Departments & Programs

The Media School

B.S. in Game Design

Purpose

The B.S. in Game Design takes a social systems approach to game design, emphasizing the creative symbiosis that develops when game designers combine the age-old arts of storytelling and illustration with powerful new media platforms and state-of-the-art animation to translate their vision into compelling virtual realities. The degree shares its structure with the other undergraduate degrees offered in The Media School, including The Media Core (Managing, Making, Thinking Media) and all College degree requirements, but does not require a concentration. The B.S. does not require a specific specialization, but students have the option to complete up to three Media School specializations. As an alternative to the concentration, and in keeping with the pre-professional design of many B.S. degrees, students complete 45 credit hours of courses focused on the skills and knowledge required of game designers.

Students with strong interests in game-programming, graphic design and animation, or music composition and sound production for multi-media will be allowed to count approved courses completed in Informatics, Fine Arts Studio, and the Jacobs School of Music towards completion of these electives.

Required Courses

Students must complete Indiana University General Education requirements, and the College's CASE requirements, which include the following Foundations, Intensive Writing, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Critical Approaches, Breadth of Inquiry, and Public Oral Communication requirements:

  1. Writing, same as for B.A. degree (English Composition, Intensive Writing).
  2. Mathematical Foundations, same as for B.A. degree (Mathematical Modeling) course.
  3. Foreign language, three semesters in the same language or equivalent proficiency.
  4. One Critical Approaches course.
  5. Arts and humanities, two CASE courses beyond General Education requirements
  6. Social and historical studies, two CASE courses beyond General Education requirements
  7. Natural and mathematical sciences, two CASE courses beyond General Education requirements
  8. One course in Public Oral Communication.
  9. Culture Studies: one course from Diversity in the United States and one course from Global Civilizations and Cultures (two courses altogether).

Requirements

The B.S. in Game Design course requirements are as follows:

1. The Media School Core (12 cr.), comprised of

  1. MSCH-C 101 Media, an introductory course that stakes out the large theoretical, ethical and practical concerns that drive teaching and research in The Media School (3 cr.).
  2. Three courses from the Media Core—Concept Clusters (9 cr.)**
    1. One course in Managing Media (can be fulfilled by completing MSCH-C 200 The Videogame Industry: Systems and Management).
    2. One course in Thinking Media (can be fulfilled by MSCH-C 210 Introduction to Games), and
    3. One course in Making Media.

**Students will complete one course from each list. These courses investigate the concepts, skills, and techniques students will learn in their "MSCH" classes as they map onto the complex and rapidly evolving landscape of contemporary media. The core fosters a sense of cohort identity among all majors in The Media School.

2. B.S. Game Design Foundations (2 courses, 6–7 cr.)  

  1. MSCH-C 210 Introduction to Games (3 cr.) (May count as Media Core "Thinking" course) 
  2. One of the following courses:
    • INFO-I 210 Information Infrastructure I (4 cr.)
    • ILS-Z 399 Topics in Information and Library Science (Approved topic: Introduction to Game Programming)

3. Game Design Developmental Skills courses (9 cr.)

  • MSCH-G 300 Game Production I. (3 cr.)
  • MSCH-G 310 Game Design I: Concepts (3 cr.)
  • MSCH-G 320 Game Art and Sound (3 cr.)

4. Required advanced courses in game design, production, and publication (15 cr.).    

  • MSCH-G 400 Game Production II (3 cr.)
  • MSCH-G 410 Game Design II: Systems (3 cr.)
  • MSCH-G 450 Game Workshop I: Prototype (3 cr.)
  • MSCH-G 460 Game Workshop II: Demo (3 cr.)
  • MSCH-G 470 Game Workshop III: Publication (3 cr.)

5. Students pursuing the B.S. in Game Design must choose 15 elective credit hours in addition to the required coursework listed above.

Game Design elective policies:

  • Students must complete at least 57 distinct hours in coursework applied solely towards Game Design requirements to earn the degree;
  • Any course with an MSCH subject code may be counted towards completion of the Game Design electives requirement;
  • Consult with your academic advisor for a list of eligible courses offered by departments and programs outside the Media School;
  • In consultation with the Director of Game Studies, students may petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies in The Media School to count other courses as electives in the B.S. in Game Design;
  • Courses offered by departments outside the College that are used to fulfill the elective requirement are counted as 'inside' the College's 100 credit hour standard.

**Six hours of the Media Core will be satisfied with Games Foundation Courses MSCH-C 200 The Videogame Industry and MSCH-C 210 Introduction to Games.

Students must also complete the requirements and procedures listed in this Bulletin under "CASE Credit Hour and Residency Requirements."