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.
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Liberal Studies Requirements | 76 |
| Major Requirements | 100 |
| Open Electives | 16 |
| Total hours required | 192 |
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Collaboratively generate ideas, share them and assess their inherent risks and scope.
- Translate game ideas into prototypes; iteratively develop prototypes until they are viable and playable.
- Evaluate games with users using multiple common games user research methods.
- Manage the pipeline for games, effectively evaluating the impact of potential changes.
- Develop a foundational literacy and confidence 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 craft experiences that leverage and develop the unique affordances of games as an artistic medium.
Liberal Studies Requirements
Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.
| First Year Program | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Quarter | ||
| LSP 110 or LSP 111 | DISCOVER CHICAGO or EXPLORE CHICAGO | 4 |
| Focal Point | ||
| LSP 112 | FOCAL POINT SEMINAR | 4 |
| Writing | ||
| WRD 103 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I 1 | 4 |
| WRD 104 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II 1 | 4 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Not Required | ||
| Sophomore Year | ||
| Race, Power, and Resistance | ||
| LSP 200 | SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE | 4 |
| Junior Year | ||
| Experiential Learning | ||
| Required | 4 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| Capstone | ||
| GAM 395 | GAME DEVELOPMENT PROJECT II 1 | 4 |
- 1
Students must earn a C- or better in this course.
Learning Domains
Arts and Literature (AL)
Historical Inquiry (HI)
- 2 Courses Required
Math and Computing (MC)
- Not Required
Philosophical Inquiry (PI)
Religious Dimensions (RD)
- 2 Courses Required
Scientific Inquiry (SI)
- 1 Lab Course Required
Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)
- 3 Courses Required
Note
Specified required courses within Liberal Studies may have grade minimums (e.g. C- or better). Please consult your advisor or your college and major requirements.
Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements. If students double major, LSP Domain courses may double count for both LSP credit and the second major. Students who choose to take an experiential learning course offered by the major may count it either as a general elective or the Experiential Learning requirement.
In meeting learning domain requirements, no more than one course that is outside the student’s major and is cross-listed with a course within the student’s major, can be applied to count for LSP domain credit. This policy does not apply to those who are pursuing a double major or earning BFA or BM degrees.
Major Requirements
Course Requirements
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ANI 230 | 3D DESIGN & MODELING | 4 |
| ANI 231 | 3D ANIMATION | 4 |
| GAM 180 | UNREAL ENGINE WORKSHOP | 2 |
| GAM 181 | UNITY WORKSHOP | 2 |
| GAM 205 | GAMES LITERACY | 4 |
| GAM 226 | FUNDAMENTALS OF GAME DESIGN | 4 |
| GAM 230 | INTRO TO GAME PRODUCTION | 4 |
| GAM 240 | PLAYGRAMMING | 4 |
| GAM 244 | GAME DEVELOPMENT I | 4 |
| GAM 245 | GAME DEVELOPMENT II | 4 |
| GAM 250 | GAME SOUND DESIGN I | 4 |
| GAM 312 | PLAYTESTING | 4 |
| GAM 340 | PRACTICAL SCRIPTING FOR GAMES | 4 |
| GAM 341 | INTRODUCTION TO LEVEL DESIGN | 4 |
| GAM 355 | SOLO GAME DEVELOPMENT PROJECT | 4 |
| GAM 365 | ADVANCED GAME DESIGN | 4 |
| GAM 392 | GAME MODIFICATION WORKSHOP | 4 |
| GAM 394 | GAME DEVELOPMENT PROJECT I | 4 |
| GAM 395 | GAME DEVELOPMENT PROJECT II | 4 |
| GD 105 | INTRO TO VISUAL DESIGN | 4 |
| IT 223 | DATA ANALYSIS | 4 |
| Select twenty (20) credit hours of Major Electives | 20 | |
| Select sixteen (16) credit hours of Open Electives | 16 | |
Major Electives
Major elective courses must meet the following criteria:
- Eight (8) credit hours of Major Electives must be selected from GAM courses at the 300-level
- Twelve (12) credit hours of Major Electives must be selected from any 200-level ANI, CP, DOC, FILM, GAM, GD, GPH, POST, SCWR, UXD, or VFX courses or from any 300-level CDM course
Open Electives
Open Elective credit hours are required to meet the minimum graduation requirements of 192 hours. Open Electives may be taken from any unit at DePaul.
See www.cdm.depaul.edu to see sample schedule of course requirements on a year-by-year basis.
Program Combination Restrictions
Students pursuing the BS in Game Design are forbidden from pursuing the Minor in Game Design.