Program Contact: Elena Bertozzi  203-582-7998

The Bachelor of Arts in Game Design and Development is a pre-professional program that prepares students for a variety of career options including many types of interactive media, the highly competitive game design industry, or the pursuit of additional study at the graduate level. This is an applied, interdisciplinary major that focuses on the meaningful application of game technologies in the commercial entertainment industry and the application of those skills to serious topics regarding the environment, healthcare and education including STEM and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) initiatives. Students acquire a solid foundation in critical thinking and writing, foundations of design, user behavior and systems thinking, as well as an understanding of the cultural impacts of games. They develop specialized technical skills and competence in game design including coding, content development, outcomes assessment and quality assurance. The major provides students with skills that are readily applied to the real world and the curriculum supports and enables experiential learning opportunities such as internships, study abroad and collaborations with external partners.

There are a total of 42 credits in the major. The major has 11 required courses. Students build a core skillset and learn to collaborate with others in Game Labs where cross-disciplinary teams build complete polished games. Students choose which areas they wish to specialize in by taking two classes from any one of the concentrations and one elective from any other concentration. Concentrations include: Programming, Technology, Design Process, Art, Game Studies, Business, Writing and Audio. In the senior year, the program culminates in a capstone experience when students take the Senior Project and Seminar.

A grade of C- or better is required in all game design and development courses and prerequisites. Students with a GPA of less than 2.00 will be put on probation. After two semesters on probation, students will be advised to change majors.

It is recommended that students majoring in Game Design and Development pursue a minor, or double major, or take courses in a complementary discipline such as graphic interactive design or computer science.

All majors are required to participate in some form of experiential learning: study abroad, internship or academic/professional product collaboration.

Students majoring in Game Design and Development must meet the following requirements for graduation:

University Curriculum 146
Modern Language Requirement3-6
Game Design & Development Core Requirements33
Introduction to Game Design
Introduction to Visual Design for Games
Creativity and Computation
Introduction to Game Development
Professionalism Practice for Game Design
Game Lab I: Team Projects
Game Lab II: Team Projects
Game Lab IV: Team Projects 2
Internship
Game Lab V: Team Projects
Game Lab VI: Team Projects
Senior Project and Seminar I
Concentrations 39
With the recommendation of the student's adviser and/or the program director, students select two courses from their primary concentration and one elective from any other concentration
Technology
Game Design Tools and Processes
Game Lab III: Team
VR/AR Development for Games
Advanced Topics in Game Development
Art
Drawing for Games and Animation
Game Art I: Introduction to 3D Modeling
Game Art II
Game Art III
Game Studies
History of Video Games
Critical Game Studies Seminar
Games, Learning & Society
Media Users and Audiences (WGS 345)
Business
eSports Management
The Business of Games
Creating Digital Businesses
Creativity and Innovation Management
Writing
Playwriting: The Ten-Minute Play
Creative Writing
Introduction to Creative Nonfiction
Introduction to Fiction Writing
Advanced Fiction-Writing Workshop
Advanced Creative Nonfiction
The Art of Audio Narrative
Screenwriting
Interactive Storytelling and Narrative
Audio
Game Audio Design
Digital Music Composition for Games
The Art of Audio Narrative
Design Process
Design Research and Methods
Special Topics in Game Design
Game Design Tools and Processes
Board Game Design
Acting and Directing for Game Design
Programming
Data Structures and Abstraction
Advanced Topics in Game Development
Object-Oriented Design and Programming
Introduction to Software Development
Free Electives23-26
Total Credits114-120
1

All students must complete the University Curriculum requirements. 

2

Participating in the QU in LA Program or study abroad can also fulfill this requirement.

3

Students wishing to take courses from this list must complete any prerequisites required by individual departments/programs or schools.

Elective substitutions are permitted with prior approval of the program director.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will demonstrate the following competencies:

  1. Computational and Systems Thinking: Be fluent in at least one programming language and associated game engine to construct fully functional working games.
  2. Critical/Analytical Thinking and Communication: Play and analyze games using academic research methods, exhibit effective written and verbal communication skills and apply this analysis to the game design process.
  3. Design Process Thinking: Prototype, reflect critically on workflow and process, incorporate feedback, and iterate.
  4. Creative Thinking and Problem Solving: Generate inventive, novel and imaginative ideas for game design concepts and nimbly respond to design and implementation challenges.
  5. Multidisciplinary and Diverse Perspective Thinking: Understand the issues surrounding topics of representation and diversity in game development and be able to discuss them and design games that address them.
  6. Teamwork and Experiential Learning Expertise: Collaborate with teams of colleagues with different skillsets to produce work using established game development best practices with a clear definition of scope, responsibilities, progress and assessment of results.
 

Admission Requirements: College of Arts and Sciences

The requirements for admission into the undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences programs are the same as those for admission to Quinnipiac University.

Admission to the university is competitive, and applicants are expected to present a strong college prep program in high school. Prospective first-year students are strongly encouraged to file an application as early in the senior year as possible, and arrange to have first quarter grades sent from their high school counselor as soon as they are available.

For detailed admission requirements, including required documents, please visit the Admissions page of this catalog.

Shown below is one of many possible paths through the curriculum. Each student's individual academic plan is crafted in consultation with their academic adviser.

First Year
Milestones: Earn 30 credits, meet with your adviser at least once a semester and have a GPA of 2.00 or higher.
Fall Semester
GDD 101Introduction to Game Design3
GDD 110Introduction to Visual Design for Games3
GDD 140Creativity and Computation3
EN 101Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing3
FYS 101First-Year Seminar3
Spring Semester
GDD 200Introduction to Game Development3
EN 102Academic Writing and Research3
MA course - satisfies UC Foundation Inquiry3
University Curriculum course3
University Curriculum course3
Second Year
Milestones: Earn 60 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Meet with your adviser at least once per semester to discuss academic, experiential learning, career and co-curricular opportunities.
Fall Semester
GDD 201Professionalism Practice for Game Design3
GDD 210Game Lab I: Team Projects3
Language at the 101 level3
University Curriculum course3
University Curriculum course3
Spring Semester
GDD 211Game Lab II: Team Projects3
GDD Concentration3
Language at the 102 level (Satisfies CAS Language Requirement)3
University Curriculum course3
University Curriculum course3
Third Year
Milestones: Earn 90 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Meet with your adviser at least once per semester. Participate in study abroad, complete internship or research opportunities.
Fall Semester
GDD 390Internship1-3
GDD Concentration3
University Curriculum course3
University Curriculum course3
Open Elective3
Spring Semester
GDD Concentration3
University Curriculum course4
University Curriculum course3
Open Elective3
Open Elective3
Fourth Year
Milestones: Earn 120 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Complete possible minor or double major and prepare for graduation.
Fall Semester
GDD 410Game Lab V: Team Projects3
Open Elective3
Open Elective3
Open Elective3
Open Elective3
Spring Semester
GDD 495Senior Project and Seminar I3
GDD 411Game Lab VI: Team Projects3
Open Elective3
Open Elective3
Open Elective2
Total Credits118-120