Game Design and Development Specialization
Michigan State University
Break into the video game industry with theoretical, technical, and practical knowledge from one of the world’s best programs.
In this completely revised 2021 version of the Specialization, learners build the skills necessary to design and develop games. The Specialization focuses on both the theory and practice of game-making. From a technical standpoint, learners create four game projects in the latest Unity 2020 game engine, including a 2D Shooter, 2D Platformer, First-Person Shooter, and 3D Platformer. In the Capstone Project, learners create a completely original game of their own design from the initial concept up to the first playable prototype. The Specialization comes from the Michigan State University game program which is ranked as one of the top programs in North America.
Brian Winn, Top Instructor
Associate Professor
Michigan State University
Brian M. Winn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information and Director of the Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab at Michigan State University. Winn designs create and researches interactive media, including game design, digital game-based learning, and interactive health communication. Winn’s expertise is in designing “meaningful games” that combine play and serious objectives. Winn’s award-winning interactive media work has been presented, exhibited, and experienced around the world. Winn is an accomplished teacher who became an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2001 and a Lilly Teaching Fellow in 2005. Winn is a co-founder and director of the undergraduate Game Design and Development program at Michigan State University, which is rated in the top game programs in North America by Princeton Review. Winn serves as a member of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council and a faculty advisor of the MSU SpartaSoft game developers student group.
Casey O'Donnell
Associate Professor
Michigan State University
Brian M. Winn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information and Director of the Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab at Michigan State University. Winn designs create and researches interactive media, including game design, digital game-based learning, and interactive health communication. Winn’s expertise is in designing “meaningful games” that combine play and serious objectives. Winn’s award-winning interactive media work has been presented, exhibited, and experienced around the world. Winn is an accomplished teacher who became an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2001 and a Lilly Teaching Fellow in 2005. Winn is a co-founder and director of the undergraduate Game Design and Development program at Michigan State University, which is rated in the top game programs in North America by Princeton Review. Winn serves as a member of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council and a faculty advisor of the MSU SpartaSoft game developers student group.
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By SERRANO S J J
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Sep 21, 2021
Well planned, and the way they teach you how to implement the design philosophies, the tech, and the creative aspect is well done!
By Frank P
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Aug 27, 2021
This is the most challenging course out of the first 4 in the specialization, but you are given invaluable assets such as a third-person camera script. Whiteboxing and grid layout are very irritating, but I imagine they are essential steps in larger-scale game development.
March 24, 2021
MSU’s Undergraduate Game Design and Development program outranks public university programs across the U.S.
GameDev at MSU ranks 1st in the nation for game design and development programs, according to The Princeton Review®. The education services company features the school on its annual ranking list, “Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Game Design for 2020.” MSU’s game design and development program also rank 6th among undergraduate programs and 12th among graduate programs in Princeton Review’s Top Schools for Video Game Design for 2022. In addition to the rankings from The Princeton Review, the undergraduate program is ranked No. 9 by U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 edition of Best Colleges.
MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences program launched a new B.A. in Games and Interactive Media in 2020, adding to an impressive reputation for game development and design.