Game Design & Development · GAME

About Game Design & Development

Systems, art, code, and playtesting brought together into games. Courses carry the GAME subject code and are offered through the College of Arts, Design & Communication. Numbers below 300 are introductory, 300–499 advanced undergraduate, and 500 and above graduate. Prerequisites are enforced at registration.

How the sequence works

Of the 9 GAME courses listed, 2 are introductory (numbers under 300), 2 are advanced undergraduate (300–499). 1 course has no prerequisite and is a reasonable first step. Later courses assume the earlier ones, so read prerequisites before you plan a term — they are enforced at registration and an override from the Game Design & Development department is the only way around them.

GAME 1600 — Introduction to Game Design 3 cr

Game mechanics, dynamics, and player experience; paper prototyping; and the discipline of changing a design based on what playtesters actually do.

Prerequisite: none.

GAME 2100 — Game Programming I 3 cr

Building interactive real-time applications in an engine: the game loop, input, physics, collision, state, and structuring code for a project that will grow.

Prerequisite: CS 1100.

GAME 2300 — Level and Systems Design 3 cr

Designing spaces and rule systems that teach, pace, and challenge; blockouts; and balancing through iteration and data.

Prerequisite: GAME 1600.

GAME 2500 — Game Art Pipeline 3 cr

Modeling, texturing, rigging, and importing assets into an engine at a target performance budget, working to a shared style guide.

Prerequisite: ART 1100.

GAME 3100 — Game Programming II 3 cr

Gameplay systems, AI behaviors, networking for multiplayer, tools programming, and profiling for performance.

Prerequisite: GAME 2100.

GAME 3300 — Narrative and Player Psychology 3 cr

Environmental and systemic storytelling, motivation and reward, difficulty and flow, and designing for a range of players.

Prerequisite: GAME 1600.

GAME 3500 — Production and the Vertical Slice 3 cr

Scoping a game realistically, running a small team through milestones, and delivering a polished vertical slice.

Prerequisite: GAME 2300.

GAME 4700 — Studio I 3 cr

A cross-disciplinary team begins production on an original game that will ship at the end of the following term.

Prerequisite: GAME 3500.

GAME 4900 — Studio II 3 cr

The team completes, tests, and releases the game, then presents it publicly at the showcase.

Prerequisite: GAME 4700.

Planning and advising

Your degree audit shows exactly how GAME courses apply to your requirements; this list only shows what is offered. If you are choosing between two courses, deciding when to take a heavy one, or wondering whether a course will run next term, your academic adviser or the Game Design & Development program office can tell you. Course availability by term is set close to registration and is not guaranteed by anything on this page.