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
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.

*This course includes a lab fee of $147

Introduction to Programming for Games

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

*This course includes a lab fee of $147

Playing Well

GAMES-UT 414

Session I: Wednesday 4-6:30pm

2 Credits

With the rise of esports, and the resurgence of local multiplayer games, a burgeoning part of the video game industry is concerned with designing competitive games and fostering competitive communities. And while there is plenty of advice on how to design these kinds of games, there is less examination of what it means to be a good player, in both the agonic and ethical senses.”}”>With the rise of esports, and the resurgence of local multiplayer games, a burgeoning part of the video game industry is concerned with designing competitive games and fostering competitive communities. And while there is plenty of advice on how to design these kinds of games, there is less examination of what it means to be a good player, in both the agonic and ethical senses.

In Playing Well students will explore what it means to be a ‘good’ player, in both the sense of mastering a set of skills and in the sense of being an ethical member of a community. They will read and discuss the cutting edge research on skill acquisition, drawn from studies done of master level musicians, negotiators, and even athletes, as well as the social science behind common cognitive biases. Parallel to these readings will be a dive into moral philosophy, from Aristotle to David Parfit, a look global models of educational equity and pedagogy, and commentary on the toxic cultures of video games. Importantly, none of this will be happening in the abstract. Students will be applying what they learn by actively practicing the techniques and strategies of the 10 player arcade game, Killer Queen, while participating and investigating the community of Killer Queen players in NYC and the rest of the country, occasionally joining in local tournaments and practice sessions.”}”>In Playing Well students will explore what it means to be a ‘good’ player, in both the sense of mastering a set of skills and in the sense of being an ethical member of a community. They will read and discuss the cutting edge research on skill acquisition, drawn from studies done of master level musicians, negotiators, and even athletes, as well as the social science behind common cognitive biases. Parallel to these readings will be a dive into moral philosophy, from Aristotle to David Parfit, a look global models of educational equity and pedagogy, and commentary on the toxic cultures of video games. Importantly, none of this will be happening in the abstract. Students will be applying what they learn by actively practicing the techniques and strategies of the 10 player arcade game, Killer Queen, while participating and investigating the community of Killer Queen players in NYC and the rest of the country, occasionally joining in local tournaments and practice sessions.

Session II Classes:

Introduction to Game Development

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

*This course includes a lab fee of $147

Introduction to Game Studies

GAMES-UT 110
Session II: Monday/Wednesday 12:30-3:15pm
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.

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 2019 rates:

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