Game Design Major
As a Game Design major at Champlain College, you'll start building worlds on day one, preparing for a burgeoning industry. And you'll understand the strategies, narratives and motivators that compel people to play.
Level up your technical abilities, right away.
The Game Design major puts you at the game-making controls in your first semester. Gameplay systems, narratives, programming, level design, world-building: become an expert in the areas you’re most passionate about. And prepare for your career while studying at the vibrant heart of an expansive gaming culture.
You’ll develop extensive foundational game design skills during your first two years. During your third and fourth years, you will begin to focus on areas that interest you as a game designer and build an impressive portfolio of collaborative work as you prepare to enter the game industry.
The Game Studio Experience at Champlain College is a unique feature that gives you hands-on experience in your field, working with peers from our other game majors to complete game projects from start to finish. This parallel to real-world professional studio work is what makes Champlain game programmers stand out from the crowd; you’ll have firsthand experience working with other departments to bring a project to completion.
What Is Game Design?
Video game design is the process of designing the gameplay, storyline, game progression, environment, and characters while determining how all of these parts fit together seamlessly into a cohesive game experience. Game designers create the vision of a game, and work with other game specialists, such as artists and programmers, to bring that vision to life. Many game designers have a focus area such as level design or narrative design, and work with other game designers to bring their visions together to create a successful game.
- Systems Design – Establish the foundational logic and mechanical plan for how a game operates and build the mechanics that bring the game world into existence.
- Technical Design – Build, script and prototype game ideas and mechanics by having a solid foundation in coding. Most technical designers will minor in Game Programming.
- Level Design – Create the step-by-step experience and determine parameters of play in each area in the game world. Create levels and maps that guide the player’s experience.
- Narrative Design – Define how the overall story is experienced by the player, through traditional narrative, dialogue, characters, and environment.
- Content Design – Build quests, experiences and interactions that leverage the game’s desired game play. You are building the game’s world!
- Generalist – Use your Game Design electives to get a solid mix of level design, narrative design, system design, programming and art.
- Indie Developer – Do you want to work at a small studio? Or maybe create your own indie studio? Use your game design electives on a mix of programming, art and business classes.
Why Study Game Design at Champlain?
With the Game Design major at college, you’ll get involved in Game Design classes starting in your first semester so you can begin your Game Design education starting on day one. Students will spend most of their time in class and at home actually working on projects and doing the work. Students won’t have to sit through hours of lectures before starting the work; instead they learn by completing projects and working on real games and software.
Unlike other universities, the majority of your classes across all four years here are focused on game design and the different focuses students can go after. This way, you spend less time learning inessential classes, and more time focused on learning to design the next blockbuster game. The Game Studio and prominence of other gaming programs and eSports club and varsity teams means you’ll learn in a gaming-oriented community, preparing you for your career.
Different by Design
Multiplayer Experience
Champlain College is a major gaming community: there are multiple gaming degree programs, Champlain is regularly ranked among the top nationally for game design, and there’s a healthy eSports community.
Upside-Down Curriculum
The curriculum gets students involved in Game Design classes starting in their first semester. The majority of students’ classes are focused on game design and the different focuses students can go after.
At the Controls
Students will spend most of their time actually working on projects. No hours of lectures before beginning; learn by working on real games and software.
The Game Studio Experience
The Game Studio Experience ensures that students know how to work well in teams just like the ones in professional studios. This cooperative experience sets Champlain graduates above others when competing for jobs. Years 2-4 feature classes with all other game students in the Game Studio Experience.
Facts & Stats
Classes taught by game industry experts who have been or remain highly active professionals in the industry.
Champlain College was ranked a top school for game design The Princeton Review’s in the 2024 rankings.
Champlain was named as “Most Innovative School” by U.S. News & World Report in its “America’s Best Colleges” 2024 ranking of universities in the North.
What Sets Us Apart
The Game Studio Experience
The unique Game Studio Experience at Champlain College gives you start-to-finish game-building experience in a professional environment. You’ll collaborate with your peers in each of our game majors to create playable games in a studio that parallels the processes of the industry.
Annual Game Studio Senior Show
You will have the opportunity to present the game you create with your Game Studio team—as well as your own demo reel—to recruiters from all over the United States and Canada. Recruiters often come to the Senior Show to scout new talent, from companies like: Insomniac, Activision, Ubisoft and more!
Game Developers Conference
Champlain College sends a cohort to the world’s largest game developers conference each year in San Francisco for professional development and networking. The Career Coach facilitates exclusive networking meetings for Champlain students with top recruiters from some of the largest game developers.
Just a few of the studios where you’ll find champlain alumni
Sample Courses in the Game Design Major
Game Design requires a broad range of knowledge from psychology to game engine scripting. You will find this depth throughout the curriculum and you’ll have plenty of options to specialize in Game System Design, Level/Content Design, or Narrative Design.
Second Year
Game Design Admissions Requirements
The Game Design major requires you to submit a portfolio of your work.
What are we looking for? We simply want to see you design something. We’re looking for creativity, innovation, and we want you to demonstrate your ability to deconstruct a game and then re-envision it into something new and exciting. There are a number of important points to consider.
- Follow all specifications. Design always comes with constraints. Your ability to be creative within those constraints will be highly valued.
- Be original. Innovation will win you points over mimicking the latest hot, blockbuster game title or rehashing the old tried and true.
- Communicate clearly and be technically accurate. That means spelling and grammar count! Show us you also value this characteristic.
- Show us who you are and where your creative energies lie through your design. Show us your passion and your interests.
You may wish to enhance your application with additional materials. These are not required, but are recommended. Game designers need a broad range of skills from programming to visual design. Show us some of your other skills as they apply to communicating your idea.
Suggested Preparation:
Game designers need diversity in their education and experiences. Here is a list of some suggested areas of study and exploration:
- Math through Applied Calculus
- Science, especially Physics
- Programming (any languages or scripting environments)
- Graphic Design
- Drawing and Painting
- Art History, History, Sociology, Psychology, and Literature
- Creative Writing
- Digital Art Software such as Adobe Creative Suite, or any 3D package
- Unreal Development Kit (PC)
- Gamemaker (PC)
- Game Salad (Mac)
- Mod any game and share with a modding community
- Make traditional card or board games
- Be a dungeon master for D&D
- Create game characters and develop their back story
You might also be interested in these…
Based on your interest in the Game Design major, we thought you also might like to check out these other academic programs and opportunities.
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Majors
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Game Programming Major
Create successful games, build your portfolio, and learn programming within a creative gaming culture when you major in Game Programming at Champlain College.
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Game Production Management Major
This one-of-a-kind program prepares you to guide the teams creating tomorrow’s games. Immerse yourself in collaborative, hands-on projects in the Game Production Management major at Champlain College.
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Game Art Major
Champlain College is a gaming industry hub, and the Game Art program builds your creative vision and your technical skills to make you job-ready.
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Game Business & Publishing Major
Gaming is global, and its future requires business leaders who understand the industry. Champlain College is a hub for gaming – study Game Business & Publishing and learn alongside your future peers.
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Creative Media Major
Develop your self-expression in our Creative Media major, and learn the business side of interdisciplinary production, digital creation, and entrepreneurship.
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Minors
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Game Programming Minor
Hone your computer programming skills and apply that knowledge to create the dynamic environments, gameplay, characters, and more that make a successful game.
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Interactive Narrative Minor
Discover different types of narratives that are immersive, non-linear, and engage our audience in a wholly new and unique way. Learn to design these narratives and create all new experiences.
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Graphic Design Minor
Perfect your technical skills while learning how design impacts messaging and vice versa. Explore the latest digital-image software and learn how to create professional communication materials.
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Psychology Minor
Develop a fundamental understanding of human behavior, and learn how to apply this knowledge to increase your interpersonal communication skills in your personal life and in the office.
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Areas of Study
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Game Design & Development
Turn concepts into digital reality. Explore our seven gaming majors to determine which path matches your interests.
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Creative Arts & Communication
With many majors to choose from, you decide how to bring your ideas to life and communicate them to the world.
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Sign Up To Get a Poster + Helpful Info
We’ll send you info about our game majors plus a poster designed by our students when you fill out this form!
Career Success
Our Game Design majors find employment in AAA companies as well as indie studios. Over the past six years, nearly 3/4 of these graduates were employed within six months of graduation.
Your Career Outlook
By the time you graduate, you will…
- Recognize the underlying principles guiding the relevant visual, audio, interactive, and narrative aesthetics of a particular genre of work, design movement, or designer
- Develop and implement successful strategies for organization of the design and delivery of the product using industry standards
- Develop a professional degree of technical proficiency using computer hardware and software appropriate to the game development industry
- Develop and present a unique and professional portfolio that showcases your abilities.
You’ll Find a Career In…
- Systems Design
- Level Design
- Technical Design
- Narrative Design
- Content Design
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Pre-College Summer Program: Champlain Game AcademyThe Champlain Game Academy offers an intensive residential pre-college program for high school students entering grades 10-12 and recent high school graduates. Like the Game Studio, our program emphasizes teamwork and creative collaboration across all the game development disciplines. In order to understand how a professional game development team works, students will be introduced to all aspects of game development.
Learn More on the Pre-College Summer Program Website
Latest News from The View
More Inside Game Design Major
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Overview
As a Game Design major at Champlain College, you'll start building worlds on day one, preparing for a burgeoning industry. And you'll understand the strategies, narratives and motivators that compel people to play.
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Curriculum
Learn to map out, develop, and create the gameplay that defines a player's unique experience from industry-expert faculty with our Game Design major.
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Faculty
Learn from committed and knowledgeable industry-expert faculty in the Game Design program.