The DePaul Game Dev Program
DePaul’s Game Dev program, founded in 2004, was the first Bachelor of Science degree program at a Liberal Arts university. It emphasizes a team-based multidisciplinary approach to game development. There are three areas of concentration: game production and design, game programming, and animation. Students in all three areas share core Game Dev courses, culminating in the two-quarter Senior Capstone game project. By working together on game development teams, students gain a valuable experience that prepares them for the unique nature of the profession.
Both computer science and animation are central to the game development industry, and at DePaul neither area is an afterthought. The Programming concentration is built on the foundation of DePaul’s twenty-year-old Computer Science program, one of the largest in the country. The Animation program developed out of DePaul’s ground-breaking Digital Cinema program, and employs many animators from the Chicago game industry as instructors. Students in the Production and Design concentration receive base training in both programming and animation, as well as production and management skills that apply to a wide variety of businesses.
The Chicago Game Industry
The Game Dev program works closely with the Chicago game industry. Our Game Dev Advisory Board includes executives from the area’s major studios, including Midway Games, Wide Load Games, Day One Studio, Raw Thrills and High Voltage, and many of the board members visit classes and give input on our curriculum. In addition to our faculty’s game industry job experience, our instructors include a dozen working professionals. Students benefit from their knowledge of the very latest methods and technology, as well as career and networking advice. Many game dev professionals visit classes for lectures and critiques. Local game companies employ many DePaul alumni, and our students earn internships that provide valuable real-world experience.
Eugene Jarvis, Game Designer in Residence
Eugene Jarvis is a legend in the computer game industry, and received the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He is the designer of the classic arcade games DEFENDER, ROBOTRON, CRUIS’N, SMASH TV, TARGET:TERROR, NARC, and THE FAST & THE FURIOUS. Mr. Jarvis currently runs Raw Thrills Inc. in Chicago. While at DePaul he plans to lecture, work with faculty, help students make great games and “realize their dreams.”
Microsoft XNA Grant
DePaul’s Game Dev program is one of five U.S. universities to receive a 2007 Microsoft XNA Lab Grant.
The XNA Lab Grant (approximately $15,000) will support the creation of new courses and the modification of existing courses to use XNA, a platform that allows the development of games that can be played on the XBox 360. The grant provides 20 XBox 360s, 20 XNA Creators Club memberships, and other funds to cover the purchase of monitors, software and the redesign of lab space.
Facilities
At DePaul, the Game Dev student has access to the latest technology and labs, including a motion capture studio and green screen stage, XNA development systems with Xbox 360s, and industry tools Maya, Motion Builder, Painter, ZBrush and Waccom Cintiq. Our very active student gaming group, DeFrag, maintains two game labs for game research, a PC LAN lab with 20 workstations and a console lab with Xbox 360s, Wiis, Playstation 3s and large high definition monitors.
DePaul University
Game developers (and professionals of all kinds) need a well-rounded education, and a Liberal Arts education at DePaul ensures that students leave with more than trade skills. DePaul students receive a breadth of knowledge in ethics, history, science, the social sciences and the arts. A degree from DePaul has value no matter where your career leads, and is also excellent preparation for graduate school.
Since the Game Dev program is housed within DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media, students are able to use elective courses to explore a variety of interests, including Computer Graphics, Digital Cinema, Interactive Media, Computer Science and Animation.
