Program Overview

Game Design and Development, BAS

The Bachelor of Applied Science Game Design and Development program prepares students with advanced skills and knowledge to pursue a career in digital gaming or interactive media, in-demand industries in the region. This degree will prepare students for employment in the rich digital gaming environment surrounding LWTech, where they will work as designers, animators, and project managers.

Bachelor of Applied Science Game Design and Development graduates will:

• analyze all of the core areas of digital game design and interactive development while allowing for in-depth focus and development on a small subset targeted at industry specialization
• demonstrate proficiency in 3D modeling - characters, hard surface, environments and props, and lighting and effects in Maya and Z-Brush
• demonstrate proficiency in character design, rigging, and animation - 2D and 3D
• develop expertise in concepting, designing, and building in-engine game play environments with interactive elements, with emphasis on technical proficiency in workflow, rendering pipelines, shaders, and effects
• compose basic and intermediate scripting programming for game engines to create scripts that respond to player input, trigger game play events, control the behavior of objects, and implement character artificial intelligence
• develop expertise developing for a wide range of devices and interaction models, including desktop, mobile, and emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality
• produce project architecture, workflow, and pipeline working with data structures, porting to mobile platforms, and utilizing inter-process communication techniques and graphics processing units programming
• create game play and interactive experiences utilizing mobile, augmented, and virtual reality technologies
• develop proficiency creating and integrating user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) into interactive projects with an emphasis on human-centered design theory and principles of inclusive and accessible design
• apply the science and foundations behind UX and solve business problems via design, including analysis of human behavior, and how users use UI, and think about user interface to solve problems and game play challenges
• create multi-disciplinary software development projects that mirror professional work flow, incorporating game design, conceptualization, and creation of digital assets, sound design, audio production, software integration, and project management
• create and present a professional-quality portfolio and demo games to obtain an entry-level position at a game development company, interactive media studio, or animation studio
• demonstrate communication, critical thinking, cultural humility, information literacy, and teamwork skills
• meet Humanities, Natural Science, Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science, and Written Communication general education distribution area outcomes

Prerequisites

• Completion of requirements for an earned Applied Associate Degree or equivalent from an accredited institution with a minimum of 60 quarter credits in an appropriate technical area of concentration - design related discipline (digital game design, multimedia, graphic design, or related field)
• Minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA across all college course work in the associate degree
• Completion of 30 credits of General Education courses from the list below with a minimum of a 2.0 GPA in each class
  • ENGL& 101 English Composition I 5 credits (or equivalent)
  • College-level Social Science course 5 credits
  • ART 102 Introduction to 2D Design 5 credits (or equivalent)
  • ART 121 Introduction to Drawing 5 credits (or equivalent)
  • ART 203 Intermediate Drawing or ART 205 Human Life Drawing 5 credits (or equivalent)
  • MATH& 107 Math in Society 5 credits (or any college-level math course with intermediate algebra as a prerequisite)
• Applicants to the BAS in Game Design and Development must also submit a design portfolio

General Education Requirements - 55 Credits

The following courses from the Program Requirements listed above meet the General Education requirements for this program

• ART 102 Introduction to 2D Design 5 credits
• ART 121 Introduction to Drawing 5 credits
• ART 203 Intermediate Drawing 5 credits or ART 205 Human Life Drawing (or equivalent)
• ART 305 Figural Form-making and Hand Drawn Technique 5 credits
• CMST 302 Mass Communication 5 credits
• ENGL& 101 English Composition I 5 credits
• ENGL& 235 Technical Writing 5 credits
• ENVS& 101 Introduction to Environmental Science 5 credits (or any other college-level Natural Science course if ENVS& 101 was completed previously)
• MATH& 107 Math in Society 5 credits
• PSYC 441 Psychology of Creativity 5 credits
• College-level Social Science course 5 credits

Core Courses - 77 Credits

• GAME 111 Intro to Programming for Games 4 credits (If students took CSD 111 previously, they do not need to take GAME 111)
• GAME 124 Introduction to 3D with Maya 4 credits
• GAME 127 Game Mechanics 1 4 credits
• GAME 312 Interactive Media Studies 4 credits
• GAME 315 Principles of Game Play Mechanics 5 credits
• GAME 318 2D Game Design 5 credits
• GAME 330 Advanced Character Rigging 5 credits
• GAME 332 3D Game Design 5 credits
• GAME 335 Advanced Animation 5 credits
• GAME 367 C# Programming in Unity Game Engine 5 credits
• GAME 410 Interactive System Design 4 credits
• GAME 412 Designing for Platforms and Hardware 4 credits
• GAME 415 Production Team 1: Preproduction 5 credits
• GAME 420 Rapid Prototyping 4 credits
• GAME 422 Production Team 2: Production 5 credits
• GAME 430 Production Team 3: Postproduction 5 credits
• GAME 432 Capstone Portfolio 4 credits

Courses from Prior College Coursework - 48 Credits

Credits required from prior associate’s degree or college coursework to reach 180 credits total

• Any 100-level or above courses not already taken within the BAS Game Design and Development requirements
• General education pre-requisites do not count towards these credits

Recommended Course Sequence

• Bridge Quarter
  • GAME 111 Intro to Programming for Games 4 credits (If students took CSD 111 previously, they do not need to take GAME 111)
  • GAME 124 Introduction to 3D with Maya 4 credits
  • GAME 127 Game Mechanics 1 4 credits
• Quarter One
  • GAME 312 Interactive Media Studies 4 credits
  • GAME 315 Principles of Game Play Mechanics 5 credits
  • ART 305 Figural Form-making and Hand Drawn Technique 5 credits
• Quarter Two
  • GAME 318 2D Game Design 5 credits
  • GAME 367 C# Programming in Unity Game Engine 5 credits
  • ENGL& 235 Technical Writing 5 credits
  • PSYC 441 Psychology of Creativity 5 credits
• Quarter Three
  • GAME 330 Advanced Character Rigging 5 credits
  • GAME 332 3D Game Design 5 credits
  • GAME 335 Advanced Animation 5 credits
• Quarter Four
  • GAME 410 Interactive System Design 4 credits
  • GAME 412 Designing for Platforms and Hardware 4 credits
  • GAME 415 Production Team 1: Preproduction 5 credits
• Quarter Five
  • GAME 420 Rapid Prototyping 4 credits
  • GAME 422 Production Team 2: Production 5 credits
  • ENVS& 101 Introduction to Environmental Science 5 credits (or any other college-level Natural Science course if ENVS& 101 was completed previously)
• Quarter Six
  • GAME 430 Production Team 3: Postproduction 5 credits
  • GAME 432 Capstone Portfolio 4 credits
  • CMST 302 Mass Communication 5 credits

Diversity and Social Justice Requirement

Within the degree requirements, students must complete a 3-5 credit course that meets the college’s Diversity and Social Justice (DSJ) requirement. DSJ courses are designated in the college schedule and are designed to meet other general education or technical requirements simultaneous to meeting the DSJ requirement (e.g., ENGL& 101 with the DSJ attribute meets both the ENGL& 101 requirement and the DSJ requirement)

Total Program Credits: 180-193