B.F.A. in Digital Game Design and Development
The game industry is expanding rapidly, surpassing $108 billion in yearly revenue. There are currently over 65,000 people employed in the games industry in the United States. At LIU Post’s Digital Game Design and Development program, students will master highly versatile and in-demand skills across all areas of game development.
The Digital Game Design and Development program at LIU Post offers a project-based curriculum that allows students to develop the skills needed to create video games in a professional environment including game design, computer programming, and visual design. The program focuses heavily on game creation. During their time at LIU Post, students work on several solo and group projects, giving them a chance to develop a broad range of game-creation skills. Before graduating, students complete a capstone thesis project that can be used as a portfolio piece on a job application or as an independent commercial project.
This rigorous program prepares students for a career in the game industry as well as other related industries. LIU Post’s proximity to New York City’s vibrant commercial and artistic communities provides students with opportunities to interact with important figures in the game industry and helps them develop career opportunities.
Key program features:
- Game Industry Expert Faculty: Led by Independent Games Festival and IndieCade Festival award-winning game developer and educator Ramiro Corbetta, who co-developed Sportsfriends for Playstation 4 and PC/Mac/Linux.
- Digital Games Lab: Classes are taught in a digital games lab featuring computers, projectors, TV screens, modern game consoles, virtual reality equipment, and a variety of the latest software.
- Instructional Approach: Collaborative environment modeled after real-world game studios that teaches the art of teamwork while students master game development expertise. Students get their hands dirty right away and learn the craft of making games by actually making games.
- Experiential Learning: Students have easy access to New York City and the vibrant game development community there, including renowned game studios such as Rockstar Games, Avalanche Studios, Dots, and MLB Advanced Media. Students also have access to the on-campus LIU Post Student Innovation Incubator, a physical and virtual workspace for students to launch startup businesses and collaborate with successful entrepreneurs.
Our Lab
Our lab has Macs with 24" screens and all the software needed to play and develop games along with two large projectors and a flat screen to display them. In addition to the lab where classes are held, our games workshop provides space for students to work and experiment with our state of the art virtual reality setup.
Studios
The New York City area features lots of game development studios where students can get jobs and internships. These are some of the larger companies in New York:
Every Digital Game Design & Development student must take all the required courses listed below before graduating. Courses marked with an asterisk* have prerequisites. Look at the appropriate section of the course bulletin to find the prerequisites for each course.
| Major Requirements | ||
| Required Digital Game Design Courses | ||
| DGD 1 | Introduction to Game Design | 3.00 |
| DGD 2 | Games Through History | 3.00 |
| DGD 3 | Game Studies | 3.00 |
| DGD 4 | Digital Game Development 1 | 3.00 |
| DGD 5 | Digital Game Development 2* | 3.00 |
| DGD 6 | Digital Game Development 3* | 3.00 |
| DGD 20 | Level Design For Games* | 3.00 |
| DGD 21 | Visual Design for Games | 3.00 |
| DGD 22 | Audio Design for Games | 3.00 |
| CGPH 16 | Digital Imaging | 3.00 |
| CGPH 20 | 3-D Modeling & Animation 1* | 3.00 |
| DGD 90 | Senior Game Prototyping* | 3.00 |
| DGD 91 | Senior Game Project* | 3.00 |
| Elective Digital Game Design Courses (30 credits) | ||
| Students must complete 30 credits worth of Digital Game Design Electives Classes marked with * have prerequisites In addition to the classes listed here, any DGD class not already listed in the Core Course listing count for elective credit. |
||
| CS 101 | Problem Solving | 3.00 |
| CS 106 | Foundations Web Design & Development | 3.00 |
| CS 111 | Object Oriented Programming I* | 3.00 |
| CS 116 | Intermediate Data Structures and Algorithms* | 3.00 |
| CS 127 | Introduction to Game Design (CS)* | 3.00 |
| CS 133 | Analysis & Logic Design | 3.00 |
| CS 231 | Database Fundamentals* | 3.00 |
| CS 237 | Human-Computer Interaction* | 3.00 |
| CS 245 | Working in a Team Environment* | 3.00 |
| CS 254 | Artificial Intelligence and Games* | 3.00 |
| CS 257 | Computer Graphics* | 3.00 |
| CS 263 | Game Progrmaming I* | 3.00 |
| CS 267 | Scientific Foundations for Games* | 3.00 |
| CS 271 | Game Programming II* | 3.00 |
| CGPH 7 | Digital Illustration 1 | 3.00 |
| CGPH 8 | Digital Illustration 2 (Prerequisite: CGPH 7) | 3.00 |
| CGPH 9 | Digital Typography* | 3.00 |
| CGPH 11 | Interaction Design 1 | 3.00 |
| CGPH 14 | Interaction Design 2* | 3.00 |
| CGPH 18 | Digital Imaging Synthesis* | 3.00 |
| CGPH 21 | 3-D Modeling and Animation 2* | 3.00 |
| ART 1 | Introduction to Visual Arts | 3.00 |
| ART 5 | Introduction to Basic Drawing | 3.00 |
| ART 11 | Life Drawing | 3.00 |
| ART 12 | Life Drawing 2* | 3.00 |
| ENG 182 | Introduction to Creative Writing* | 3.00 |
| ENG 282 | Fiction Writing* | 3.00 |
| ENG 285 | Screenwriting* | 3.00 |
| MTH 3 | College Algebra and Trigonometry* | 3.00 |
| MTH 7 | Calculus and Analytic Geometry I* | 3.00 |
| MTH 19 | Basic Statistics | 3.00 |
| BDST 4 | Digital Audio Production* | 3.00 |
| BDST 11 | Production Essentials: Audio | 3.00 |
| CMA 10 | Media Law and Ethics | 3.00 |
| MUS 1 | Introduction to Musical Concepts | 3.00 |
| MUS 2 | Elementary Musicianship | 3.00 |
| MUS 14A | Introduction to Music Technology | 3.00 |
| MUS 14B | Intermediate/Advanced MIDI Sequencing* | 3.00 |
| MUS 14C | Intermediate/Advanced Notation* | 3.00 |
| CIN 25 | Animation and Computer Graphics Workshop | 3.00 |
| CIN 26 | Intermediate Animation and Computer Graphics Workshop* | 3.00 |
| CIN 27 | Advaned Animation and Computer Graphics Workshop* | 3.00 |
CONTACT
College of Arts, Communications & Design
Dr. Jennifer Holmes, Dean
Kahn 100, Kahn Hall
Post-CACD@LIU.edu
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