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 toward that you can transfer to your undergraduate degree in game design or game development.  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 beginning on February 12, 2018.  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 will open on February 1.  Apply online.  The only requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent.  If you are an international student you must apply before March 15, 2018.

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
May 21 – June 30

Summer Session II
July 1 – August 10

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.

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

Intro to VR (canceled)

GAMES-UT 124
Session I: Tuesday/Thursday 12-4:30pm
4 Credits
Prerequisite: Familiarity with Unity development engine

This course is an introduction to working in virtual reality (VR) primarily from a game design / playful interaction perspective. We will start with a basic foundation in building traditional screen-based interactive 3D experiences, before transitioning into more specific VR concerns about mitigating simulator sickness, designing for embodiment, and understanding immersive systems. Classroom lectures and lab time will focus on prototyping short VR interactions, culminating in a self-directed final project.

Session II Classes:

Introduction to Game Development

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

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.

Intermediate Game Development

GAMES-UT 121
Session II: Tuesday/Thursday 12pm-4:30pm
4 Credits
Prerequisite: GAMES-UT 120/OART-UT 1601 Intro to Game Development

This course reflects the various skills and disciplines that are brought together in modern game development: game design, programming, asset creation, and critical analysis. Classroom lectures and lab time will all be used to bring these different educational vectors together into a coherent whole; the workshop will be organized around a single, long-term, hands-on, game creation project. At the completion of this course, the student will be able to: 1) Describe typical work practice in game development. 2) Demonstrate competency through actual implementation of code and assets. 3) Work with a game engine, and understand the basics of how to build a game in the engine.

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 full 4-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 2018 rates:

Registration & Service Fee (1st credit): $479
Tuition (per credit): $1412
Total for 4-credit class: $6328