RIT launches Video Game Design XSeries program

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Instructors from Rochester Institute of Technology, a top-ranked school for video game design and development, are helping online learners determine how to turn their love of video games into a career.

RIT is launching a Video Game Design XSeries program with edX, the leading nonprofit online learning destination founded by Harvard and MIT. XSeries programs are designed to provide learners with a rich understanding of an area of study through a series of offerings grouped under one subject. XSeries programs also include an opportunity to earn an XSeries verified certificate to demonstrate competency and knowledge in a specific field.

Enrollment for the five offerings in the Video Game Design XSeries program is now open. The first offering begins Oct. 31.

The series will teach learners about the skills they would need to become a successful video game designer and explore what job opportunities they could pursue in the industry. Offerings are taught by faculty in RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media.

“You’ll learn how game history influences design, how designers and programmers think, the various roles within the video game design discipline and how all the pieces come together,” said Stephen Jacobs, professor of interactive games and media at RIT and an instructor in the XSeries. “We want to help people develop a deeper understanding of the field, the discipline and explore the related career paths as well.”

The XSeries consists of five, five-week offerings:

• Video Game Design History (starts Oct. 31)
• Video Game Design and Balance (starts Jan. 2, 2017)
• Video Game Asset Creation and Process (starts March 6, 2017)
• Video Game Design: Teamwork & Collaboration (starts July 24, 2017)
• Gameplay Programming for Video Game Designers (starts Sept. 11, 2017)

Within each offering, learners will have access to several videos from the instructors each week, readings, discussion boards with other participants and multiple-choice quizzes. Each weekly unit takes about three hours to complete.

The series will explore everything from how to create simple elements of running game code to how different industry roles collaborate to produce, market and ship a video game.

The first offering will explore the history of the video game design industry, with insights from the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) at The Strong National Museum of Play, the largest and most comprehensive public assemblage of video games and related materials in the world.

“Just as writers learn their craft by reading and studying great works of the past, video game designers need to know how game design has developed and evolved over the years,” said Jon-Paul C. Dyson, director of ICHEG and vice president for exhibits at The Strong, who is co-instructor for the Video Game Design History offering. “Participants will have a unique learning opportunity in this course to see prototypes, designer notes, rare games and other iconic artifacts from The Strong’s unparalleled collection that showcase the history of game design.”

RIT’s game design and development graduate and undergraduate programs have been ranked among the Princeton Review’s list of top schools for video game design for more than five years. Graduates of RIT’s game design and development programs have gone on to work at some of the industry’s top employers, including Amazon Games, Apple, Bungie Studios, Blizzard Entertainment, EA Games, Epic Games, Google, Konami Gaming Inc., Microsoft, Rockstar Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Valve Corporation and Walt Disney Interactive.

RIT’s game design and development program is housed within the School of Interactive Games and Media, in RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. The RIT XSeries is made possible with help from RIT’s Innovative Learning Institute.

“As a world-renowned leader in the field of video game design, RIT is an ideal partner to offer this XSeries program to the edX global community of more than 9 million learners,” said Anant Agarwal, edX CEO and MIT professor. “We are proud to work with RIT to launch this program that provides learners with a rich understanding of the history and design of video games and teaches the skills and competencies necessary to excel in this exciting, fast-growing industry.”

Details and enrollment information for the Video Game Design XSeries with edX can be found at rit.edu/ritonline/game-design-xseries.