GAME DESIGN CERTIFICATE
The University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a very unique Game Design “Certificate” (essentially a minor) for its Computer Science students. The Game Design program concentrates on the specific theory and practice of creating games. This program focuses on games broadly speaking – puzzles, toys, board games, role-playing, and sport strategies. Making even simple games offers students an outlet for creative expression, simulating real-world problems, modeling positive social change, and communicating complex ideas about systems and processes.
The Game Design “Certificate” is an interdisciplinary program that gives students Computer Science the chance to develop games and test the game play. The certificate requires 18-19 credits and is jointly offered by the departments of Curriculum and Instruction, Art, and Computer Sciences.
The multi-departmental aspect is what makes this program so unique. The department of Curriculum and Instruction (Education) focuses on showing students how users learn. How does a new game player learn the rules? How does a user learn elements like movement, strategy, and game mechanics? A game developer must understand how users think and grow in the game space. The Art department makes vision and ideas become real. Students are taught to balance color, detail, background, and movement from an aesthetics perspective. Finally, the Computer Science department puts the tools in the students hands to make all of these aspects come true on the screen.
This very focused Games program offers students to take specialized courses such as Videogames & Learning (Curric 277), Game Design I & II (Curric 357 & 432), Intro to Digital Forms (Art 107), Programming I & II (Comp Sci 200 & 300), 3D Digital Studio I, II, & III (Art 429, 529, 629), and Environment Design for Virtual Storytelling Spaces (Theatre 230). This is a very rare blend of disciplines to give the students a better understanding of games and design.
The Certificate focuses on creating, testing, and understanding how to design gameplay to be fun and impactful. Students acquire the skills, understanding, and background to create and produce games independently, to develop a body of work, and to gain critical perspectives on games and game design.
Student member of the International Game Developers Association. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is the world’s largest nonprofit membership organization serving all individuals who create games. The IGDA is a global network of collaborative communities and individuals from all fields of game development, including programmers and producers, designers and artists, writers, business people, QA team members, localization experts, and everyone else who participates in the game development process.
