East Tennessee State University’s Digital Media program is excited to announce the Interaction and Game Design concentration starting in FALL 2012. After working for several years to develop a game design curriculum specializing in 3D game design implementing the latest gaming technologies from game engines to high poly sculpting the new Interaction and Game Design concentration is here, pending TBR approval.
This concentration will grant a bachelor of science in digital media, and will cover the genre of a level design and development as it relates to the current gaming and interaction industry.
Students will begin with a core of digital media classes as they relate to modeling, animation, visualization and interaction. As the students’ progress through the degree they will be exposed to modeling, game scripting, production and special effects. The new concentration places emphasis on the technical aspects of building levels and worlds for games.
The program culminates with students creating a portfolio that incorporates design, scripting, models, textures, materials, and gameplay. This portfolio can help students in their segue from student to entry level game design professional.
Here are some comments from past graduates of East Tennessee State Universities Digital Media Program.
The game design classes at ETSU put me ahead of the curve. I highly recommend taking their game design classes to anyone who is serious about making games.
Leigh-Ann Cox, QA at Gearbox Software
When I started ETSU’s Digital Media program, I knew that I wanted to do something in the games industry but I hadn’t figured out exactly what. Luckily, the gaming courses allowed me to create projects that focused on many aspects of content creation, such as environment art, level design, scripting, and lighting. From there, I branched off into real-time game effects and had the opportunity to take independent study courses so I could focus on my goals. I also had the chance to go to conferences like SIGGRAPH, GDC, and ECGC which allowed me to see the industry from a real-world perspective, to network with industry professionals, and get feedback on my portfolio. Overall, ETSU had an immense impact on my career and helped me break in to a very competitive industry.
Ryan Hoss, FX at Vicious Cycle Softwareline
Since my time at ETSU in the DIGM program I have worked at two game studios, shipped three game titles including the multiplatform AAA title RAGE, and I am currently working on development of a multinational mobile game engine. Without having been provided the knowledge and guidance from the game development courses I took at ETSU I would not have had the skills or opportunity to be where I am today. Not many people can say,” I love going to work” but I can. I get to develop, play, and break video games for a living. I hope that more students can have the same opportunity that I had in learning game development terminology, game design, and game engine tools to prepare them for their dream job in the game industry.
Philip Hake, Quality Assurance Analyst at GameSalad
