Video Game Design Degree Indiana

People crowding around displays at tables during Capstone event. A man speaks with a man and woman standing behind a table displaying a board game and a display on a computer screen.

Game Design and Development specialization

Transforming ideas into immersive environments

You can be among those who turn dreams into reality, by earning a specialty in Game Design and Development at the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI as part of your bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Science.

Game developers have the power to entertain and educate, creating products that transport users to the outer fringes of space … or become tools for better medical diagnosis.

Lots of people have ideas for games. But at IUPUI you'll learn the skills to take your idea from theory to finished product as you work with other students in business-based groups.

Together you'll brainstorm, research, program, illustrate, and pitch your concept, whether it's a board game, mobile game, or video game design.

Sound like a lot of work? It is! But it's fun and rewarding — and if you love games, this is the work you can be doing.

Careers in game development and design include:

Augmented reality designer
Augmented reality developer
Game designer
Game developer
Game producer
Game production artist

Technical designer
Unity developer
Unreal developer
Virtual reality designer
Virtual reality developer

Teaming up to take off

Media Arts Research Learning Arcade at the IUPUI School of Informatics and Computing

We'll teach you how to shape your inspiration and take it to amazing places. Students form teams to build games from the ground up, learning to use professional software and equipment in our Media Arts and Science Research and Learning Arcade (MARLA) to create breathtaking, immersive experiences for users.

Even relatively simple games rely on teams with expertise in many areas. Your hands-on game development projects cover everything from scriptwriting, concept art, and game testing to user experience technology and digital animation and sound.

A goal-driven gaming program

Faculty mentor students to produce published projects—the kind that can lead to professional game development jobs.

Project management

Balancing creative and business skills, we show you how to work in a production setting to develop, pitch, budget, and ultimately publish and produce a game project as part of a team.

Experience essential

You may never fly a spaceship. But your real-world experiences—whether you're an amateur astronomer, a puzzle enthusiast, or a part-time bartender—can lend authenticity to your game design, and help to create an immersive user experience. Bring your expertise and your passions outside of gaming to the table and join our creative culture.

View the plan of study

"The challenge is to keep games smarter, more engaging, more rigorous."

Mathew A. Powers, Media Arts and Science lecturer

Getting serious about games

The technologies you'll master have relevance far beyond your PS4 and Nintendo Switch. You may choose to develop simulations and serious games used for traffic control, inventory management, military, and even surgical applications.

The skills you learn can make a difference. Our students have created health education games to help children with diabetes, as well as games to raise awareness of environmental and social issues. These kinds of real-world projects not only impress prospective employers … they're proof that games have the power to change lives.

Our alumni work at:

Local

Bottom Line Performance
Plow Digital
Half Full Nelsen
Vision3 Interactive

National

Blizzard (Irvine, California)
Gearbox Software (Frisco, Texas)
HTC (Taipei, Taiwan)
Owlchemy Labs (Austin, Texas)
Pipeworks Studios (Eugene, Oregon)
Rockstar Games (San Diego)
Treyarch (Santa Monica, California)