All Summer 2020 classes will be remote only. More Information…

Take a summer class at the NYU Game Center!

The Game Center offers many of our intro level game design and development courses over the summer. These courses are open to current NYU students, visiting students from other universities and to anyone with a high school diploma. Visiting students can earn credit that you can transfer to your undergraduate degree. NYU students can work toward the Game Design minor over the summer.

If you are looking for information about the 4-week Summer High School workshop click here.

How to Register:

Current NYU students

If you’re already an NYU student you can register through Albert.  Courses will be found under the Game Design program in the Tisch School of the Arts, GAMES-UT.  Courses are open to all majors at NYU.

Visiting students

Applications for visiting students open at the beginning of each calendar year. The application is online, more information here.  The only requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent. International students should be especially mindful of application deadlines due to added requirements of international travel.

After applying you will be emailed with your NYU ID and will be able to register via Albert, NYU’s Student Information System.  Using Albert you will be able to search for classes under GAMES-UT, or by using the “Class Numbers” indicated below.

Game Center summer courses must be taken for credit.  You will receive an official transcript that can be used to transfer your credits to another program.

Courses run in 6-week sessions, twice a week. Summer Session I runs late May to early July. Summer Session II runs early July to mid-August.

Session I Classes:

Introduction to Game Design

GAMES-UT 150
Session I: Tuesday/Thursday 12-4:30pm EST
4 Credits

This class is an intensive, hands-on workshop addressing the complex challenges of game design. The premise of the class is that all games, digital and non-digital, share common fundamental principles, and that under- standing these principles is an essential part of designing successful games. Learning how to create successful non-digital games provides a solid foundation for the development of digital games.
In this workshop, students will: analyze existing digital and non-digital games, taking them apart to understand how they work as interactive systems; create a number of non-digital games in order to master the basic design principles that apply to all games regardless of format; critique each other’s work, developing communication skills necessary for thriving in a collaborative field; explore the creative possibilities of this emerging field from formal, social, and cultural perspectives; develop techniques for fast-prototyping and iterative design that can be successfully applied to all types of interactive projects.

Introduction to Programming for Games

GAMES-UT 180
Session I: Monday/Wednesday 12:30-3:15pm EST
4 Credits

Introduction to Programming for Games is a course that introduces students to the concepts, problems, and methods of computer programming, and how these apply to the creation of video games. The course assumes no prior programming knowledge, and is designed to touch on the basic principles of digital design in the form of computer code. There will be an emphasis on programming fundamentals; they will be motivated through the lens of designing and producing video games.

Introduction to Game Engines: GameMaker

GAMES-UT 183
Session I, 2nd 3-weeks (June 15 – July 5): Monday/Wednesday 12:30-3:15pm EST
2 Credits

Introduction to Game Engines is a course intended for students who already have an understanding of programming fundamentals that introduces concepts, problems, and methods of developing games and interactive media using popular game engines. Game engines are no longer just used for the development of games, they have increasingly gained popularity as tools for developing animations, interactives, VR experience, and new media art. Throughout the semester, students will have weekly programming assignments, using a popular game engine. There will be a final game assignment, as well as weekly quizzes and a final exam. The course assumes prior programming knowledge. There will be an emphasis on using code in a game engine environment as a means of creative expression.

Session II Classes:

Introduction to Game Development

GAMES-UT 120
Session II: Tuesday/Thursday 12pm-4:30pm EST
4 Credits

Prerequisites: Intro to Programming for Games or equivalent background in coding and using Unity

Introduction to Game Development is a practical course that introduces students to the methods, tools and principles used in developing digital games. Over the course of the semester, students will work alone to create a two digital prototypes or ‘sketches’, before building on them to produce a final polished game, using the lessons learned in the earlier prototypes. This is a hands­-on, primarily lab­-based course, and so the focus is on learning ­by ­doing rather than on reading and discussion.

Introduction to Game Studies

GAMES-UT 110
Session II: Monday/Wednesday 12:30-3:15pm EST
4 Credits
*Gen Ed for Tisch Students*

This class is an overview of the field of games that approaches them from several theoretical and critical perspectives. No special theoretical background or prior training is needed to take the course, but to have had a broad practical experience with and basic knowledge of games is a distinct advantage. Also, an interest in theoretical and analytical issues will help. You are expected to actively participate in the lectures, which are dialogic in form, with ample room for discussion.
The course will prepare the student to: Understand and discuss games from a theoretical perspective, as well as the components of a game; Apply new theories and evaluate them critically; Assess and discuss game concepts and the use of games in various contexts; Analyze games, and understand and apply a range of analytical methods.

Chvatil: The Modern Strategic Board Game

GAMES-UT 401
Session II: Monday/Wednesday 3:30pm-6pm EST
2 Credits

Vlaada Chvátil is one of the world’s most renowned and influential boardgame designers. He has designed everything from the colorful map-traversal game Travel Blog to the epic civilization simulation Through The Ages, yet running through all of his games is a signature style: cerebral, funny, and exuberantly maximalistic. Chvátil’s work is deeply influenced by the “hot” medium of computer games yet highly aware of the peculiar strengths of his chosen “cool” medium. His games successfully synthesize the tabletop dialectic of the last two decades: “Eurogames”, with their emphasis on elegance, strategy, and clarity, and “Ameritrash”, with its emphasis on theme, direct interaction, and drama. This course will examine his work through the lens of another influential designer: Richard Garfield, creator of Magic: The Gathering, Netrunner, and other best-selling games. His recent textbook, Characteristic of Games, (co-written with Skaff Elias and Robert Gutschera,) is a landmark work in formal game analysis. We will use Garfield’s conceptual frameworks and formal vocabulary to illuminate the important qualities of Chvátil’s work. This course uses close analysis, discussion, readings, and papers, to enable students to master the challenging art of critical play – the ability to appreciate and articulate the unique aesthetic qualities of games.

The Evolution of Narrative: Immersive Sims

GAMES-UT 405
Session II: Tuesday/Thursday 2:30-5pm EST
2 Credits

This course covers the works and legacy of Looking Glass Studios, one of the most influential video game studios of the 1990s. Through a series of seminal works including Ultima Underworld (1992), System Shock (1994), and Thief (1998), they defined and pushed the limits of first-person 3D gaming. In contrast to first-person shooters, Looking Glass’ first-person games were experiments in simulation, storytelling, and interface that were years ahead of their time, and formed a vocabulary still used today for building stories in real-time virtual worlds.

This is a history class with a forensic structure. Students will play through, discuss, read and write about Looking Glass’ games, with emphasis put on their core “immersive design trilogy” of Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief and how all these works influenced and revised each other. Students will also play other games of the era for context, read articles about and interviews with the developers, and complete a series of assignments to structure their understanding.

The immediate goal is to foster a deep understanding of the work and influence of a seminal game company, the way one would for any other important group of artists in an art history context. The larger goal is to foster a set of skills for historical and critical analysis that is culturally situated and which complicates the notion of sole authorship.

Costs:

Summer courses are for-credit academic classes taught by Game Center faculty.  These are the same courses offered during the academic year to NYU students, and the tuition rate is the same.

Summer 2020 rates:

Registration & Service Fee: $489 and up
Tuition (per credit): $1451 undergrad/$1787 grad
Total for 4-credit class: $6500
Total for 2-credit class: $3460