Video Game Design Courses & Degrees

The increased number and breadth of video game design degrees parallels the soaring popularity of the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. Emerging consoles, increased graphics capabilities and explosive growth in the mobile device market are changing the ways video games are accessed and played, and creating a new world of career opportunities for video game designers, developers and artists.

Universities, colleges and private computer schools now offer a range of training programs in the hottest game design domains, including mobile video game design, game art & storytelling, online multiplayer game development and UI design. Compare the top-rated video game design degrees & certificates in the U.S. and online below.

Top-Rated Video Game Design Online Degree Programs

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Video Game Design Courses, Degrees & Certificates

Compare the top-reviewed undergrad and graduate degrees, professional certificates, online training programs and self-paced courses matching the video game designer career track.

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Which Game Design Degree Program is Right For You?

Video game design courses & degrees focus on three main disciplines - Design, Art, and Programming (a.k.a. development). Your personal interests & passion, and the type of job you wish to acquire will determine which video game design education program is your best fit. Some video game design colleges offer certificates and degrees that fit neatly into a single game design discipline, while other training programs combine two or even all three gaming domains for a more well-rounded video game design education. Here is a breakdown of the three disciplines, including the skills and courses you should look for in a video game design college degree program for entering each one:

Designers Designers are the video game dreamers. Game designers imagine all aspects of the video game before the programming and artwork begins. Game design duties include plot writing, conceptualizing the characters, and planning game strategies & objectives. Once a video game is in production, designers work closely with programmers and artists to ensure the design is being followed. Popular job roles for video game designers include content writer, game mechanics designer, level designer, and lead designer. Skills to look for in a video game design college education program to become a designer include game theory, storytelling & storyboarding, game planning & strategy, scripting, brainstorming & creative thinking, and game design project management.

Artists Artists are responsible for a video game's aesthetics and visual style. Video game artists create all of the artwork in a game, including worlds & environments, characters, weapons, vehicles and other items. Popular job roles for video game artists include animator, modeler, concept artist, lead artist, motion-capture artist, and art director. In-demand skills and courses to look for in a video game design college education program to become a game artist include computer animation, 2D and 3D modeling, camera & lighting techniques, environment design, lines & perspective, Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator, and life drawing.

Programmers Programmers write the code that tells the computer how to handle everything from gameplay rules & physics to the user interface & graphics. Video game programmers utilize one or more programming languages and development platforms to bring the game art & design to life. Job roles for video game programmers include artificial intelligence (AI) developer, graphics programmer, physics developer, UI programmer, and network programmer. Top skills for programmers in a video game design college education program include user interface (UI) design & usability testing, simulation programming, Adobe Flash, object-oriented programming languages (Java, C++, etc.), online multiplayer game development, AI programming & collision detection.

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