The game art and design program focuses on developing students as game artists, prepared to enter the game and entertainment industries. Students begin the program by developing their manual and computer-based artistic skills, building drawing and design skills as they begin to learn the history of games and the aesthetic dimensions of games. Early in the program, students study the fundamentals of painting and sculpture to build a foundation for upcoming game art & design courses.

Students move into the structure and narrative potential of games through courses in game design, scriptwriting and storyboarding, and character design. As they begin to develop their analytical skills for games through courses in game scripting, students are introduced to the basics of 2D animation as well as 3D modeling and animation.

In intermediate courses, students combine their skills in drawing, painting, modeling, and design with their knowledge of art history and mythology and with the technical aspects of games to begin the game-production process. They learn texturing, environment design, and interface design, and move into level design, game scripting, and game prototyping. As they gain a deeper understanding of the process, they bring together all of their experience and learning to produce assets for games and design game levels.

Advanced classes in the program require students to work in teams to replicate the environment of the industry. Faculty, who themselves have professional experience in the gaming field, direct and advise the teams. Game artists and designers are also frequently guest lecturers in the classrooms. In the last quarters of the program, students are encouraged to do an internship in the game industry as well as to develop a professional-quality portfolio of their work, demonstrating their design skills and documenting their accomplishments throughout the program. This portfolio showcases their abilities to prospective employers. Graduates of the game art & design program are prepared with artistic skills to enter the competitive multibillion-dollar game industry job market.

With my new skills, I can be...
Game designer
Digital artist
Modeler
Storyboard artist
3D illustrator
FX artist

(entry-level positions)