The undergraduate GAME STUDIES & DESIGN MINOR is a set of courses that fosters critical skills in academic game studies, and technical skills in game design. The minor will serve undergraduates who are interested in the study and design of games, gaming, game design and the digital, extended and virtual reality (XR/VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies involved with the crafting of interactive systems and interfaces relevant to the game, film, education, and media industries, as well as a range of other emerging professions.
Through this minor, students will learn to think critically about the history, cultural meaning, social impact, ethics, and the increasingly significant role of games, gaming, and interactive media in a diverse society; they will develop the logical, algorithmic, narrative, and design capacities needed to make games, interactive narratives, and simulations; and they will become prepared for graduate work, if desired, on a path to pursuing a career in the game industry or in academic game studies research.
Why Game Studies and Design?
A Minor in Game Studies & Design can diversify your educational portfolio and complement your major. This minor signals not only that you have acquired design skills (relevant to games, but also other interactive media) but also that you are aware of the impact of games across sectors of society, and that you understand how games and game technologies can be applied more broadly, and in ethical and socially constructive ways.
ANY STUDENT who wants to learn more about game design, innovative applications of games and game technologies, the impact of games on society, or simply enjoys games should join the minor!
Game Studies & Design will teach you to become a better creator and user of games and game technologies, and to think critically about their role in society.
What Can A Student Do With A Minor In Game Studies & Design?
The game industry market value for 2021 was expected to exceed $175 billion, and $200 billion by the end of 2023. New technologies are also creating new markets; cloud-based gaming, for example, which was valued at just $152 million in 2019, had an estimated 23.7 million paying users in 2021 and is projected to grow in value to $6 billion by 2024.
Our Game Studies & Design program, however, does not only serve students with ambitions towards the thriving video game industries (which offer careers for designers, programmers, graphic artists, sound technicians, composers, writers, developers of virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence technologies, among other emerging fields). Our program will also provide training to students headed towards many other professions as well; our students are likely to be asked to navigate the game-like environments of social media, to program chatbots for their employers’ websites, or to work with VR and AI applications in their medical, educational, or business fields, for example.