Game development is an interdisciplinary field drawing on visual and technical arts, software engineering, narrative and sound design as well as psychology, sociology, anthropology and other studies in the humanities. The game development major is designed to provide students with an understanding of the video game and interactive simulation industry as well as an understanding of how these tools shape and are shaped by our society.
The course of study includes specialized courses in game design and production, programming and techniques to provide students the opportunity to understand many facets of game creation. Throughout the program, students collaborate with peers from the game art major to test ideas by building prototypes, implementing digital game systems and interfaces and building a portfolio of work of showing their design processes leading to a shippable digital game.
A degree in Game Development will prepare students for entry-level positions in game systems design and programming, quality assurance testing, virtual and augmented reality creation and interactive simulation and data visualization.
Graduates are able to:
- Analyze and critique analog and digital games with respect to technical, artistic and cultural impacts
- Develop and test game ideas through rapid iteration techniques and high fidelity prototyping
- Understand and apply programming techniques and data structures to model interactive systems
- Communicate their design process and technical decisions verbally and through project documentation
- Implement a cohesive digital game experience in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team in the game engine of instruction
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