Page 116 - nyfa-brochure

Game Design Programs
GAME DESIGN 115
Master of Fine Arts
The New York Film Academy’s Master of Fine Arts in Game Design empowers students to become creative leaders in their chosen sector of the game design industry. Game design MFA students will learn the tools, theory, and craft of storytelling in an interactive medium as they create a suite of original video games.
Successful MFA graduates develop the ability to thrive in the conditions of the industry and build critical skills in software development, coding, Agile Development, Game Design Wikis, and pitching to publishers. Working in teams with their peers in high-pressure creative situations, our students create at least four polished digital games for their professional portfolio. Academic courses support the hands-on projects and give depth to the students’ understanding of narrative culture, from learning Playcentric Design from the instructor who invented the concept to deconstructing any game into formal, dramatic, and dynamic systems.
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Our accelerated 3-year Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Game Design combines the best of focused professional training in game design and development with a deep exploration of the liberal arts. In eight semesters of conservatory-based, full-time study, game design students get a specialized, focused education in game mechanics and design to help them build a baseline foundation in the art, technology, design, storytelling, and business of video games. Students learn current industry best practices and software and apply what they learn to create original software.
Liberal arts courses emphasize the general education that will help our students grow as well-rounded individuals who are well informed about the world
and capable of advanced critical thinking. All BFA Game Design students will be challenged to learn to deconstruct any game experience into formal, dramatic, and dynamic systems, while also acquiring the skills of game prototyping, playtesting, iteration, presentation, and collaboration.
Associate of Fine Arts
In this accelerated 16-month, four-semester program, our Associate of Fine Arts in Game Design students get a full complement of game design and development training that includes exposure to Playcentric Design, Agile development, programming for non-programmers, and storytelling studies. The program’s strength is in the intensity of its hands-on workshops as well as its focus on game narrative and industry standard tools. Students are mentored and instructed by leading game developers from industry and get experience developing using state of the art industry methods.
Students work through a studio-based design and development program at NYFA that explores the craft of games. Just as important, the AFA program incorporates NYFA’s Game Studio course each semester, emulating real-world industry conditions and giving students the unique chance to lead their own digital game studio with classmates and create functioning digital games.
1-Year Conservatory
The New York Film Academy’s 1-Year Game Design program is a conservatory-based, full-time course that packs a wealth of knowledge and experience into two intensive semesters. Based on intense narrative and game prototyping workshops designed to challenge the individual student beyond his or her status quo and into a new realm, the program concentrates on the commercial realities of the medium.
The strength of the NYFA 1-Year Game Design program is in its combination of storytelling and game design education. Students learn all ve pillars of game development hands-on from the very rst week of class: design, narrative, coding, art and sound, and producing. Students work both independently and collaboratively with their peers to create a working video game
under the guidance of our faculty of working experts, developing an intermediate understanding of industry- standard software. With a focus on professional skills, students in the 1-year program will create a portfolio of their own games as they develop knowledge of the theories of narrative storytelling in video games as well as the techniques and practices of game art and animation.
Short-Term Workshops
The New York Film Academy has created a series of hands-on game design and development workshops designed to give students an edge as they pursue their passion in the game industry. Whether students are looking to improve upon existing skills or are new to the world of game design, our short-term workshops suit a variety of needs and schedules.
Whether they choose the 12-Week Intensive Game Coding Workshop and the 8-Week VR Game Design Workshop, students will learn to code in C#, develop in Unity, and produce 3D immersive games. Whichever game design workshop they choose, students will learn to navigate the most powerful technologies and softwares available, which may include Github, Adobe Creative Suite, Maya, Bitbucket, HTML, and more.
All of our game design workshops are designed to prepare students to identify and explore their future as a professional in the game industry, and each student will build a portfolio and receive one-on-one mentoring.
_ 8-Week VR Game Design Workshop
_ 12-Week Intensive Game Coding Workshop