Nov 22, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog

Video Game Development, BS


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

Degree Requirements


Graduates of Northwest University with a BS in Video Game Development will graduate with the skills necessary to not only design interactive video games, but also take the next step in game development. This BS degree combines the BA with a set of courses from another Creatio degree programs, allowing the student to focus on the programming of Video Games, the design of the user experience, and the video production. 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 and also have a desire to specialize on one of the three areas of concentration.

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/Software Developer
  • Video Game Storyteller/Writer
  • Video Game Cinematographer/Video Producer

Program Outcomes 

Graduates with a Bachelor of Science 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. Conceptualize new 2D and 3D video game interfaces.
  3. Compose a compelling video game storyline.
  4. Construct accessible but challenging game mechanics.
  5. Complete one aspect of video game development: software, user interface, video or audio.
  6. Apply concepts and methods learned in this major to designing solutions in the context of team-based projects.
  7. Articulate how your faith informs your work in the field of Video Game Design. 

 

Core Curriculum Requirements: 42


Humanities: 3


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

  • 3 credits selected from the following:

Art (ARTE), Bible (BIBL), Drama (DRAM), English (ENGL), History (HIST), Language (LANG), Music (MUSI), or Theology (THEO) 

Social Sciences: 6


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:

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)

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

Science and Mathematics: 7


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

Pre-Major Recommendations: 3


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

Pre-Major Requirements: 15


Pre-Major requirements may be applied to the Core Curriculum requirements or General Electives

Major Requirements: 46


Concentrations: 12


Select from one of the following concentrations, detailed below

General Electives 4-22


Any college-level courses

Total: 122 Semester Credits


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