May 17, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-UNDER REVIEW 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-UNDER REVIEW

Video Game Design, BA


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Center Creatio Center for Technology, Media and Design
Academic Award Bachelor of Arts
Credits Required 122
Faculty Lead Craig Chapman
CIP Code 50.0411

Degree Requirements


Graduates of Northwest University with a BA in Video Game Design will graduate with the skills necessary design interactive video games. Our students will develop a skillset that includes ability to design compelling user interfaces, exciting gameplay, and immersive game worlds. The students who will want to pursue this major include not only “gamers”, but also those who love creativity and design, enjoy the study of human behavior, and have an active imagination and love for storytelling. Some amount of mathematical, mechanical and spatial acuity is certainly helpful. Our goal in this degree program will be to prepare students for the following career roles: 

  • Video Game Design
  • Video Game Producer
  • Video Game Programmer/Developer
  • Video Game Storyteller/Writer
  • Video Game Quality Assurance
  • Video Game Level Designer 

Program Outcomes 

Graduates with a Bachelor of Arts in Video Game Development will be able to: 

  1. Apply the iterative approach of “design thinking” methods to the design of a novel video game.
  2. Define new 2D and 3D video game interfaces.
  3. Compose a compelling video game storyline.
  4. Construct accessible but challenging game mechanics.
  5. Apply concepts and methods learned in this major to designing solutions in the context of teambased projects.
  6. Articulate how your faith informs your work in the field of Video Game Design. 

 

Core Curriculum Requirements: 57


Humanities: 9


6 credits in this area must be from Writing Practice courses* (see Course Descriptions    for applicability)

  • ENGL xxx3 Any Literature course 3 credits
  • HIST   xxx3 Any Course in History 3 credits
  • 3 additional credits selected from the following 3 credits
    • Art (ARTE), Bible (BIBL), Drama (DRAM), English (ENGL), History (HIST), Language (LANG), Music (MUSI), or Theology (THEO)

Social Sciences: 9


6 credits in this area must be from Writing Practice courses* (see Course Descriptions  for applicability)

  • Select a minimum of two disciplines from the following: 9 credits
    • Business Administration (BUSM), Communication (except COMM 1213), Economics, Education (EDUC), Exercise Science (EXSC), Geography (GEOG), Information Technology (INTC), Management (BMGT), Marketing (BMKT), Philosophy (PHIL), Political Science (PSCI), Psychology (PSYC), Sociology/Anthropology (SOCI), or User Experience Design (UXDE)

Science and Mathematics: 7


  • MATH xxxx - College-level Mathematics 3 credits
  • SCIE xxxx - Science course with Lab 4 credits

Formation and Calling: 3


Professional Readiness: 2


Two Core Curriculum elective credits are required to be Career Readiness credits. These credits can be earned by taking a combination of Career Readiness Courses and introductory internship and/or job shadowing experiences. 

  • This two-credit requirement is waived for students who transfer 57 or more credits to NU
  • Students with 44-56 transfer credits are required to take one Career Readiness credit

Core Electives: 6


Select any college-level courses

Pre-Major Recommendations: 6


These classes are strongly recommended, and credits may be applied to the Core Curriculum or General Electives 

Pre-Major Requirements: 9


Major Requirements: 46


General Electives 10-19


Select any college-level courses

Total: 122 Semester Credits


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