Friday, July 11, 2025
DENTON (人妻中出视频), Texas 鈥� Students at the can now enroll in a new game studies and design degree program that offers individualized
coursework and career-focused concentrations. The program鈥檚 first cohort begins in
the Fall 2025 semester.
Students in The University of North Texas's games pipeline capstone course
With faculty from across disciplines, the new , housed in the , gives students a leg up in a competitive industry. Students complete a standard set of core classes before selecting a concentration for their degree 鈥� but the core curriculum ensures some experience across all areas of specialization.
鈥淭o make a game feel good, you need people who wear different hats 鈥� engineers, artists, narrative writers, coders,鈥� said , program director and professor of practice in video games. 鈥淲e want every student in the major to gain some ability in all aspects of development, from script writing to a little bit of coding.鈥�
The major鈥檚 core curriculum includes a foundational survey course as well as classes covering digital content and animation, game programming and design, narrative storytelling and production. Students can then customize their degrees by choosing from several concentrations: narrative design, available now; programming and game studies, launching in 2026; and art and design, planned for 2027.
From left: Darin Bradley, assistant professor of practice in English; Gabriel Olson, program director and professor of practice in video games; Stephen Mandiberg, senior lecturer in media industries and video games
鈥淲e want our students to learn those core concepts, but they鈥檙e also able to focus on one aspect of game development that most interests them,鈥� Olson said.
Three professors stand between shelves of video games in a library
From left: Darin Bradley, assistant professor of practice in English; Gabriel Olson, program director and professor of practice in video games; Stephen Mandiberg, senior lecturer in media industries and video games
While the major is new, 人妻中出视频 has offered its for several years. Building a major with the existing certificate as a blueprint was a collaborative effort between faculty in 人妻中出视频鈥檚 Departments of Media Arts, and . The process also involved developing brand-new classes, such as visual programming and game production.
, senior lecturer in media industries and video games, said the curriculum was designed with every possible career pathway in mind.
A 人妻中出视频 student is using a laptop to work on their game design project
鈥淲e thought about every job opportunity our students could pursue 鈥� whether it's in the industry or in academia 鈥� and worked from there,鈥� Mandiberg said. 鈥淭he curriculum is intended to be interdisciplinary; it asks them to work across teams.鈥�
Faculty also designed classes to mirror real-world game development. A script writing course functions as a writers鈥� room, while a two-semester capstone simulates a full production pipeline, complete with structured workflow, collaboration and sprint reviews with faculty and industry professionals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. By graduation, every student in the major will have contributed to a published, playable game.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to recreate what you鈥檒l walk into when you start a job at a game studio,鈥� said , assistant professor of practice in English, who teaches the major鈥檚 narrative design and script writing courses.
Jyrell Athan Go (鈥�24), a nontraditional student with six years of industry experience, worked with faculty to design a custom intergrated studies degree with a games focus. With their help, he created a special topics course and led the Scrappy Studios Game Development Club through a full production pipeline, building a portfolio to showcase his work.
Just months after graduating, Go launched his own game studio, Final Croak LLC. He credits 人妻中出视频鈥檚 interdisciplinary approach for giving him a competitive edge.
鈥淢ost universities prepare their game studies students for a narrow pool of jobs, many of which are in programming,鈥� Go said. 鈥溔似拗谐鍪悠� gives its students the flexibility to explore everything that鈥檚 available in the industry, and that鈥檚 something I honestly didn鈥檛 see in any other university.鈥�
人妻中出视频's Lillian Merrell discusses a game's preliminary art and narrative design during a sprint review in the games pipeline capstone course
Lillian Merrell, a senior majoring in integrated studies with a game design concentration, completed the capstone for the game studies and design certificate. Her team created Twilight Train, a 鈥渃ozy game鈥� focused on open-ended gameplay and storytelling.
鈥淣arrative design is my bread and butter, so working on a game that involves a lot of storytelling really allowed my strengths to shine,鈥� Merrell said.
Although Merrell will graduate before the official launch of the new major, she said the certificate has prepared her to enter the industry.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e really trying to make sure no matter what part of a game you work on, you understand how all the pieces fit together and how the process works,鈥� Merrell said.
From 鈥� Students