Minor in Game Design

Prerequisites: Students will be expected to have a passion for and interest in games. However, there are no specific prerequisites.

An introduction to the fundamental principles of game design. As with any form of art or design, the field of game design has fundamental concepts and skills that must be acquired as a basis for more advanced work. This course introduces students to the basics of design through the creation of non-digital games. Students will collaborate on making card games, board games, social games, and physical games, while learning about basic game design concepts such as systems, uncertainty, game goals, social play, and meaningful interaction. Readings, discussions, and analyses will link the work students are doing off the computer to computer and videogames.

The course will help students:

• Develop a critical vocabulary around game design and games in general.
• Understand how to analyze games as dynamic, complex systems.
• Become familiar with essential essays and readings relating to game design.
• Explore games as logical, rules-based systems.
• Design games as the human experience of players.
• Understand games as cultural phenomena that relate to larger contexts.
• Experience the iterative process of prototyping-based game design.

Introduction to Programming for Games is a course that introduces students to the concepts, problems, and methods of computer programming, and how these apply to the creation of video games. The course assumes no prior programming knowledge, and is designed to touch on the basic principles of digital design in the form of computer code. There will be an emphasis on programming fundamentals; they will be motivated through the lens of designing and producing video games.
 

Introduction to Game Development is a practical course that introduces students to the methods, tools and principles used in developing digital games. Over the course of the semester, students will work alone to create a two digital prototypes or ‘sketches’, before building on them to produce a final polished game, using the lessons learned in the earlier prototypes. This is a hands­-on, primarily lab­-based course, and so the focus is on learning ­by ­doing rather than on reading and discussion.

This course allows students to harness the power of visual language in order to convey messages and meaning. The elements of visual foundation that will be covered include components (color, texture, image and typography), composition, and concept. Although the class takes place in the Game Design department, we will be less concerned with visuals as they are applied to games and instead will look at visual communication across a wide range of disciplines, from visual art to graphic design to web and interface design. Although non-digital mediums will be addressed, the understanding and use of industry-standard software is also a primary goal. The class is about the importance of visual design, how it shapes our culture. The students will learn about and discuss widely-practiced methods of visual communication, and then find their own voice through developing their own works, driven by a clearer understanding of their own tastes and interested fields.
 

Games 101 is the foundational course for the NYU Game Center.  The focus of Games 101 is game literacy – a shared understanding of games as complex cultural and aesthetic objects. The class will incorporate lectures, discussion, readings, and writing assignments, but the primary activity of the class is critical play – playing games in order to better understand and appreciate them. The class will cover games on and off the computer, including classic and contemporary board and card games, sports, and games on the PC, internet, and consoles.