Game Design and Programming

About the programme

The Bachelor Programme in Game Design and Programming gives you the tools to work with the game medium on a professional level and to develop new experiences within the field. The programme specialises in the technical aspects of game development. Former graduates have started their own studios and work at some of the world’s best known game companies. The programme is given at Campus Gotland, an environment characterised by the close proximity between professors and students.

In 2014 the Department of Game Design was entered into the Higher Education Video Game Alliance, a gathering of mainly North American higher game development educators where both education, research and industry questions are on the agenda.

Numerous profiles from the game industry and notable higher education institutions have given the programme high praise: “The Gotland University’s game design programme is one of the best that I have seen, particularly the polymorphous approach to design. The code is only as good as the player experience, and this shows. Also, there is a political approach that inflects design that gives many of us hope for a mature and complex industry of the future.” – Prof. Derek A. Burrill

Courses within the programme

Semester 1
Game Design 1 - Introduction, 15 credits
Minor Subject, 15 credits

Semester 2
Game Design 2 – Game Development, 7.5 credits
Game Production 1 – Arcade Game, 15 credits
Minor Subject, 7.5 credits

Semester 3
Game Design 3 – System Design, 15 credits
Minor Subject, 15 credits

Semester 4
Game Design 4 – Serious Games Design, 7.5 credits
Minor Subject or optional courses, 7.5 credits
Game Production 2 – Vertical Slice, 15 credits

Semester 5
Optional courses*, 30 credits
*within major, minor or other subject, alternatively studies abroad

Semester 6
Game Design 5 – Theory and Method, 7.5 credits
Game Design 6 – Experimental Game Design, 7.5 credits
Degree Project, 15 credits

Requirements

Mathematics 2a/2b/2c or Mathematics B

English 6 or English B

Selection

Final school grades (60 %) - Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (40 %)

Career opportunities

The programme theoretically and practically prepares you for a professional career within business, organisations, authorities or as a business owner.

One of the programme’s strengths is its well-developed contact with the game industry. This is why graduates of the programme make up an especially useful network. Through yearly recurring events, notable individuals from the international game industry, former students and academics are invited to judge student projects and share their experience. This provides an excellent opportunity for you to build your own contact network for the career ahead of you.

The game industry is the largest and fastest growing business in the entertainment industry. It is in continuous development which leads to a large demand for a broad spectrum of creative professionals with game development as the common denominator. Games are also increasingly being used within education, training and medicine, under the name Serious Games.

As a graduate of the programme, you will be able to continue your studies at Master’s level in or outside of Sweden.