Game Design and Development (B.S.)

Electronic gaming has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world today.  It is used also for education, training and other important purposes.  The U.S. video game industry generated nearly $18 billion in sales in 2007, up 43 percent from 2006, according to The NPD Group, a consumer and retail information provider. The industry is expected to continue to grow in 2008.

Southern New Hampshire University’s game design and development degree program lets you decide whether you want to be the master storyteller who dreams up the mission, theme, plot, visuals and rules of a game, or the mastermind who focuses on game production and the business of gaming. You choose between a liberal arts focus, which emphasizes School of Liberal Arts courses, or a business focus, which incorporates School of Business courses.

The game design and development major emphasizes the creative, interactive storylines and environments of games and will give you a competitive edge in the technologies of game development. You’ll be prepared to seek entry-level employment as generalists able to multitask in modeling, storyboard, animation, broadcast graphics design, video post-production and 3-D illustration.

B.A./B.S. Core
Business Core

Graduation Requirements

• SNHU 101 First Year Seminar: Fundamentals of Critical Thinking
  or
• Free Elective (transfer students with 15 or more credits and CE students only)

Game Design and Development Major Courses

• IT/GAM 135 - Interactive 3-D Virtual Environments
• IT/GAM 207 - Information Technology and Digital Games
• IT/GAM 303 - Design of Virtual Game Environments
• IT/GAM 305 - Digital Game Development
• IT/GAM 430 - 3D Modeling and Animation
• IT/GAM 450 - Artificial Intelligence for eBusiness
• IT/GAM 465 - Digital Multimedia Development

Select four courses in one of the following tracks:

Interactive Storytelling and Supporting Arts

• ENG 327 - Play Writing Workshop
• ENG 329 - Fiction Writing Workshop
• LIT 301 - World Mythology
• LIT 305 - Popular Fiction
• COM 327 - Screenwriting for Media Arts

Visual and Audio Design

• COM 230 - Graphics and Layout in Print Media
• FAS 310 - Illustration
• GRA 320 - Introduction to Digital Imaging
• COM 345 - Animation and Visual Effects
• GRA 410 - Advanced Digital Graphic Design
• GRA 420 - Advanced Digital Imaging
• IT 205 - Digital Music

Game Development and Supporting Technologies

• IT 201 - Computer Platform Technologies
• IT 230 - Software Development With C#.Net
• IT 232 - Software Development w/C++.NET
• IT 315 - Object Oriented Analysis and Design
• IT 330 - Database Design and Management
• IT 340 - Network and Telecommunication Management

Psychology and Marketing of Games

• ADV 428 - Promotional Research & Media Measurement
• MKT 229 - Principles of Advertising
• MKT 345 - Consumer Behavior
• PSY 305 - Cognitive Psychology
• PSY 257 - Social Psychology
• PSY 216 - Psychology of Personality

Game Production & the Business of Gaming

• OL 320 Entrepreneurship
• OL 342 Organizational Behavior
• QSO 340 Introduction to Project Management
• ECO 402 Business Cycles and Forecasting
• IT 467 Digital Commerce and eBusiness