BACHELOR OF ARTS
GAME ART This program provides fundamental artistic skills, which provide the foundation for a career in the game development industry. This program contains art theory and design skills, alongside game design principles in a hands-on, highly technical program. You’ll engage with game and level design, 2D and 3D art, and interactive audio production and may choose to focus on writing for interactive media. You’ll apply these skills through collaborative group projects in a studio-like environment using industry-standard practices to produce games and/or other interactive experiences.
CHOOSE YOUR FOCUS With two focus areas —art and writing— USV’s nationally ranked Game Art degree program is your launchpad for a career in the creative side of game design. Focusing on environments, characters, story and more, you’ll learn how to create the elements that breathe life into the game play experience.
GAME WRITER
GAME ARTIST
As a game writer, you are immersed in the narrative side of game design. You’ll build on a strong foundation in traditional storytelling concepts, including story structure, character development, and world-building that focuses on the best methods of applying these principles to the interactive game space.
As a game artist, you will develop your own aesthetic and learn how to use visual language. As you progress through the program, you will work with industry-standard tools to deliver immersive visual elements to a variety of games.
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING USV focuses on Project-Based Learning — a teaching method by which students gain knowledge and skills by investigating and responding to authentic, engaging, and complex challenges. As a result, you’ll not only develop technical knowledge and skills, but you’ll develop critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills. These unique projects are an integral part of USV’s curriculum:
Game Development
Narrative Design
Game Studio
All students start creating games from their first semester. You learn the fundamentals of design by creating board games and paper prototypes. From there, you progress to smaller video games in a variety of genres, all the way to complete and published video games. By the time you graduate,
In this course, you’ll learn the increasingly common role of the narrative designer and its relationship to storytelling, game design, systems planning, scope analysis, scheduling, and more. As a narrative designer you will also take on the lead narrative role on a large, simulated video game project, learning how to allocate resources, mentor junior writers, react to changing circumstances, and make crucial storytelling decisions.
Game Studio enables interdisciplinary collaboration between our various majors in the creation of interactive experiences. Students have the opportunity to work with external clients that mimic the experience of working in a professional studio.
you will have completed many games — both as an individual and in teams — for various platforms using multiple engines.
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USV & PROGRAM FEATURES
“HANDS-ON PROJECTS AND
ABOUT
ACCESS TO FACULTY WITH DEEP
• WSCUC Accredited — USV is a four-year, regionally accredited college. • Financial aid, scholarships, and housing are available to those who qualify.
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE, PROVIDE
• Fully immersive learning environment that mimics real business situations.
OUR STUDENTS WITH AN ARRAY OF
• Courses typically taught by professionals with years of experience in their fields.
VALUABLE SKILLS, WHETHER THEY
TIMEFRAME
ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A
While typical bachelor’s programs span four years, you can complete USV’s
GAME DESIGNER, ARTIST, WRITER
Bachelor of Arts in Game Art program in less than three years.
OR PROGRAMMER.”
AVAILABILITY
— EVAN SKOLNICK, PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE GAME DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
• Silicon Valley Campus • 100% Online
Upon successful completion of the program, you’ll have the ability to:
PROGRAM BENEFITS
• Demonstrate game design principles and best practices through the development of engaging, interactive media.
• Evaluate and critique user-centered design approaches and their implementation within interactive media. • Collaborate as part of a multidisciplinary project and demonstrate professionalism in a team environment.
• Develop and express a unique aesthetic and demonstrate clear comprehension of visual design principles.
• Demonstrate a career-ready understanding of game design and production through a published portfolio and professional identity.
POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS
VIDEO GAME MARKET VALUE WORLDWIDE
A Bachelor of Arts in Game Art degree can open the
• $159.3 billion in 2020
door to such careers as:
• $200 billion by 2023
• Level Artist
• 3D Modeler /Texture Artist
• 2.7 billion gamers worldwide 2020
• Game Designer
• Character Animator
• Gaming is the most lucrative entertainment
• Game Producer
• User Interface Designer
• Character Artist: 2D or 3D
• Game Writer/Narrative
• Animator
industry by far, worth $145.7b in 2019, compared to $42.5b in Box Office earnings and $20.2b for Music. --Statista, 2020 C
Designer
REAL WORLD PROJECT STUDIOS™
HISTORY & CONNECTIONS
Students have the opportunity to not only collaborate between
Established in 1887, USV has a strong history of collaborating with
majors, but to work directly with industry on real-world
Silicon Valley industries. Advisory Boards are filled with industry
deliverables that allow them to leave with an exceptional and
leaders that offer internships, course content, guest lecturers, and
desirable portfolio.
career placement.
INDUSTRY FACULTY
RELEVANT CONTENT
Distinguished faculty with extensive industry experience teach
Inspired by the spirit of our Silicon Valley location, we quickly
the latest techniques and practices used by professionals in
adapt our curriculum to the latest needs of employers by being
the field.
forward-thinking and agile.
PERSONAL ATTENTION
GRADUATE FASTER
As a private college, our small class sizes enable our faculty to
Our innovative program structure was designed with efficiency
help students who need more personal attention and mentor
and effectiveness in mind. Our full-time students can finish faster,
those who are driven to excel.
save money, and graduate with real-world skills and experience.
For important regulatory information, please visit our disclosures page at usv.edu/disclosures. USV-22-02-002