As the marketplace for videogames continues to expand, the demands put on game developers continue to grow and change. Today’s video game professionals need to be skilled in areas as diverse as audio design, animation and entrepreneurship. Fortunately for students at USC’s Interactive Media and Games Division (IMGD), four new minors in Game Animation, Game Audio, Game Design and Game Entrepreneurism are now available to give students a key advantage before entering the industry.

“The creation of these new minor degrees reflects the expanding opportunity for students across all divisions at the School of Cinematic Arts and the University at large who are interested in the multidisciplinary field of game design,” say the Electronic Arts Endowed Chair of Interactive Media & Games, Tracy Fullerton.  “The game industry is in an exciting moment of change right now, and we want to place our students in the best possible position to take advantage of the many incredible opportunities available to them upon graduation.”

The new minors are open to all undergraduate students at USC, regardless of division or school.

Minor in Game Animation

The skills of the modern animator, visual effects artist, motion capture professional and many others are of great value in the games industry when paired with an understanding of how these assets can be used in games and systems.  The Game Animation Minor provides an educational path that teaches both systems thinking and the skills and creativity of an animator.

Minor in Game Audio

Game audio professionals must not only be competent in one area (e.g., expressly in music composing, or in audio recording), but in other areas of audio and in theories of procedurality and interaction.  This minor provides grounding in game design and systems thinking, while also providing theoretical backing and skills in audio design and composition to prepare students to design successful audio for the games industry.

Minor in Game Design

Design for games is a young, exciting field applicable to media artists working all over the world, in different aspects of the industry and with as many different tools as possible.  The Game Design minor teaches iterative design and prototyping skills while providing students the opportunity to explore design for new technologies and the skills of user assessment and usability testing.

Minor in Game Entrepreneurism

The modern media, technology and entertainment fields are built on the backs of new businesses and new ideas. To start a successful business, a young videogame entrepreneur needs specific knowledge of the processes for setting up a business, finding investment and turning their creative project from prototype to finished project. The Game Entrepreneurism Minor provides an educational path that teaches hard business thinking for creative entrepreneurs.