Bachelor of Innovation in Game Design and Development

The Bachelor of Innovation™ in Game Design and Development (GDD) is a degree within the Bachelor of Innovation family. It is a rigorous technical curriculum based heavily on programming and game design topics with important cross-disciplinary breadth in art, music and other fields. The program as a whole will let students build the foundational knowledge and develop the skills necessary to form their own independent game development companies or to pursue employment in the games industry. In addition to traditional games for entertainment, the game industry includes Serious Games (games designed for simulation and training, educational games, games for health care, and so on) and Casual Games (small, short games played in a Web browser or on a cell phone, for example).

The Bachelor of Innovation family requires an innovation core, a cross-discipline core, and a set of general education courses in addition to the rigorous technical degree. The combination of the GDD-specific coursework and the core Bachelor of Innovation™ topics and experiences will position students to form a new small company to develop entertainment and serious games; pursue a career at a traditional entertainment game development company; join a company that develops or utilizes Serious Games; or use the critical thinking, design, programming and teaming skills developed throughout the curriculum to pursue employment outside the games industry.

Learning Outcomes 

• Understand and apply game design principles in various domains
• Understand and apply programming fundamentals
• Understand and apply advanced software development techniques
• Understand and apply Innovation Core concepts in a team-based business environment

For details on degree requirements, please visit the Academic Catalog.

Introduction to Game Development GDD 1100

Introduces students to basic game development topics through game design and implementation activities. Students design, implement, and test computer games using drag-and-drop game creation tools. A small amount of programming is required.

Introductory Programming for Game Developers GDD 1200

Introduction to programming in the context of game development. Develops methods for problem solving, including the effective use of abstraction. Develops programming proficiency in a modern, object-oriented programming language. Students design, implement,and test various games and game components.

Game Design for Diverse Populations GDD 2100

Explores the various game design decisions required when targeting games for various diverse populations. Students will learn how to consider gender, ethnicity, and other diversity dimensions through numerous game design projects

Object-Oriented Analysis, Design, and Implementation GDD 2200

Students learn object-oriented analysis and design techniques including domain modeling, use case development, and sequence and class diagram creation in the game domain. Students implement their design in a small game.

Game Asset Pipelines GDD 2810

Modern games require many assets beyond code; this class focuses on how those assets make it into a game. Students will follow the asset pipeline from preproduction to integration. A variety of authoring tools and game engines will be used.

Commercial Game Development Practicum GDD 4900 

Students in this course individually design and develop a game available to the public for purchase or free play. Developed games will be unique student Intellectual Property and will be commercial-quality implementations of student game concepts.

For details on program coursework, please visit the Academic Catalog.

To learn more about admission requirements and the application process, please visit the UCCS Admissions page.

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