Bachelor of Science - Game Design

Program Description

​A game designer conceives and crafts the rules, structure and experience of a game. The Game Design degree equips students to become the next generation of creative leaders in the growing field of games. Throughout the program students will explore and push the boundaries of games as expressive and artistic media. They will develop skills for each phase of the game design and development cycle including ideation, iteration through the creation of multiple playable game builds (including prototypes), and reflection on the effectiveness of their designs using playtesting and written evaluations.

Students will also develop skills and confidence in reading, writing, and modifying computer programs and scripts. Students will collaborate in interdisciplinary teams with programmers, artists, producers, writers, and audio designers. This program has an emphasis on building a portfolio of games and advancing the medium of games through experimentation and innovation.

Learning Outcomes

​Students will be able to:

• Collaboratively generate ideas, share them and assess their inherent risks and scope.
• Translate game ideas into playable prototypes.
• Assess prototypes in regard to feasibility and creative value.
• Iterate on prototype until they have a viable, playable version.
• Plan and manage their own development tasks to work effectively within a cross-disciplinary team.
• Evaluate games with users using multiple common game user research methods.
• Manage the pipeline for games, effectively evaluating the impact of potential changes.
• Develop a foundational literacy and confident in reading, writing, and modifying computer programs and scripts.
• Clearly communicate and establish the vision for a game's experiential goal by taking formal and dramatic game elements into account.
• Intentionally draft experiences that leverage and develop the unique affordances of games as an artistic medium.