Why Study Game Design at Bridgewater?
Are you a gamer like us? Want to tell stories and expand your creativity? Whether you’re interested in video games, tabletop role-playing games, or card and board games, the game design major prepares you to enter the gaming industry or pursue related media careers.
As a games major, you’ll explore narrative, mechanics and design across platforms. Bridgewater offers a collaborative, creative environment for students looking for a college for game design, where you’ll build a portfolio through real-world projects, from video games to board game design.
What to Expect as a Game Design Major
- Strengthen your storytelling, design, and communication skills: Develop writing, interactive design, and creative communication abilities that translate directly to game development.
- Study the history and culture of games: Explore the evolution of gaming, from arcade classics to immersive modern experiences, to understand how games reflect and shape culture.
- Design your own game: Take a concept from idea to prototype using industry-standard tools, gaining hands-on experience with playtesting and production techniques.
Courses and Curriculum in Game Design
As a game design major, you’ll take interdisciplinary courses in professional writing, art, English and political science. These courses strengthen your critical thinking, storytelling and communication skills. You’ll study the cultural and historical context of games and explore the ethical questions behind the ones we play and the ones you’ll create.
Games for a Better World
PSCI 261E
Games have been played for centuries in order to bring people closer as a community. This course focuses on how games can benefit society and the world. We use games in a variety of ways to connect with other people both in person and online. Games can encourage people to explore their community, spend time with others, create a large social network, get healthy and solve social problems. The class will focus on how games are used ethically including analysis of War Games, Simulations of Infectious Diseases and Gamification within Education. Students throughout the course will analyze human interaction with games and a variety of game types.
Game Design & Development Studio
PWR-301
A production course in which students develop skills in the fundamental development principles essential for crafting engaging games, moving beyond imitation to innovation. Through a blend of theory and hands-on practice, including real game projects, students will learn to think like a game developer, moving beyond typical step-by-step tutorials and exploring the ‘why’ behind game development, not just the ‘how.’ Perfect for aspiring developers, this course is the first step toward mastering the skills necessary to independently and collaboratively developing game mechanics and bringing a game to life. Students will be encouraged to experiment with various tools and technologies helpful in game design, including but not limited to Godot, Roblox, the Island Creator program in Fortnite and InDesign.
Specific requirements for this major can be found in the College Catalog.
Required Courses Meet the Faculty
Careers with a Game Design Degree
According to the Central VA chapter of the International Game Developers Association, the global gaming industry — already larger and more profitable than the music and film industries combined — is projected to grow by 50% by 2027. With over 3 billion gamers worldwide, opportunities abound in this dynamic field. A degree in game design can open doors to a wide range of careers, including:
- Game design
- Game content and media production
- User experience design
- Game art and animation
- Game production and project management
- Game development and programming
Questions? Contact Us!
- Dr. Christian C. Sheridan, Department Chair
- 540-828-5341
- csherida@bridgewater.edu
