International Counselor

Video game design as a college major? It’s yet another sign of the
coming of the apocalypse. Schools of higher learning are simply
cashing in on a fad that is destructive to society.

So says Ted Rueter of Depauw University in an Op-Ed piece of the Bloomington Herald-times a couple of years ago. Time for Ted to read Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson:

The transformation of video games — from arcade titles designed for a
burst of action in a clamorous environment, to contemplative products
that reward patience and intense study — provides the most dramatic
case study in the power of repetition. The titles that lie at the top
of the all-time game bestseller lists are almost exclusively games that
can literally be played forever without growing stale: games like Age
of Empires, The Sims, or Grand Theft Auto that have no fixed narrative
path, and thus reward repeat play with an ever-changing complexity;
sports simulations that allow you to replay entire seasons with new
team rosters, or create imaginary leagues from different eras. Titles
with definitive endings have less value in the gaming economy; the more
open-ended and repeatable, the more likely it is the game that will be
a breakout hit.

Listen to a podcast from NPR with Steven Johnson or read a review from the New Yorker or some more excerpts from ABC in Australia.

Once Reuter has, he might take on the real purveyors of coming apocalypse: Engineers with no conscience, Business with morals, Religious fanaticism, poverty, and human rights abuse. For those who see video games design as an opportunity, here is a list of programs (Source finegame design), although the authors caution in overspecialization:

Personally, I would recommend a traditional education at a university.
The fundamentals of computer science, such as analysis of algorithms,
and the fundamentals of mathematics are wonderful tools that will not
become obsolete in coming years. As another game developer remarked, go
to college to get an education, not training. With a life ahead of the
student, a university may enrich and deepen an appreciation of not just
today’s game products, but the conceptual strategies that underlie
today’s and tomorrow’s game products.

But then again, I feel quite at home in the library and classroom of a university. Tom Sloper would also caution against focus on game design, and instead focus on a traditional major.

Art Institute

Game Art and Design
Bachelor of Arts
http://www.aii.edu/programs/media_05.asp

Austin Community College

Video Game Development

Technical Certification
http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/Video_Games.html
Design Specialization
http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/Video_Curriculum.html

Some lectures:
Writing for the Hero with 1,000 Faces
http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/OConnor_GDC2007_web.ppt
What Vegas Can Teach MMO Designers
http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/casinos2.ppt
Gender-inclusive Game Design
http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/Gender&Games.ppt
Syllabus: GAME 2012 - Interactive Audio
http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/GAME%202012%20-%20Interactive%20Audio%20Syllabus.pdf

Carnegie-Mellon University

Entertainment Technology Institute
Undergraduate/Graduate Studies
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/
Human Computer Interaction Institute
Division of Computer Science Department
http://www.hcii.cs.cmu.edu

Cogswell

Students have placed in GDC’s IGF festival.

Computer and Video Imaging - Game Design Concentration
Bachelors Degree
http://www.cogswell.edu/computerandvideo.html
Digital Arts Engineering
Bachelors Degree
http://www.cogswell.edu/digitalarts.html

Cornell

Minor in Game Design
http://gdiac.cis.cornell.edu/
Game Design Initiative
Courses
http://www.cs.cornell.edu/projects/game/index.html

DigiPen

Real-time Interactive Simulation
Bachelor of Science
http://www.digipen.edu/programs/degrees/rtisbs.html

Full Sail

Game Design and Development
Bachelor of Science
http://www.fullsail.edu/index.cfm/fa/degree.overview/dp_id/9/

Georgia Tech

Computational Media
Bachelor of Science
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/

International Centre for Digital Content

Digital Games
Master of Arts
http://www.icdc.org.uk/magames/

ITT Tech

Digital Entertainment and Game Design
Bachelor of Science
http://www.itt-tech.edu/teach/list/degd.cfm

Massachusettes Institute of Technology

Introduction to Game Design
Class
http://orwant.com/mas490/

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Game Studies
Minor
Introduction to Cognition & Gaming
http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/courses/icg
Game Devlopment
http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/gamedev/2003/archive.html
Marc Destefano, Adjunct Professor
http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/people/marc

Rochester Institute of Technology

Game Design & Development
Concentration in Information Technology
http://www.it.rit.edu/gddMS.php

Royal College of Art

Interaction Design
Master of Art, Ph.D.
http://www.interaction.rca.ac.uk

San Jose State University

Computer Game Design and Implementation
Class
http://www.mathcs.sjsu.edu/faculty/rucker/cs134.htm

San Francisco State University

Computer Game Design (Special Major)
Bachelor of Arts
Example Degree.
This is the degree I proposed and had approved at San Francisco State
University in Spring 2003. This multi-disciplinary approach may not be
for all minds, but one could do worse than the curriculum included. Thank you to each advisor in the departments: mathematics, computer science, design, and cinema, as well as administration.

Stanford

History of Computer Games
Class
http://www.stanford.edu/class/sts145/index.htm
Principles of Game Design
Workshop
http://www.digitalmediaacademy.org/game_design.html

University of Central Florida

Interactive Entertainment Academy
Postgraduate - Fall 2005
http://www.dm.ucf.edu
Internet and Interactive Systems
Bachelor of Arts
http://www.dm.ucf.edu/curriculum/internet.html

University of Denver

Bachelor of Arts in Game Development and Studio Art
Bachelor of Arts in Game Development and Electronic Media Arts Design
Bachelor of Arts in Game Development and Digital Media Studies
Bachelor of Science in Game Development and Animation

http://www.cs.du.edu/gameDevelopment/

University of Michigan - Dearborn

Computer Game Design and Implementation
Class
http://www.engin.umd.umich.edu/CIS/course.des/cis587.html

University of Southern California

Interactive Media
Master of Fine Arts
http://interactive.usc.edu
Game Innovation Lab
http://interactive.usc.edu/research/games
Computer Science - Game Development
Master of Science
Bachelor of Science
http://gamepipe.usc.edu

Some other suggestions:

American Intercontinental University
Becker College in Worcester,
MA
Bradley University (IL)
Cal Arts (CA)
CDIS in
Vancouver (www.artschool.com);Curriculum
degree in Game Art and
Design
Champlain College - program in Electronic
Game and Interactive Design
Chapman (CA)
Columbia College of
Chicago
DePaul Univ (IL)
DeVry University
Digipen Institute of
Technology in Redmond, WA. (B.A. in video game
programming.)
Drexel
(PA)
Expression Center for the New Media - San Francisco, offers Associates
and
BAS degrees in Sound Arts, Digital Visual Media/Animation and Digital
Graphic Design.
Guildhall at SMU
Loyola
(IA)
Loyola of New Orleans
Loyola Marymount (CA)
Michigan State
University offers the Specialization in Game design
Oglethorpe
University in Atlanta has a 3/2 program with Savannah College
of Art and
Design
Ringling School of Art and Design offers a major in Computer
Animation
with a minor in Game Art and Design
Savannah College of Art & Design
Shawnee State University (Ohio)
- offers two different game design
degrees - BFA in Game and Simulation
development Arts and BS in Digital
Simulation and Gaming Engineering
technology.
The University of Baltimore - major in video game design &
marketing.
UC Irvine (CA)
University of Denver
University of Louisiana
at Lafayette
WPI

some helpful websites:

www.igda.org
The International Game
Design Organization site has a list of colleges
that offer this major. Link
to colleges - Click on “Info on breaking into
the industry.” It’s in the
center of the page in red. It will take you to
the careers page. The
colleges are listed under “Resources.”

http://www.red3d.com/cwr/games/

This page covers topics from abstract research on games to applied

technology for commercial video game production. It aims to appeal to

academic researchers and game developers, as well as those who fall

somewhere in between.

www.gamasutra.com

1 users responded to this post

Christine Meeker Lange said in May 23rd, 2007 at 3:19 am

Just wanted you to know that Ringling School of Art and Design has changed its name to Ringling College of Art and Design and this fall of 2007 we begin a new MAJOR in Game Art & Design. Our Computer Animation Program (which is the department in which Game Art resides) was recently ranked at the #1 Computer Animation program in all of North America by the acclaimed 3D World Magazine.

Just wanted to update you.

Christine Meeker Lange
Special Assistant to the President for Media & Community Relations

Ringling College of Art and Design
clange@ringling.edu
http://www.ringling.edu