Make a Difference as a Video Game Designer

69 units

Bring your creative ideas to life as you prepare for an innovative career in the games and interactive media industries. This immersive degree program is a confluence of story and play; we believe that truth may be found in both. 

Learn to build games of all types, benefitting from a well-rounded curriculum that integrates the iterative process of storytelling, game mechanics, art, sound, and more. Study under supportive faculty-mentors who work in the industry, and alongside a collaborative community of students engaged in art and design. Capitalize on the department’s connections with video game companies such as Blizzard, EA, and Square Enix, and APU’s proximity to the multimedia industry hub of Los Angeles.

At APU, we are not simply game makers, we are game changers!

Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Units
CINE 174	Introduction to Storytelling	3
ANIM 103	3D Art I	3
ANIM 111	Digital Methods	2
GAME 101	Game Development Process	2
GAME 115	Game Development I	3
CINE 275	History of Television and Digital Media 1	3
GAME 130	Game Design and Theory	3
CINE 322	Sound Design	3
GAME 215	Game Level and Environmental Design	3
ANIM 205	3D Art II	3
GAME 221	Game UX and UI Design	2
GAME 225	Game Development II	3
CINE 341	Media Criticism and Theory	3
GAME 310	Game Prototype Studio	3
GAME 394	Game Studio Apprenticeship	3
CINE 451	World Cinema 2	3
CINE 475	Civic Engagement Through Media 3	3
GAME 396	Game Production	2
GAME 335	Programming for Interactive Media	3
CINE 496	Ethics in Cinematic Arts	3
GAME 494	Game Studio Capstone I 4	3
ANIM 445	Portfolio Review and Career Preparation	1
GAME 496	Game Studio Capstone II 4	3
Select two of the following:		6
ANIM 212	Character Design I
ANIM 305	Visual Development
ANIM 390	3D Character Modeling
CINE 295	Film and Television Business
CINE 317	Cinematic Design
CINE 320	Cinematography
CINE 391	Visual Effects and Compositing
CINE 490	Internship and Career Preparation for Cinematic Arts
CINE 495	Special Topics
GAME 210	Game Narrative
GAME 325	Game Development III
Total Units		69

¹

Meets the General Education Humanities: Fine Arts requirement.

²

Meets the General Education Intercultural Competence requirement.

³

Meets the General Education Civic Knowledge and Engagement requirement.

⁴

Meets the General Education Integrative and Applied Learning requirement.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this program shall be able to:

1. demonstrate broad understanding of game design and development, focusing on game theory and mechanics, level and environmental design, immersion, game user experience.
2. apply critical principles and skills pertinent to games and interactive media duties in their employment and professional practice.
3. apply universally respectful and globally centric practices pertinent to games and interactive media duties in international and domestic contexts.
4. demonstrate understanding of contemporary research questions, results, and areas of application relating to the design and development of computer games.