At which campus can I study this program?
Program Description
Game Development is the craft of transforming a concept into an engaging interactive form. This craft is highly interdisciplinary, requiring students to answer questions about the human condition (what makes a game fun), about psychology (what makes an interface engaging), about aesthetics (what makes something pleasing), and about technical considerations (how to implement a game). Students pursuing the Game Development minor are required to explore a variety of disciplines in the breadth component. Often these classes will also be qualified as general education. Disciplinary depth in selected areas is achieved in the depth component. Finally, student teams complete a capstone design class, working in teams to complete a project from concept to implementation.
What is Game Development?
Game development is the art and science of transforming a gaming concept into an engaging interactive product. This requires interdisciplinary thinking: What makes a game fun in terms of design and gameplay perspectives? What makes a story compelling? How do you build game levels that tell stories and challenge players? How should the playable and non-playable characters look? What are the technical requirements needed to pull the story, the design, and the functional mechanics together? And how do you pitch your game like a professional would?
You Might Like This Program If...
- You’re proud to call yourself a gamer.
- You can see yourself coding for Minecraft, mapping new levels for Candy Crush, or writing storylines for Call of Duty.
- You’d like to add a technical component to a liberal arts degree program.
Program Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Requirements for the Minor | 18 |
Requirements for the Minor
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| GAME 220 | Introduction to Game Design  | 3 |
| GAME 250 | Technical Game Development | 3 |
| GAME 480 | Game Development Project | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to the Psychology of Human Factors Engineering | ||
| Select 6 credits of 400-level GAME courses (excluding GAME 480) | 6 | |
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
Erie
Elisa Beshero-Bondar, Ph.D.
Program Chair and Professor of Digital Humanities
128 Kochel Center
Erie, PA 16563
814-898-6208
eeb4@psu.edu
Lehigh Valley
Jeffrey Stone
Assistant Professor, Information Sciences and Technology
2809 Saucon Valley Road
Center Valley, PA 18034-8447
610-285-5000
jas86@psu.edu
Wilkes-Barre
Jeff Chiampi
Assistant Teaching Professor
44 University Drive
Dallas, PA 18612
570-675-9237
jdc308@psu.edu
Career Paths
The minor in Game Development can be pursued by students in most Penn State Behrend degree programs. This interdisciplinary minor teaches game programming, design, animation, production, and quality assurance. Above all, the minor offers you coherent and clear knowledge about the video game industry. Penn State Behrend has a comprehensive support system to help you identify and achieve your goals for college and beyond. Meet with your academic adviser often and take advantage of the services offered by the Academic and Career Planning Center beginning in your first semester.
Careers
Interactive entertainment is a growing industry, and one that hires college graduates from nearly every academic discipline. Network engineers and marketers, software developers and psychologists, accountants and arts administrators—all can make a career within the field.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES WITH A MINOR IN GAME DEVELOPMENT
Opportunities for Graduate Studies
The size of the interactive entertainment industry and growing adoption of virtual and augmented reality technology have created many graduate-level educational opportunities. You can further tailor your education with advanced training in such fields as the mechanics of game design, animation, motion capture, data structure, artificial intelligence, quality assurance, and game marketing.
Contact
Erie
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
242 Jack Burke Research and Economic Development Center
5101 Jordan Road
Erie, PA 16563
814-898-6153
engineering@psu.edu
https://behrend.psu.edu/school-of-engineering
Lehigh Valley
2809 Saucon Valley Road
Center Valley, PA 18034-8447
610-285-5000
jas86@psu.edu
Wilkes-Barre
44 University Drive
Dallas, PA 18612
570-675-9237
jdc308@psu.edu
https://wilkesbarre.psu.edu/academics/minors/game-development