Curriculum for Game Sound Design Major

Learn recording techniques and sound design as they apply to the game production process starting on day one through the Game Sound Design major.

Game Sound Design Curriculum

Champlain’s unique Game Sound Design major gets you started in audio production on day one. Through our Upside-Down Curriculum, you get to build four years of experience: you’ll be in the sound studio, working on teams, and immersed in game development.

The curriculum accommodates a semester studying abroad in your third year. It’s a perfect way to gather inspiration from the sounds, dialects, and auditory environment of another country—and that’s on top of expanding your global perspective and building incredible experiences. Your advisors will help you plan your courses so that credits earned abroad fulfill requirements in your major.

Learning Outcomes for Game Sound Design

First Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Second Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Third Year
Fall Semester
- BRD 330 Advanced Audio and Sound Design
- GMS 370 Middleware for Adaptive Sound
- XXX Program Elective
- COR 301 Core Foundations: Connecting Place and Identity
- COR 302 Field Methods
Spring Semester
- EGD 320 Game Studio II
- XXX Program Elective
- XXX General Elective
- COR 303 Core Foundations: Connecting Past and Present
- COR 304 Digital Methods
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
- CCC 410 College Capstone
- SON 165 Business of Music, The
- SON 410 Portfolio in Game Sound Design
- SCI XXX Science Elective
Spring Semester
- BUS 110 Business and the Entrepreneurial Mindset
- EGD 420 Game Studio III
- XXX General Elective
- XXX General Elective

This hands-on production course introduces audio techniques, covering the basics of writing, producing, and engineering productions for audio production. Students write, produce and perform a variety of programs including news, interviews, commercials, dramas and documentaries. Besides traditional analog recording techniques, students gain a solid understanding of digital audio recording and editing techniques for persuasion, information and entertainment.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Game History is an integrated, cross-disciplinary hands-on history class where students actively research the evolution and history of games through the lenses of design, art, technology, business, society and culture. Working with resources from the Game History Teaching Collection, and from the perspective of their discipline as a game developer, students will play, study and research historical to contemporary games. In this way, students will discover the nexus of relationships driving game development.

Prerequisites	Game Design, Game Art, Game Production Management or Game Programming students only. Or receive permission of the Dean.
Credits	3

This course will teach students the basics of music, and how to create music on the computer. Topics include rhythm, phrasing, harmony, melody, and song construction. This is an exciting opportunity, given the virtually unlimited power of today?s Digital Audio Workstations. Music can be assembled from pre-composed elements, played live into the computer, written as notes on an electronic score, or keyed in using a midi piano keyboard. Students will use these digital tools to capture their ideas or inspiration and turn them into music. Several projects will be required, in various styles, for a number of different purposes.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Why go to college? What does it mean to be educated? In this course you'll begin to answer these questions. We'll explore the academic expectations of higher education, college as a diverse community, and the significance of education around the world. By examining how these issues are negotiated and implemented at Champlain and elsewhere, you'll gain perspective on your own education and a deeper understanding of the ways that the college experience can be both liberating and transformative.

Prerequisites	Take Cor-102 concurrently.
Credits	3

Inquiry is about learning how to ask the right kinds of questions, and figuring out how to answer those questions through discussion and reflection. This course introduces you to the types of inquiry necessary to succeed at Champlain and beyond. You will explore the intersections of reading, writing, and thinking by focusing on a specific topic or theme. You will approach that focus through the interrogation of relevant texts and analysis that draws upon multiple analytical frameworks. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-one

Prerequisites	Take COR-101 concurrently.
Credits	3

This introductory course focuses on navigating and utilizing industry-standard game engines. Students will learn language and terminology common to game development environments, gain familiarity with navigating a game engine interface, understand the basics of implementing assets in-engine, implement basic audio in-engine, and be introduced to C# and Blueprints programming concepts.

Prerequisites	Take SON-120
Credits	3

After a brief history of the development of electronic synthesis, students will delve into creating sounds using current industry standard synthesizers. Types of synthesis will include virtual analog, frequency modulation and physical modeling. Digital audio workstations will be used to record and organize the sounds. The vast array of electronic effects in Logic will also be explored. Students will gain a functional knowledge of not only synthesis, but also powerful electronic effect and sequencing options.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

What makes an argument good or bad? What counts as evidence in our post-truth world? How can you understand and assess the truth value of a claim when you're not an expert? In this course you'll learn rhetorical strategies about how to examine arguments and types of evidence in different disciplines and fields of study. To help learn these strategies, you will do close readings of texts from a variety of disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences, popular culture, and social media.

Prerequisites	Take COR-104 concurrently.
Credits	3

This course introduces you to interdisciplinary inquiry using applied, project-based, and/or experiential methods. Regardless of the specific course focus, you'll have opportunities for making and doing interdisciplinary knowledge creation through a variety of approaches and activities. You will collaborate with other students, iterate on ideas, and work to develop a project. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-one

Prerequisites	Take Cor-103 concurrently.
Credits	3

The recording and mixing of sound requires numerous aesthetic decisions that are technically realized. This hands-on class introduces students to the use of the Sound Studio for recording, mixing, and mastering audio. Through lectures and in-studio practice, students gain a comprehensive understanding and working knowledge of the professional recording environment. There will be recording and mixing projects as well technical evaluations, all done in the CCM Sound Studio.

Prerequisites	Must have approval from the Dean or designee
Credits	3

Students will deconstruct the game music from the classic, modern, and contemporary periods while learning the techniques and structures of creating sound for games. Students will use industry standard software to complete a sound package for a game. This course is required of all Game Sound Design majors.

Prerequisites	Take SON-120
Credits	3

Science holds an elevated place in society. The knowledge and meaning that science makes are seen as having a particular and special value. This course explores knowledge and meaning making in order to allow a thoughtful analysis of, and then engagement with, science as a way of knowing, and then engages with the methods and theories of the sciences themselves, to understand the analytical, creative, and generative possibilities of science.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

While each section of COR 202 addresses a different problem, issue, or topic, they all focus on interdisciplinary research. You will collect, analyze, and assess information from different disciplines in order to recognize patterns, contextualize arguments and synthesize ideas while collaborating on a project. Emphasis will be placed on helping you translate and apply what you learn about interdisciplinary research to other professional contexts. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-two

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

In Game Studio I, students from all of the degrees of the Game Studio work together in small, multidisciplinary teams to rapidly conceptualize, plan and prototype a variety of 2D game prototypes. Students explore development for both PC and mobile technology, while learning collaborative skills in communication, agile project management techniques, and version control.

Prerequisites

All - GDES, GMRT, GPMG, GMSD, GPRO, INAR only Game Design majors, complete GMD-200 and GMD-210 with grade C or higher. Game Art majors, complete GAA-205 with grade C or higher. Game Programming majors, complete CSI-240 with grade C or higher. Game Production Management majors, complete MGT-140 with minimum grade of C. Game Sound Design majors, complete SON-120 with minimum grade of C. Interactive Narrative majors, complete INN-200 with a minimum grade of C.

Credits

In the Creative Portfolio Tools course, students explore and develop a variety of portfolio tools to assist in a successful launch of their careers in the creative industry. These include websites, presenting portfolio, creating a personal image, business cards, cover letters and resumes, developing reels and other video based promotions, and using social media and networking. The course is modular and self paced, allowing students to work on materials specific to their area of employment, and their needs for gaining internships and/or employment.

Prerequisites
Credits	1

Provides a historical context for the music of our age, including the study of medieval through contemporary musical styles of Europe and the U.S. Particular attention will be given to innovations that transformed Western musical thought and expression through the ages. Students will develop listening skills and gain an understanding of the roots, influences and cross-cultural impacts of music of their own time and place through experience with music listening, readings, discussion and comparative analysis.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Students will create music and special effects for game levels, menus and game environments. Working in groups, students will develop sound design concepts, create documentation, prepare and load sound and special effects into a game engine and conduct quality assurance testing. The course requires students to provide constructive criticism to individual and group work. This course is required of all Game Sound Design majors.

Prerequisites	Take SON-200
Credits	3

Culture impacts everything we do, experience, and learn, but what is culture? Where does it come from, how does it form, and why does it have such a wide and deep impact on people's lives? This course explores culture as a system of meaning and meaning-making in order to allow for a more thoughtful analysis of, and then engagement with, cultural texts and media using different methodological approaches.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

In this course, you will go in depth about a theoretical perspective that asks you to interrogate systems of power and power relationships. You will learn about the history of that perspective, including how it too was shaped by multiple contexts and compares with other viewpoints. You will use that perspective to analyze a specific topic, collection of texts, or cultural phenomena. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-two

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

The purpose of the course is to advance the student's knowledge of audio production in sound and music recording as well as the relationship between sound and picture. The course will cover sound design for music/audio, film, video, egame, web content and other electronic arts. There will be an emphasis on the creative and artistic approaches to sound design. In addition, through assignments and lab work students will further develop the skills of critical listening to fully realize a convincing soundtrack

Prerequisites	BRD-130 and 60 completed credits
Credits	3

This is an advanced Game Sound Design course utilizing industry-standard middleware solutions. Students will design and implement event-driven adaptive audio using middleware in conjunction with industry-standard game engines.

Prerequisites	SON-300 or by permission of program director
Credits	3

Where we are shapes how we understand ourselves and each other. In this course, we will dig into the relationship between place and identity. We will learn how to think spatially, recognizing how one's identity is situated within and constructed through movement through different spaces--be they natural and built environments, rural and urban, or actual and virtual. COR 301 will help us understand the complex meanings of identity in a world defined by movement and change.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Field methods are a collection of practices used in the sciences, arts, and humanities to understand phenomena in situ or as it is happening in a specific time and place. In this course, we will apply one or more field methods to research a topic, theme, or question that varies by section. We will learn practices associated with research in the field including but not limited to participant observation, data collection, and experimentation in order to navigate an uncontrolled environment. We will also examine the power dynamics between the researcher, informant, and subject matter to help us understand how, if not practiced ethically, field methods can create or reinforce biases rather than helping us learn with and make sense of the world around us. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-three

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

In Game Studio II, students from all of the degrees of the Game Studio work together in large, multidisciplinary teams to rapidly conceptualize, pitch, plan and develop a 3D game. Students utilize the latest in game technology, while perfecting their collaborative, communication skills, and agile project management techniques.

Prerequisites	GDES.BS, GART.BS, GPRO.BS, GPMG.BS, GMSD.BS, GMBP.BS only. EGD-220, minimum grade of C. Game Design Students: EGD-300, minimum grade of C Game Art Students: EGD-235, minimum grade of C Game Programming: GPR-250, minimum grade of C Game Sound Design: SON-300, minimum grade of C Game Business & Publishing: GBP-200, minimum grade of C
Credits	3

By learning from the past, we can make sense of the present and prepare for the future. In this course, we will learn how the 21st century has been and continues to be shaped by past social practices, ethical frameworks, power relations, and discourses. COR 303 is a course about how we know what we know about the past, and the ways different narratives about the past shape the present. Making connections between past and present will help us better understand how to live and make decisions in a globalized world defined by constant change.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Digital methods are widely used forms of inquiry that employ technological tools to interrogate research questions important to the humanities and sciences (including the social sciences). Some examples include digital archiving, data mining, and story mapping. In this course, we will use one or more digital methods or tools to research a topic, theme or question that varies by section, with the express purpose of critiquing and reflecting on its application. This includes an examination of the values, flaws, and impacts of the methods or tools we are using, paying particular attention to their ethical implications and power dynamics. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-three

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

The college capstone is an opportunity for students to pursue a self-directed experience in their professional program that intentionally integrates their liberal learning in the Core curriculum with their program learning. In addition to the substantive professional-based hands-on project in this class, the capstone will include a professional ethics component and a self-evaluation/self-reflection component.

Prerequisites	Must complete COR-310, COR-320, and two sections of COR-330 All Game majors (EGPR.BS, GDES.BS, GART.BS must also complete EGD-320 with a minimum grade of C.
Credits	5

Students examine the music business industry. We cover the development of business-related knowledge and skills necessary for effectively maintaining a professional music or music management career. We study the vocabulary, terminology and structure of the music industry, and explore the distinction between the musical and the business aspects of the industry at the corporate level. Through completion of assignments each student develops a unique understanding of the music business and of music management.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

PLACEHOLDER

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Students will discover and develop the entrepreneurial mindset that is critical to succeed in today's dynamic business environment so that they will be able to imagine, create, identify, assess, and act on business opportunities in a variety of contexts and organizations. Through real-world examples and hand-ons activities, students will embrace an entrepreneurial and strength-based mindsets that will facilitate their understanding of the major functions of business and the relationships between them, as well as the importance of self-inquiry and teamwork.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

In EGD 420, Game Studio III, seniors successful in pitching their games during the college capstone in the Fall semester continue into full production. Forming large production teams, games are taken to the perfect polished state of gold master, ready for publication. Academic emphasis for the class is focused on working successfully in a professional studio environment, preparing for entrance into the job market, and taking personal craft to the next level.

Prerequisites	CCC-410EGD with a minimum grade of C or better. GDES, GMRT, GMSD, GPMG, GPRO, GMBP, and INAR only.
Credits	5

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