Game Design, BA

Game development is an exciting multidisciplinary field that requires intense creativity, as well as professional discipline and strong collaborative production skills. Students in the Game Design major take a wide variety of engaging courses that help them develop a deep understanding of the aesthetics, tools, skills, process, theory and culture of games that informs their work and encourages them to develop and produce new and original ideas.

Students in the Game Design major complete the Interactive Arts and Media core as well as Game Design courses that accentuate the cultural aspects of game design, game design theory, and concept development. Students select one of two concentrations in Game Development or Sound Design, providing the depth of specialization that the game industry demands. Students seeking to be game programmers should investigate our Game Programming degrees and students seeking to be game artists should investigate our Game Art degree.

Game Development

The Game Development concentration provides an environment for students to creatively author a wide range of games and simulations with a focus on gameplay, user engagement and experience, and narrative. In addition to the Game Design core students take advanced classes in game design theory and analysis, as well as game engine scripting and development, with additional emphasis on game production styles and techniques for both large (AAA-style) and independent game development. The Game Development track goal is to prepare students to produce and develop in a team setting as they work with animators, sound designers, and programmers to build either a large-scale game or a small team/independent game in the senior capstone courses.

Program Requirements | 4 Year Planning Tool | Transfer Planning Tool

Sound Design

Sound design in games is reaching new heights. More and more gamers are building extensive audio configurations to satisfy the sound requirements and demands of the next groundbreaking game. The concentration in Sound Design at Columbia College Chicago focuses on the technical and aesthetic issues surrounding the sound designer’s job. These include knowledge of acoustical and digital audio theory, music theory, aesthetics of sound and picture and the techniques of field recording. The goal of the program is to develop skills needed by students to work in a professional sound design environment, and a broad knowledge of the game design industry.

Program Requirements | 4 Year Planning Tool | Transfer Planning Tool