School of Game Development

Put Your Passion into Play! Attend the School of Game Development and experience the entire game production process from brainstorming ideas to designing and developing the art, assets, and code that will bring those ideas to life. Our program Is run by game Industry professionals who will teach you the skills you’ll need to prepare you for cutting-edge careers in this growing and exciting industry.

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Game Development Degrees

At Academy of Art University’s School of Game Development, we offer specialized degrees in game production for both undergraduate and graduate students. As a student in our program, you can pursue a degree in game design, game programming, concept art, or 3D art. All of our curriculum is available both on campus and online to offer you the greatest flexibility possible no matter where you are or how you’re approaching your education. We have options for students looking for AA, BFA, MA, or MFA degrees.

Game on!

Play the latest all-original games built from scratch by Academy students.

Paddle Slap
Paddle Slap! is a Pong-Platform game in which the player wields a wooden paddle and a giant red rubber ball to defeat enemies as they journey across Toyland.*
Inkwell
InkWell is a 2D Single Screen Platformer where you play as a drop of ink traversing the world outside and inside of an InkWell.*
Hickory
Hickory is a puzzle platformer that follows the journey of a little mouse named Hickory.*
Wickhopper
Hop along various burnable objects, overcome obstacles, and find all of the prisms along the way in this 2D precision platformer.*

Competitive E-Sports Lab & Competition

We host weekly casual game events and competitive tournaments throughout the semester in our game lounge, The Knight Arcade. Students can join one of our many esports teams to represent the school in league-based competitions against other universities and colleges in North America. For students interested in a career in esports, we have an esports studio class that partners with top esports industry companies to produce and run events. Students from most majors can join using the skills they learned in their major, to gain real world experience before graduation.

Facilities & Technology

The latest in software and equipment is essential to preparing you to enter the game development workforce, which is why we keep up with current advancements in game development technology and industry practices. Whatever the pros are doing and whatever the pros are using is what you will find in our game design school.

Faculty

Our instructors don’t just teach you about the gaming industry, they are the gaming industry.

Audrey White - Plague
- Hemlock
Jorge Ernesto and Jin Long - FishBall
Rui Rou Teo - River Otter:3D Character

Alumni Success

Featured Alumni

Industry Partners

Norman Rockwell Museum
Epic Games
San Francisco Shock
NASA
Company logo of Crystal Dynamics
Company logo of Double Fine
Novaby
Stellantis
Striking Distance Studios
NBCUniversal
Company logo for Blizzard Entertainment
Company logo for Riot Games

Learn Online

Our revolutionary online courses provide the same rigorous education that we offer on campus with greater flexibility. Our online programs are purpose-built to deliver art and design courses. Study on your own time, at your own pace. Combine online and on-site classes.

Find Out More

*The games in this online gallery were created by Academy of Art University students. As such, all rights in them belong to Academy of Art University. Academy of Art University invites you to access, download and use the software for non-commercial, home use; it does not permit you to copy, distribute, modify, or (to the extent not otherwise permitted by law) decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer the software. These games are intended to be played on a PC, mobile devices may experience bugs that prevent the user from playing the game.


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