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CG Spectrum - Game Design

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Game Design

STUDY LEVEL

Diploma

EXPERIENCE

Jan/Apr/Jul/Oct

TUITION

$49,750 CAD

DURATION

12 months

INTAKES

Jan/May/Aug/Oct

DELIVERY MODE

Online

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about the course

What will you learn?

Learn the industry practices and techniques of game design from experienced game developers by using the latest technology and hardware to create full-featured games for your portfolio and enter the creative world.

This course has three specializations which are Coding, Game art, and Level Design where students combine the program’s focus on production, to develop a professional-quality online portfolio that demonstrates a thorough understanding of game design.

student gallery

Graduate with an outstanding portfolio

A professional quality online portfolio.

Access to the VFS Alumni Directory & Job Board.

A diploma in Game Design.

A lifetime global network connections.

Course Structure

Term 1

Students are exposed to the fundamentals of game theory; unpacking the principles that make games, such as chess, dice, and cards, popular across centuries and cultures. Building on this base, students analyze contemporary non-digital games and discuss the risk/reward, captured through von Neumann’s minimax theory. The result of this class is the development of an analog game prototype.

This course introduces the process of designing a level on paper and quickly iterating on designs. A major element of this course is to explore the connections between game design and level design, especially how players interact in different game types. Students learn about planning for technical limitations, as well as unexpected player interactions. The final level designs are brought into a commercial engine to further understand how the level will be seen from the player’s perspective.

Art skills are required for building great game experiences. From Minecraft to Battlefield, art brings game concepts to life. In Game Art 1, students will explore the fundamentals of 2D and 3D asset creation in Maya and Photoshop, the dominant industry-standard software. Students will learn best practices and time-saving techniques they can apply in their games. They will also learn and apply fundamental principles behind all 2D image and 3D polygon graphics, regardless of platform, game engine, or creative software.

By the end of Game Art 1, students will be comfortable with the core Photoshop and Maya toolsets used in in-game art creation and will have made several game-ready assets, giving a strong overview of the game art creation process. Game Art 1 will significantly enhance the quality of students’ game art projects and portfolios.

Term 2

As a level designer in the game industry, you can determine exactly what the player sees, hears, and feels in the game. In this course, students learn the common procedures for building a level for their games. Students cover creating paper designs of levels, and how to translate those ideas into objects and architecture, placing units, and scripting their behavior.

With the success of games like Angry Birds, Tiny Towers, and Cut the Rope, sprite-based games are as popular as their 3D counterparts and the driving force behind games on the current mobile devices. In-Game Art 2, we take a deeper look into the tools and techniques used to create sprites, how to animate them, and how to incorporate them into the growing field of 2.5D games. We also continue our work on creating game-ready 3D models, creating efficient UV mapping coordinates, while using Photoshop to create detailed color, specular, ambient, and normal texture maps we can apply to these models. We conclude this course with a final project that tests the students’ abilities to work under industry conditions while utilizing the tools and techniques they learned in this course.

Mobile gaming is a fast-rising sector of the game design industry. Porting a game from rich platforms to mobile devices has proven risky, yet the adaptation of simple “time wasters” strikes a chord with mass audiences. This course explores the unique niche occupied by wireless and handheld game devices such as iPad games and tries to define the requirements for a successful title. Working under the mentorship of the course instructor, students design a wireless game concept.

Term 3

Students begin to adapt their design sensibility to the requirements of game information systems. In addition to constraints imposed by platform selection, students consider optimal ways to engage players through an adaptation of real estate to the dictates of title/genre. Essential treatments of way-finding, intuition, and color palette are applied to concepts ranging from HUDs to game initiation screens.

This course continues the students’ learning of how to use Unity to develop 3D games. Course content will focus on specific aspects of the Unity engine, including common scripting tasks such as character navigation, animation, physics, and importing and modifying art assets such as models, textures, and materials. This course will be of particular benefit to students using Unity for their final project, though is of interest to all students.

Students create an original game in a team-based environment. Students who use the Unity game engine realize their vision. Students gain valuable game development experience through overcoming team conflicts, meeting milestones, and submitting major deliverables. The course concludes with a final presentation of the game to the entire Game Design student body and staff.

Animation Materials and Shaders focuses on giving the students the necessary skills and knowledge required to effectively deliver visually engaging game products that would be at home in today’s evolving industry. The early part of the term will focus on rigging art animation, familiarizing students with the workflows of the Rigger and Animator on a game team, rigging characters with controllers, and animating them.

The latter part of the term will focus on working with materials and shaders to explore what can be done beyond the “built-in” or “off-the-shelf” materials provided by today’s game engines.

Term 4

This course explores the technical workflow required to establish the framework upon which games are structured. Students evaluate engines and game technology, determine a technical implementation plan, and create a technical Design Document for their final project. Students learn how to use industry-standard version control software and use it throughout their final project development. Students also develop and present working prototypes for three key features of their games.

Non-linear storytelling techniques have become an essential skill for the game designer, the DVD developer, and the digital designer intending to seduce an online audience. This course delves into the vagaries of interactive narrative, highlighting the problems encountered by storytellers wrestling with this form. The course builds to each student developing – and executing — a non-linear story concept based on a linear story strategy.

Students learn the value of modular and procedural level design techniques to enhance gameplay and reduce production costs. Students also learn about the different considerations for specific subsets of level design, such as cover combat layouts, race track designs, and puzzle game levels. During this time students utilize industry best practices to build these levels and discover their approach to building game levels.

By the end of the term, students have practical experience following best practices and processes for designing and constructing levels for different genres of games. This knowledge will be directly applicable to their industry projects and portfolios.

Building on fundamental programming skills learned in Programming and Unity classes, this course continues to refine the students’ abilities related to game development. Advanced game programming and techniques are explored using the C# Language in Unity, as well as advanced topics pertinent to game development, including optimization techniques and best practices.

This advanced course focuses on the modeling and texturing skills required to build professional-level portfolio pieces. Using MAYA and ZBrush, students will produce one highly polished, portfolio-quality piece. Professional workflows will be introduced to further detail models and textures. Students will be assessed continuously in class and on completed final assignments. The lessons will consist of demonstrations followed by direct production workshop sessions.

This course provides the students with the proper workflow for creating highly detailed pieces which will help them build out their professional portfolios.

With game levels using ever-larger environments, good quality set dressing and detailed immersive lighting are needed to enhance the game experience. In this course, we will learn how to quickly prototype an environmental model, create vertex lighting, and ambient occlusion texture maps for game levels.

Using Photoshop and Maya, students will construct and texture these models and learn to get them game-ready for exporting to game engines.

Term 5

Working in small teams, students leverage skills, assets, and software applications to create either a sophisticated level modification or an experimental gameplay prototype. Producers and designers from local game studios are carefully selected to work as student mentors for the life of the project. The Game Design supervisor and other Game Design staff are deployed to ensure each project cycle corresponds to the academic requirements of the school. Continues to Term 6.

The development of games is not only about creativity, technical, and artistic elements; it also has diverse business aspects. This course provides students with a grounding in the three key areas of business associated with game development. The course consists of three separate sessions: Legal Wrangling; Dollars and Sense; and Marketing Savvy.

This hands-on course introduces game designers to the tools and techniques of film production. In addition to pre-production basics, the course provides a comprehensive overview of camera operation, sound and lighting techniques, as well as the storyboarding process. Each student writes a cinematic treatment and creates a storyboard for a film trailer.

Term 6

With production cycles in the industry now creaking past the 24-month mark, it is crucial that future producers (and their staff) understand and identify where things went wrong. Examining a number of theories and approaches, this course draws on the students’ own experiences at VFS to explore the best way to ensure that one never makes the same mistake twice.

A crucial facet of a student’s preparation for the reality of a post-VFS existence is the design and development of an online portfolio. Not only does this serve as a useful repository of the student’s work to date, but it also allows them to showcase their artistic and technical process. Using web tools such as Dreamweaver, students create a portfolio that showcases their best work and creativity throughout the one-year program.

As crucial as a portfolio is the student’s preparation for securing their first position. This mentoring workshop guides students through the process of corporate research, networking, résumé preparation, and interview techniques. After this course, students should have several first interviews arranged with local game development studios.

Course Structure

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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

How to apply to this course?

You must have graduated from high school OR be at least 19 years of age – Applicants will need to submit transcripts from all secondary or post-secondary institutions attended in the last five years (including your high-school diploma, if applicable), as well as a piece of government-issued identification that shows your date of birth
You can provide the names and contact details of two references – Preferably these should be from someone who can knowledgeably comment on your passion and abilities in the area for which you are applying. Please note, family members are not eligible as references
You have a financial plan – All VFS programs are full-time, so you’ll need a financial plan to cover your tuition and living expenses while enrolled in your program. (Don’t worry. Your advisor can guide you through this)
You must have medical coverage – For Canadians – check with your home province for coverage in BC; For non-Canadians – you will need to purchase health insurance until you are covered under the Medical Services Plan.After three months of living in BC, all students are eligible for Medical Services Plan coverage

Explain the concept, vision, or idea. Include the genre of game you would utilize. Make references to other games to explain how you would make your game (one-page maximum).
In addition, provide an outline detailing your story, possible levels, and characters (one-page maximum).
Provide diagrams explaining any features or game mechanics (one to two pages maximum) and a simplified map of the game world described in your synopsis.
You’ll find information on how to send your synopsis in the application form, or you can ask your Advisor.

Please note that Intermediate computer skills are a requirement, including the ability to use Microsoft Word and Excel.

When you talk to your Advisor, let them know that you’ve completed the Foundation program and they will put a copy of your diploma in your file for you.

Please note that Intermediate computer skills are a requirement, including the ability to use Microsoft Word and Excel.

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DOMESTIC FEES

$32,950 CAD

total

Apply now for the next intake

APPLY NOW

INTERNATIONAL FEES

$49,750 CAD

total

Apply now for the next intake

APPLY NOW

$49,750 CAD TOTAL

Payment plans and other types of reimbursement available

$49,750 CAD TOTAL

Payment plans and other types of reimbursement available

$ 32,950 CAD
total

Apply now for the next intake

$ 49,750 CAD
total

Apply now for the next intake

$
upfront

Monthly instalments: $1,185 USD
(9 x payments)
Per term instalments: $3,199 USD
(3 x payments)

$
upfront

Monthly instalments: $1,485 USD
(9 x payments)
Per term instalments: $3,999 USD
(3 x payments)

START YOUR CREATIVE CAREER TODAY

APPLY NOW

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When would you like to start?*

2. Personal Details

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Email*

Phone number*

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City*

Country*

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Date of Birth(DD/MM/AAA)*

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1. Course Details

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When would you like to start?*

2. Personal Details

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Last name*

Email*

Phone number*

Country of Citizenship*

Gender*

Street address*

City*

Country*

Postcode*

Date of Birth(DD/MM/AAA)*

Country of Birth*

1. Course Details

Which course are you applying for?*

Preferred Study Option*

When would you like to start?*

2. Personal Details

First name*

Last name*

Email*

Phone number*

Country of Citizenship*

Gender*

Street address*

City*

Country*

Postcode*

Date of Birth(DD/MM/AAA)*

Country of Birth*

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CG Spectrum - Game Design

Game Design

STUDY LEVEL

EXPERIENCE

TUITION

DURATION

INTAKES

DELIVERY MODE

PLAY SCHOOL VIDEO

Graduate with an outstanding portfolio

Term 1

Term 2

Term 3

Term 4

Term 5

Term 6

DOMESTIC FEES

INTERNATIONAL FEES

TUITION FEES

STUDY FEES

DOMESTIC FEES

INTERNATIONAL FEES

SMALL CLASS

1-ON-1 PRIVATE

START YOUR CREATIVE CAREER TODAY

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