Art + Design

Game Science and Design, MS

Focusing on the science of game development, students have an opportunity to learn the design and technological skills needed to build a game and develop a deep understanding of playability and analytics that make products successful in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The Master of Science (MS) in Game Science and Design is a program that seeks to give students a comprehensive understanding of how successful game products are created in a player-centric environment. Focusing on the science of game development, students have an opportunity to learn the design and technological skills needed to build a game and develop a deep understanding of playability and analytics that make products successful in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

 

The game industry has expanded to include social and mobile gaming; games in health, education, and training; and innovations in play psychology, middleware, graphics tools, game mechanics, game evaluation methods, and advanced artificial intelligence and narrative techniques.  It has become an increasingly competitive space.

 

The selectiveness of the industry and the diversity of the skills required mean that students seeking entry need both broad and deep skills. As an emergent industry using diverse technology and collaborative practices, the game industry needs professionals with interdisciplinary skill sets who can meld knowledge about development with knowledge about evaluation methods and players’ behavior and psychology.

 

Jointly offered by Northeastern’s Colleges of Arts, Media and Design and Khoury College of Computer Sciences, the Master in Science in Game Science and Design is a one-of-a-kind interdisciplinary program that seeks to prepare students to meet this need by weaving together science and design. This is a two-year, 34-credit-hour program.

 

The MS in Game Science and Design is a STEM-designated degree.

View Course Catalog
Co-op Opportunities

Splash Damage Games

Massachusetts Digital Games Institute

Hasbro

Harmonix

Greenbrier Games

Demiurge Studios

Career Opportunities

Artist

Arts Writer

Media-Maker

Cultural Entrepreneur

Educator

Multidisciplinary Skills

Systems thinking

Teamwork

Entrepreneurial

Analytical skills

Time Management

Project Management

Learning Outcomes

• Concept/Expression Outcome: Conceptualize and create expressive and innovative games, playable experiences, and artifacts, developing a personal style via reflective design.

• Craft Outcome: Hone craft and technical skills in a broad range of mediums, and justify the appropriate usage of techniques in the service of creating artifacts.

• Research Outcome: Gather, organize, and articulate relevant research to inform design and analysis.

• Process Outcome: Follow an iterative design process informed by user testing, external and self-critique for producing creative works.

• Values/Context Outcome: Analyze the social, political, and cultural theories embedded in games, playable experiences, and artifacts, and articulate ethical reasoning during design and production.

• Collaboration Outcome: Plan and manage the organization of people, timelines, tasks, repositories, and finances for multi-person creative projects, and constructively critique others’ work.

MS in Game Science and Design in Oakland

The MS in Game Science and Design program is also available at Northeastern University in Oakland.

Alumni

Recent Alumnus Yuxuan Liu Embraces Passion for AR at BitReel & Prepares to Present at Future Technologies Conference

Yuxuan Liu, a recent graduate of the Master of Science (MS) in Game Science and Design program, is a creative game designer and programmer who is passionate about embracing AR / VR development and designs. During his time at Northeastern, […]

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Alumnus Kyros Jalife Applies Cognitive Science to Game Design to Explore Creativity and Meaning in Games

Kyros Jalife, an alumnus of Northeastern’s Master of Science (MS) in Game Science and Design program, is a game designer who applies psychological theory and narrative to his work with the goal of creating meaningful gameplay. Taking a research-based approach, […]

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New Game by Alumnus Alex Coburn, Urgency, Combines Tradition with Modernized Aspects for Unique Player Experience

Since graduating from CAMD’s Master of Science (MS) in Game Science and Design program in 2019, Alex Coburn has been focused on the launch of Urgency, his asymmetric strategic race board game. The two-player game is based on the oldest […]

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Games Grad Student Varun Sriram Discovers the Power of Artificial Intelligence at his Modl.ai Co-op

Varun Sriram is a student in CAMD’s Game Science and Design graduate program, currently on co-op at modl.ai, an artificial intelligence studio based in Denmark and run by CAMD Assistant Professor Christoffer Holmgard. We had the chance to catch up […]

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