Game Design & Development Specialization

Transforming ideas into immersive environments

You can be among those who turn dreams into reality, by earning a specialty in Game Design and Development as part of your bachelor’s degree in Media Arts and Science.

Game developers have the power to entertain and educate, creating products that transport users to the outer fringes of space … or become tools for better medical diagnosis.

Lots of people have ideas for games. But at our school you’ll learn the skills to take your idea from theory to finished product as you work with other students in business-based groups.

Together you’ll brainstorm, research, program, illustrate, and pitch your concept, whether it’s a board game, mobile game, or video game design. 

Earn 2 degrees in 5 years

Earn a bachelor's and a master's degree in 5 years.

State-of-the-art facilities

If you can imagine it, we'll help you create it, utilizing industry-standard gear in our top of the line labs and classrooms.

Study Abroad

Travel to Greece and return with real-world skills and finished projects for your portfolio as you document the past and present on a Greek island.

What you'll learn

We’ll teach you how to shape your inspiration and take it to amazing places. Students form teams to build games from the ground up, learning to use professional software and equipment in our Media Arts and Science Research and Learning Arcade (MARLA) to create breathtaking, immersive experiences for users.

Even relatively simple games rely on teams with expertise in many areas. Your hands-on game development projects cover everything from scriptwriting, concept art, and game testing to user experience technology and digital animation and sound.

Faculty mentor students to produce published projects—the kind that can lead to professional game development jobs.

View the degree requirements

Careers

Sample job titles

  • Augmented reality designer
  • Augmented reality developer
  • Game designer
  • Game developer
  • Game producer
  • Game production artist​
  • Technical designer
  • Unity developer
  • Unreal developer
  • Virtual reality designer
  • Virtual reality developer

Companies that hire our students

  • 4A Games (Sliema, Malta)
  • Blizzard  (Irvine, California)
  • Bottom Line Performance (Indiana)
  • Gearbox Software (Frisco, Texas)
  • Half Full Nelsen (Indiana)
  • HTC (Taipei, Taiwan)
  • Owlchemy Labs (Austin, Texas)
  • Pipeworks Studios (Eugene, Oregon)
  • Plow Digital (Indiana)
  • Rockstar Games (San Diego)
  • Treyarch (Santa Monica, California)
  • Vision3 Interactive (Indiana)

Ready to get started?