonymous place at the end of a long, white hall trimmed in turquoise and maroon.

An eclectic group of more than 20 was seated, waiting for their meeting to began as any traditional support group would.

"Hi, my name is Noelle. I'm an average video game player thinking about design and am fascinated by Japanese culture,' said one 15-year-old video-game enthusiast.

Every seat was filled Thursday night in the computer lab at the Center for Extended Learning at Cal State San Bernardino for a class the first of its kind at the university.

In three hours, the group received a general overview of the key players in video-game design, almost as if they were reading a glossary of vocational terms beta tester, demo reel, designer, geek.

Eric Teitelbaum, a cartoonist, led the introductory meeting in hopes of catching the attention of those in the group to sign up for classes the university will offer.

"There are 100,000 plus people doing this each day,' he told the group. "There could be a possibility (of) a very fulfilling career in this multibillion-dollar industry.'

Teitelbaum currently is working on the syndicated newspaper cartoons of the Pink Panther, but he has also worked in the field of video-game marketing for the same companies that produce such video games as "Spider-Man.'

This spring, the university will offer two one-day classes in the "Art of Video Game Design' and an introduction to PhotoShop, a computer graphics program. There also are plans to offer a class in Flash animation in the summer. In the fall, there would be courses in storyboarding, character development and motion animation.

"These are all introductory courses to give you a general knowledge of the subject,' said 27-year-old Qiana Charles, program administrator for the College of Extended Learning. " There's no way we can make a video-game programmer out of you in a day.'

Since the programs are offered as certificate courses, no transferable credits will be issued by the university.

"It's not so much for course credits as it is something you can put on your resume or add to your portfolio,' Charles said.

But Teitelbaum wants to help his students realize all that it takes to become a designer, even if he can't cover it all in his day-long courses. He uses guest speakers who work in the industry to help inspire the students.

"Everyone has a game inside them all those kids who have been playing the games so long,' he said. "It's bottled up inside of them. Some really have an interest of getting it out there. It just takes some work.'

To some, games are just about jumping, kicking or flying to the next level. The serious gamer understands the plot involved.

At first, Noelle Brodeur sounds like every 15-year-old. She spends her days watching cartoons and escaping reality through video games. She was lured in by Pokemon, but soon it seemed to go beyond an obsession into a passion once she discovered where the worlds of anime and fantasy novels collide.

"It's really deep,' she said. "The story line is great, and I love the characters.'

She hopes to one day combine two careers as a fantasy writer and a video-game developer. She assumes the two could work hand-in-hand.

Her mother drives her from Victorville to attend the classes, even though Noelle knows that she won't be a master by the end of the course.

"At the very least, I would like a better understanding of the video games,' she said.

But at 42, Ron Power of Redlands has no time to wait. He's a carpenter by trade but hopes to soon get out of the field and into the design studio, placing the games in his head into players' hands.

"I love that virtual world,' Power said. "Just now, I can't wait to get into it. I can't learn this stuff fast enough.'