Game Studies & Design Minor
for the Undergraduate Minor in Game Studies & Design
The Game Studies & Design Minor is intended to foster critical skills in academic game studies, and technical skills in game design. The minor will serve undergraduates who are interested in the study and design of games, gaming, game design and the digital, extended and virtual reality (XR/VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies involved with the crafting of interactive systems and interfaces relevant to the game, film, education, and media industries, as well as a range of other emerging professions. Through this minor, students will learn to think critically about the history, cultural meaning, social impact, ethics, and increasingly significant role of games, gaming, and interactive media in a diverse society; they will develop the logical, algorithmic, narrative, and design capacities needed to make games, interactive narratives, and simulations; and they will become prepared for graduate work, if desired, on a path to pursuing a career in the game industry or in academic game studies research.
for the Undergraduate Minor in Game Studies & Design
The program requires 18 credit hours of undergraduate coursework, for which students must complete 9 credit hours of foundational coursework, and 9 credit hours of elective coursework.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Required Foundational Courses | ||
| Introduction to Game Studies and Design | ||
| A minimum of one 100-200 level historical/social perspectives course. | ||
Choose from the following: | ||
| Introduction to the Videogame Industry | ||
| Social History of Games and Gaming | ||
| Let’s Play: Understanding the Role of Play in Life and Art | ||
| A minimum of one 100-200 level introductory game design course. | ||
Choose from the following: | ||
| The Basics of Game Design | ||
| Introduction to Digital Learning Environments | ||
| Electives | ||
Students must choose a minimum of three elective courses, at least 2 at the 300-400 level, from the lists below. | ||
Electives from the College of Applied Health Sciences
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| COMMUNITY HEALTH | ||
| CHLH 441 | Health Behavior and Technology | 3 or 4 |
| KINESIOLOGY | ||
| KIN 346 | Case Study: Endless Summer | 3 |
| KIN 369 | Coaching Strategies | 3 |
| KIN 442 | Body, Culture & Society | 3 or 4 |
| KIN 474 | Tech-Driven Health Intervention | 3 or 4 |
| RECREATION, SPORT AND TOURISM | ||
| RST 199 | Undergraduate Open Seminar (Section ESF only) | 1 to 5 |
Electives from the College of Education
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION | ||
| CI 210 | Introduction to Digital Learning Environments (Can only be used for either a foundational required course OR an elective course, but not both) | 3 |
| CI 437 | Educational Game Design | 3 or 4 |
| CI 439 | Critiques of Educational Technology | 3 or 4 |
| CI 483 | Computer Systems for CS Teachers | 2 |
| CI 499 | Issues and Development in Education (Sections "Attention Learning & Tech" and "Technology Apps for Teachers" only) | 2 to 4 |
Electives from the College of Fine & Applied Arts
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE & APPLIED ARTS | ||
| FAA 499 | Special Topics (Section "Escape Rooms as Interactive Theatre" only) | 0 to 4 |
| ART | ||
| ART 310 | Design Thinking | 3 |
| ART 350 | Writing with Video | 3 |
| ART 499 | Special Topics in Art | 1 to 4 |
| ARTD 318 | Interaction Design | 2 |
| ARTD 418 | Advanced Interaction Design | 3 |
| ARTD 451 | Ethics of a Designer in a Global Economy | 4 |
| ARTD 499 | Special Topics in Design | 1 to 4 |
| ARTJ 301 | Manga: The Art of Image and Word | 3 |
| ARTJ 302 | Intro to Japanese Animation | 3 |
| ARTS 320 | Fashion and Textiles Design | 3 |
| ARTS 340 | The Art of 3D Imaging | 3 |
| ARTS 444 | Interaction II | 3 or 4 |
| ARTS 445 | Special Topics in New Media | 3 or 4 |
| ARTS 499 | Special Topics in Studio Art | 1 to 4 |
| DANCE | ||
| DANC 256 | Choreographic Laboratory I (Section JT only) | 1 |
| DANC 330 | Dance Documentation | 1 |
| DANC 405 | Social Impact through Motion/Media Arts + Technology | 3 |
| DANC 465 | Screendance | 3 |
| MUSIC | ||
| MUS 209 | Musical Acoustics (Acoustics for Musicians) | 3 |
| MUS 407 | Elect Music Techniques I | 3 |
| MUS 409 | Elec Music Techniques II | 2 |
| MUS 499 | Proseminar in Music (Sections "Audio Coding with SuperCollider", "Audio Recording Techniques I", and "Critical Audio Listening for Audio Engineers" only) | 0 to 4 |
| THEATRE | ||
| THEA 409 | Stage Management Workshop | 3 or 4 |
| THEA 410 | Dramaturgs Workshop | 3 or 4 |
| THEA 411 | Playwrights' Workshop | 3 |
| THEA 418 | Devising Social Issues Theatre | 3 or 4 |
| THEA 426 | History of Decor | 3 |
| THEA 427 | Scenic Painting I | 3 |
| THEA 428 | Scenic Painting II | 3 |
| THEA 445 | Costume History I | 3 |
| THEA 448 | Costume Crafts | 3 |
| THEA 453 | Introduction to Theatre Sound | 3 |
| THEA 455 | Sound Design II | 3 |
| THEA 456 | Properties Design | 3 |
| THEA 461 | Introduction to Media Design | 3 or 4 |
Electives from the Grainger College of Engineering
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| COMPUTER SCIENCE | ||
| CS 415 | Game Development | 3 or 4 |
| CS 418 | Interactive Computer Graphics | 3 or 4 |
| CS 419 | Production Computer Graphics | 3 or 4 |
Electives from the School of Information Sciences
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GAME STUDIES & DESIGN | ||
| GSD 399 | Advanced Individual Study | 0 to 3 |
| GSD 403 | An Introduction to Top Down Video Game Design | 3 |
| GSD 405 | Introduction to the Video Game Development Process | 3 |
| GSD 409 | Design & Programming of Narrative Games & Simulations | 3 or 4 |
| INFORMATICS | ||
| INFO 303 | Writing Across Media | 3 |
| INFO 416 | Makerspace: Game Studies | 3 or 4 |
| INFO 418 | Makerspace: Escape Rooms | 3 or 4 |
| INFO 424 | Musical Informatics | 3 or 4 |
| INFO 448 | Computer Music | 3 or 4 |
| INFORMATION SCIENCES | ||
| IS 142 | Social History of Games and Gaming | 3 |
| IS 145 | Mapping Inequalities | 3 |
| IS 357 | Introduction to Data Storytelling | 3 |
| IS 410 | Storytelling | 2 to 4 |
| IS 426 | Museum Informatics | 4 |
| IS 436 | Playful Design Methods | 3 or 4 |
Electives from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGLISH | ||
| ENGL 253 | Topics in Literature and New Media | 3 |
| ENGL 277 | Gender in Gaming | 3 |
| ENGL 396 | English Honors Seminar (Section "Games Telling Stories" only) | 3 |
Electives from the College of Media
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ADVERTISING | ||
| ADV 390 | Content Creation | 3 |
| JOURNALISM | ||
| JOUR 101 | Interactive Media & You | 3 |
| JOUR 430 | Augmented and Virtual Reality | 3 or 4 |
| JOUR 460 | Special Topics (Section "Basic Video Production" only) | 1 to 4 |
| MEDIA AND CINEMA STUDIES | ||
| MACS 323 | Studies Film/Media Production | 1 to 3 |
| MACS 326 | New Media, Culture & Society | 3 |
| MACS 370 | Cinematography and Sound Design | 4 |
| MACS 371 | Editing and Post-production for Cinema | 4 |
| MACS 372 | Screenwriting | 3 |
| MACS 480 | Advanced Filmmaking | 3 |
| MACS 481 | Advanced Filmmaking Studio | 3 |
| MACS 485 | Making Video Essays | 3 or 4 |
| MACS 496 | Advanced Media/Cinema Topics (Sections "Collaboration in Interactive and Immersive Media" and "Advanced Media Practicum" only) | 3 or 4 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MINIMUM TOTAL HOURS | 18 | |
for the Undergraduate Minor in Game Studies & Design
After completing requirements for the degree, students should be able to:
• think critically about the history, cultural meaning, social impact, ethical issues, and increasingly significant role of games, gaming, and interactive media in a diverse society.
• understand the basic principles of game design as distinct from other design traditions
• apply the logical thinking skills (computational, algorithmic, or narrative-based) sufficient to create a design document and to prototype a game, or game-like app or simulation.
These student learning objectives correspond with three assessment questions that will guide a yearly collection of data that will be used for finding answers to the following three questions:
• Can our students demonstrate a critical understanding of the history, culture, social impact and ethical issues surrounding games and gaming?
• Do our majors understand the basic principles of game design?
• Have our minors successfully developed the logical thinking skills necessary to design and prototype a game in any genre of their choosing (i.e. video games require different skills from interactive text games, from board games).
for the Undergraduate Minor in Game Studies & Design
Contact: Katryna Starks PH: (217) 333-5518
Game Studies & Design Minor website
Email: game-studies@illinois.edu