Game Arts Play Studios

We take the art of play seriously. You’ll learn how to make games from start to finish, becoming an artist and industry professional committed to creating a more level playing field for all.

📍1111 8th St., upper level

Media Gallery

A close-up of a hand-made board game and cards in light primary colors.
Students in front of a classroom point to a screen.
A room with a TV, computer, and game shelf.
A computer lab with several rows of computers and desks.
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🕹️ About BFA Game Arts

Our Game Arts program expands the idea of what a game can be: social, physical, experiential, digital, and interactive. We’re a maker’s degree, so we focus more on art and design rather than programming, and our hands-on studios will have you making, playing, and analyzing games. In the process, you’ll consider game design critically and ask yourself, “What do I want my games to do in the world?”

🎮 From audio to analog, visual to virtual

Find your style through different genres and mediums—digital games, escape rooms, tabletop games, extended reality, or something more experimental. Our classes bring social justice and cultural fluency to the forefront, so the game artists of the future center inclusivity like never before. You’ll also gain experience across writing, narrative design, world-building, character creation, and industry-standard tools, which will help you find your place in the gaming industry or function as an independent artist. Recent alum Babak Saadat, for example, created an RPG-style video game set in war-ravaged Japan called Harukaze, which he’s continuing to develop.

🛠️ Labs for gaming

Our Game Arts studios are set up for making, playing, and experimenting. You can use our board and video game collection for research or experiment with XR, AR, and VR equipment. And events like the Spring Showcase are hosted here, providing opportunities to display and play your work alongside your peers.

Game Arts Home Room

Gamers can prototype and play in this space set up just for them. A console gaming area includes an HDTV setup with an Xbox One and Nintendo Classic with 30 games, while virtual reality–ready PCs are set up for gaming and game design classwork. Advanced computer labs are loaded with a suite of industry-standard game development software such as Unity Game Engine, Unreal Engine, Twine, ZBrush, Maya, and Blender. A tabletop area has space to play analog board games or tabletop role-playing games.

Animation Soundbooth

Sound on! Practice sound engineering in this specialty studio outfitted for mixing and editing sound tracks. Record voice-over and sound effects. Tools include Apogee Duet, Artist Mixer, and Midi Keyboard, plus computers with Adobe Creative Cloud and Avid Pro Tools programs.

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