36 credits (including prerequisites)
Starting in Fall 2008 :: Applications due april 11, 2008
Game Studies at UB combines an experimental approach to technology and
game design with a critical stance toward the impact of games and
gaming. Increasingly video games are a technology and research driver.
Scholars, educators and artists want to know how games work; why they
work; what their effect is on society, on culture, and on the
psyche. This certificate is designed for undergraduates who want
to deconstruct, experiment with, and revolutionize gaming paradigms;
who want to explore alternative realities, interfaces, and narrative
forms. The basic assumption of the core courses is that theory and
practice go hand in hand, but the electives are wide-ranging and
flexible enough to support intense production, rigorous scholarship or
both.
The certificate is based in the Department of Media Study (DMS), where
it extends that department's experimental and critical approach
to technology and critical stance towards media into the issues central
to the field of game studies. Game studies is paradigmatically
interdisciplinary, drawing on the sciences, arts and humanities.
Therefore, the certificate has been planned in close relationship with
the Department of Visual Studies (VS) and with ongoing discussion with
faculty campus-wide. Core courses in DMS and VS combine a radical and next-generation approach to the practice of
game production with theoretical analysis of computer-based games and
gaming, drawing on contemporary media discourses. Current electives
include courses in DMS, Visual Studies, Architecture and English which
explore how the boundaries and definitions of games and gaming are
expanding. As the influence of gaming spreads, the certificate will be
flexible and open to courses in other disciplines. The program
committee will update the electives to accommodate related one-time
offerings and new courses.
The Game Studies Certificate will serve as an educational foundation
for those interested in careers in the games industry proper or in the
increasing number of closely related off-shoots: interactive museum and
entertainment design; games in education, training, advertising, art,
activism and politics; games and research.
* a UB certificate makes an area of specialization visible on your bachelor's diploma.
