B.F.A. in Digital Game Design and Development

This rigorous program prepares students for a career in the game industry as well as other related industries such as mobile application development, advertising, and user experience design. Liu post’s proximity to new york city’s vibrant commercial and artistic communities provides students with opportunities to interact with important figures in the game industry and helps them develop career opportunities. 

The game industry is expanding rapidly, surpassing  $108 billion in yearly revenue . There are currently over  65,000 people employed  in the games industry in the United States.  At LIU Post’s Digital Game Design and Development program, students will master highly versatile and in-demand skills across all areas of game development.

The Digital Game Design and Development program at LIU Post offers a project-based curriculum that allows students to develop the skills needed to create video games in a professional environment including game design, computer programming, and visual design. The program focuses heavily on game creation. During their time at LIU Post, students work on several solo and group projects, giving them a chance to develop a broad range of game-creation skills. Before graduating, students complete a capstone thesis project that can be used as a portfolio piece on a job application or as an independent commercial project.

Key program features:

• Game Industry Expert Faculty:  Led by world-renowned game designer Nicholas Fortugno, creator of several genre-defining and award-winning games, including the downloadable blockbuster Diner Dash, the critical serious game Ayit: The Cost of Life, and several notable games with partners including AMC television, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Pro Publica, the World Bank, Disney, the Red Cross/Crescent, HBO, and the American Museum of Natural History.
• Digital Games Lab: Classes are taught in a suite of networked Apple Macintosh Computer Labs with industry standard design and development software. The Labs feature high-definition projection for instruction, popular game consoles, large format color printers, virtual reality gear, and related peripheral technology.
• Instructional Approach:  Collaborative environment modeled after real-world game studios that teaches the art of teamwork while students master game development expertise. Students get their hands dirty right away and learn the craft of making games by actually making games.
• Experiential Learning:  Students have easy access to New York City and the vibrant game development community there, including renowned game studios such as Rockstar Games, Avalanche Studios, Dots, and MLB Advanced Media. Students also have access to the on-campus LIU Post Student Innovation Incubator, a physical and virtual workspace for students to launch startup businesses and collaborate with successful entrepreneurs.

Program Curriculum

• DGD 1 Introduction to Game Design 3
• DGD 2 Games Through History 3
• DGD 3 Game Studies 3
• DGD 4 Digital Game Development 1 3
• DGD 5 Digital Game Development 2 3
• DGD 6 Digital Game Development 3 3
• DGD 20 Level Design For Games 3
• DGD 21 Visual Design for Games 3
• DGD 22 Audio Design for Games 3
• CGPH 16 Digital Imaging 3
• CGPH 20 3-D Modeling & Animation 1 3
• DGD 90 Senior Game Prototyping 3
• DGD 91 Senior Game Project 3

Elective Digital Game Design Courses (30 credits)

Students must complete 30 credits worth of Digital Game Design Electives Classes marked with have prerequisites. In addition to the classes listed here, any DGD class not already listed in the Core Course listing count for elective credit.

• CS 101 Problem Solving 3
• CS 106 Foundations Web Design & Development 3
• CS 111 Object Oriented Programming I 3
• CS 116 Intermediate Data Structures and Algorithms 3
• CS 127 ntroduction to Game Design (CS) 3
• CS 133 Analysis & Logic Design    3
• CS 231 Database Fundamentals 3
• CS 237 Human-Computer Interaction 3
• CS 245 Working in a Team Environment 3
• CS 254 Artificial Intelligence and Games 3
• CS 257 Computer Graphics 3
• CS 263 Game Progrmaming I 3
• CS 267 Scientific Foundations for Games 3
• CS 271 Game Programming II 3
• CGPH 7 Digital Illustration 1 3
• CGPH 8 Digital Illustration 2 (Prerequisite: CGPH 7) 3
• CGPH 9 Digital Typography 3
• CGPH 11 Interaction Design 1 3
• CGPH 14 Interaction Design 2 3
• CGPH 18 Digital Imaging Synthesis 3
• CGPH 21 3-D Modeling and Animation 2 3
• ART 1 Introduction to Visual Arts 3
• ART 5 Introduction to Basic Drawing 3
• ART 11 Life Drawing 3
• ART 12 Life Drawing 2 3
• ENG 182 Introduction to Creative Writing 3
• ENG 282 Fiction Writing 3
• ENG 285 Screenwriting 3
• MTH 3 College Algebra and Trigonometry 3
• MTH 7 Calculus and Analytic Geometry I 3
• MTH 19 Basic Statistics 3
• BDST 4 Digital Audio Production 3
• BDST 11 Production Essentials: Audio 3
• CMA 10 Media Law and Ethics 3
• MUS 1 Introduction to Musical Concepts 3
• MUS 2 Elementary Musicianship 3
• MUS 14A  Introduction to Music Technology 3
• MUS 14B Intermediate/Advanced MIDI Sequencing 3
• MUS 14C Intermediate/Advanced Notation 3
• CIN 25 Animation and Computer Graphics Workshop 3
• CIN 26 Intermediate Animation and Computer Graphics Workshop 3
• CIN 27 Advaned Animation and Computer Graphics Workshop 3

Required Core Courses 
(32-33 Credits)

• POST 101 Post Foundations 1
• FY First-Year Seminar 3
• ENG 1 Writing 1 3
• ENG 2 Writing 2 3
• MTH 5 Quantitative Reasoning 3-4 

Choose one course from each of the five below course clusters and one additional course from one of the clusters.

• Scientific Inquiry & the Natural World 4
• Creativity Media & the Arts 3
• Perspectives on World Culture 3
• Self, Society & Ethics 3
• Power, Institutions & Structures (ECO 10 Required) 3
• One additional course from one of the five above clusters. (ECO 11 Required) 3

General Elective (3 Credits from Any Course)
Some courses may count as core and others as electives.

• In addition to ENG 1 and 2, students take at least 3 more writing intensive (WAC) courses as part of their major, core, or elective courses.  ENG 303 and 304 can satisfy the ENG 1 and 2 requirement for students in the Honors College.

Credit Requirements

• Total Major Requirement Credits 33
• Required Co-Related Credits 6 
• Total Elective Credits 33
• Free Elective Credits 16
• Total Core Requirement Credits 32-33
• Total Degree Credits 120