MFA Game Design

Overview of our MFA in Game Design

The New York Film Academy’s Master of Fine Arts in Game Design is a four semester, conservatory based, full time graduate program. The curriculum is designed to give prospective video game designers and storytellers the tools they need to become creative leaders in their chosen sector of the game design industry. The New York Film Academy MFA in Game Design challenges, inspires, and perfects the talents of its student body in a unique creative setting.

MASTER’S IN GAME DESIGN: DEGREE OBJECTIVES

The educational objectives in the Master of Fine Arts in Game Design are to teach students the art and craft of game design and storytelling at the professional level, through a strict regimen consisting of lectures, seminars, and total-immersion workshops.MFA students in the game design school’s program will:

• Acquire the skills of game prototyping, playtesting, iteration, presentation, and collaboration.
• Know how to prototype multiple games regardless of technical skills.
• Know how to develop software using industry standards — including workflow, multiple platforms, and coding.
• Be able to deconstruct any game experience into formal, dramatic, and dynamic systems.

MASTER'S DEGREE IN GAME DESIGN: YEAR ONE

During the first semester students are introduced to the concept of game design by understanding the evolution of games. Students start with board and card games, then through to paper and dice games before studying recent developments from early digital games to highly-advanced 3D graphics and deep, immersive story-driven games. Students begin designing games from the very beginning, as they are asked to modify a game from its original intent. They are introduced to the world of interactive writing, beginning with concepts such as Aristotle’s Poetics and traveling through postmodern narrative.

Once a foundation in narrative theory is established, the game design school’s MFA students are then introduced to the tools, theory, and craft of storytelling in an interactive medium. They are given a foundational understanding of video games, which will create a baseline language for discussion and interaction throughout the program. Finally, students are introduced to essential game technology, which helps inform what is possible today in video games. Students also have an introduction to animation class, which is intended to give our future designers and writers a taste of what goes into the 3D animation process found in video games.

In the second semester, MFA students continue game deconstructions as a tool for deepening their understanding of game design. They also create their first original video game concept. These ideas are shared and workshopped in class, as students increase their skills and confidence in programming, narrative, and design. Students also study the history of film, giving depth to their understanding of narrative culture.

GAME DESIGN MFA: YEAR ONE OBJECTIVES

Skills learned as a result of successful completion of this year include:

• Understand Playcentric Design and how to deconstruct any game into formal, dramatic, and dynamic systems.
• Learn the theories of game design; how to make a game fun; how to make a game entertaining; how to engage and immerse the player in a gameplay experience.
• Understand, through study, analysis and practical application, the theories of interactive storytelling; how to enhance player engagement; how to craft a character arc for a player; how to maintain a narrative structure in an interactive form.
• Understand the process of creating 3D art for video games.
• Deliver working software in collaboration with classmates.

MASTER'S DEGREE IN GAME DESIGN: YEAR TWO

In the third semester, students learn about Multiplayer Game design and gain exposure to Level Design, Marketing, and the History of Video Games.

In semester four, students create their fourth working game concept — this time as a collaborative thesis project. At the same time, they learn about Ethics of Video Games and Sound Design, and do an advanced analysis course called The Great Video Games.

GAME DESIGN MFA: YEAR TWO OBJECTIVES

Skills learned as a result of successful completion of this year include:

• Understand the process of programming video games.
• Master concepts of Agile development and gain knowledge of state of the art collaboration tools.
• Master the art of writing a multi-page Game Design Wiki, the underlying creative blueprint of every video game.
• Master, through frequent collaboration with peers, the ability to work collaboratively in a high-pressure creative environment.
• Understand, through lectures, in-class exercises, and special guests: the composition of the video game industry; the functions of the various companies; the functions of the various employees within those companies; and how games go from “blue sky” idea to finished product.
• Master, through in-class exercises and special guests, the art of pitching a video game to developers and publishers — and how to effectively communicate and market the uniqueness and commerciality of a new video game concept.

Curriculum

See the full MFA in Game Design course curriculum here.