Art and Animation Track

Good design skills are the foundation of any art program, and interactive simulation is no different. This track focuses on building a strong artistic base to launch your art and animation skills before you ever touch the computer, as well as an introduction to the basics of animation. You'll use the latest sophisticated software as your artistic tools, including Softimage XSI, Maya 2008 and 3DS Max 2008. You'll learn:

• Traditional drawing skills, including color, anatomy, perspective and life drawing
• Lighting, shading and texture
• Conceptual design
• 2D and 3D character modeling
• Animation basics
• Character development
• Writing and storytelling

Programming Track

Programming is what brings your great ideas to life, and this track focuses not only on the solid computer skills that lead to the game engine pipeline but expose you to the team-oriented atmosphere you'll be working in. You'll learn the top-level programming skills in Microsoft XNA, Unreal Tournament C++ and C# and that you'll need for a competitive workplace, plus the leadership and people skills to be successful in a collaborative work environment. Level design includes:

• Foundations of math and physics
• Game engines and programming tools
• Game code
• Video graphics and special effects
• Digital sound
• Scripting languages
• Object-oriented programming (OOP)
• User interface
• Framework coding
• Development environments
• Player interfaces
• Project development

Educational Track

The educational track focuses on applying interactive simulation technology to develop educational software for schools and businesses, where digital games and simulations can be used to make learning engaging, interactive and self-directed.

The Educational Game Design specialization is applicable for:

• Game designers and programmers creating educational games or instructional software
• Teachers interested in innovative learning technologies for the classroom and as ongoing professional development
• Educational personnel wanting to learn more about using digital games and animation technology as learning tools
• Marketing professionals wanting to create promotional learning materials for a company's products or services