How Games Get Made
- Working in team-based production workflows
- Collaborating with artists, developers, and designers
- Communicating ideas clearly across a team
- Understanding how games are launched and marketed
Game Design BFA
Create Interactive Worlds Through Art, Technology, and Story
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Game Design is where creativity meets code to bring ideas to life. You’ll design, build, and play your own games while learning how storytelling, visuals, and technology come together to create immersive experiences.
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Game Degree Program at MICA
Game design skills extend beyond the digital game industry. Interactive environments are used across many fields including education, museums, medicine, and entertainment. You’ll get hands-on experience with:
Using Game Design in the Real World
- Designing experiences that keep people engaged
- Applying game thinking to learning and behavior
- Creating games for education, health, and social impact
Program Highlights
Throughout the program, you will learn how to use game engines, develop early prototypes, refine your ideas, receive feedback, and build creative assets that bring games to life for players. You’ll experiment, test ideas, and problem solve, learning how to make games that feel interactive, creative, and genuinely exciting to play.
TECHNICAL + ARTISTIC
Technical and Artistic Training
Gain both the creative and technical skills needed to build professional interactive experiences.
CREATION + ANALYSIS
Game Creation and Analysis
Make, play, and analyze games while exploring the design principles behind them.
PROFESSIONAL TOOLS
Industry Game Engines
Work with tools used in professional game development including Unity and Unreal Engine.
APPLIED LEARNING
Experiential Learning
Develop interactive environments that can be applied across industries including education, medicine, museums, and entertainment.
What You Will Study
Coursework breaks down how visual art, storytelling, and technology come together in games, while giving you the hands-on skills to design and build your own interactive experiences.
Game/Play
Intro to Unity Engine
Unity Engine 2
3D Game Design
Narrative Design
Sound Design for Games
Illustrated Games
3D for Games
Unreal Engine Workshop
Bodies in Play
Advanced 3D Game Design
Senior Thesis: Games and Visual Development 1 & 2
Why Choose the BFA in Game Design?
CREATIVE + TECHNICAL
Creative and Technical Skills
Develop the skills to turn ideas into real, playable experiences through creative thinking and hands-on problem solving.
MAKING + ANALYSIS
Learn Through Making and Analysis
Expand your understanding of games by creating real-world projects and studying how gameplay systems function.
CROSS-INDUSTRY
Interactive Design Across Industries
Game design skills apply to entertainment, museums, education, and other interactive environments.
PROFESSIONAL PATH
Professional Game Design Experience
Through coursework and internships, you will gain experience that prepares you for work in the game and interactive media industries.
Internship Opportunities
Build professional experience through internships in the game and interactive media industries.
Past internship placements include:
- Bethesda Games
- Dice Dungeons
- Indiecade
- MolecularJig Games
- Sparkypants
- Firaxis Games
These opportunities will allow you to gain insight into professional development environments while building industry connections.