The University of Otago is trialing undergraduate Game Development and Game Studies pathways, which can be pursued separately or in parallel. We’d love to hear your input…
Game Development
You can pursue a programming-intensive and production-oriented pathway in game development within a Bachelor’s degree in either Computer Science or Information Science by including the following papers (along with their prerequisites and the major subject requirements):
Year 2
INFO203: Human-Computer Interaction and User Experience
ENGL251: Creative Writing for Games and Interactive Media [NEW for 2022]
Year 3
INFO301: Applied Project [with game design focus]
INFO305: Pervasive Computing and Interactive Technologies
INFO310: Software Project Management [with a game-development focus]
INFO351: Virtual and Augmented Reality[to be offered as Special Topic in S2 2023]
COSC342: Computer Graphics
COSC343: Artificial Intelligence
COSC345: Software Engineering [with a game-development focus]
COSC360: Computer Game Design (in Summer School)
Game Studies
The Game Studies pathway focuses on the study of games as cultural as well as technical artefacts, and takes a theoretical, historical, pedagogical, and even political approach to them. It is hosted by English and Linguistics, and currently includes the following suggested papers:
1) ENGL120: Creative Writing – How to Captivate and Persuade (S1)
Write creatively across genres and media, including a module on writing for interactive multi-linear narratives.
2) LING140: Language, Brain, and Being Human (S2)
Learn how humanity and language emerge from cooperative story-telling, and test it against modern AI.
3) DHUM201: Digital Humanities – Method and Critique (S1) [next offered in 2024]
Study digital tools and methods, including a module on game-based learning and instruction on AI.
4) ENGL251: Creative Writing for Games and Interactive Media [NEW for 2022]
Write for story-driven games, with a focus on world-building, multi-threaded story development, player-character profiles, and interactive script writing
5) ENGL342: Digital Literature: Technologies of Storytelling (S2) [offered in S2 2022]
Study literary narratives in digital media and do some hands-on writing in digital platforms.
Contacts
For more on the Games Development pathway, email:
Dr Daniel Alencar da Costa
danielcalencar@otago.ac.nz
For more on the Games Studies pathway, email:
Associate Professor David Ciccoricco
dave.ciccoricco@otago.ac.nz