BFAGame Arts & Design
Create meaningful works of digital, analog, and mixed-media game art and design
Overview
Level-up your gaming
A social justice and fine arts perspective
Graduates of the program stand out in a field of other game makers because they enter the professional world with a singular artistic practice bolstered by CCA’s commitment to make art that matters. Situated in one of best art and design schools in the country, the BFA in Game Arts and Design emphasizes the impact game makers can have on culture and society, while teaching students how to responsibly consider and propel inclusivity and cultural fluency throughout their creative practices.
Studios & Shops
From audio to analog, visual to virtual
The Game Arts and Design program is part of the college’s Fine Arts division, which means we operate from an expansive view of what games can be. With 24-hour student access to our San Francisco campus facilities, you’ll have opportunities to develop game systems and interactive play for application in entertainment, education, industry, and the arts.
Labs and studios just for gaming
Enter multiple realities in new digital and analog Game Arts & Design Play Studios. In these spaces, check out game and console libraries; experiment with social and physical gameplay; and learn how to work with XR, AR, VR, motion capture, 3D, and sound engineering equipment.
Studios and technology from across disciplines
Our interdisciplinary curriculum teaches artmaking and prototyping techniques that will enhance how you think about and structure gameplay. Scan or print physical game elements in the Digital Fine Arts Studio; build characters with sanders and vacuum forming machines in the Model Making Studio; or create brand new worlds and gaming adventures in the Rapid Prototyping Studio, where you can practice everything from laser cutting to CNC routing.
Core tools to help you succeed
Full institutional resources of check-out equipment are available to Game Arts and Design students, like laptops, drawing tablets, cameras, and more. 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.
Access state-of-the-art tools
- Oculus Rift VR stations
- HTC VIVE virtual reality system
- CNC router
- Integrated Cintiq desk PCs
- Pro-Tools soundboard
- 3D printers in the Digital Fabrication Lab
Develop a versatile game arts and design portfolio
Graduate with experience making professional-quality games for a variety of audiences. Through hands-on training and cross-disciplinary collaboration, Game Arts and Design students can hone their personal style and aesthetic. Your portfolio can include a diverse array of work uniquely yours—from 2D and 3D games to escape rooms or from tabletop games to augmented reality.
Faculty
Multidisciplinary artists with significant expertise
Game Arts and Design faculty are industry professionals, artists, and designers with distinction in various game media, including experimental forms. They teach software and hardware skills, as well as how to develop conceptual and technical expertise. Many represent related programs—animation, interaction design, critical ethnic studies, architecture, and others—providing robust and varied learning opportunities for Game Arts and Design students.
Meg Bisineer, Chair of Game Arts and Design
Chair Meghana Bisineer is an artist and filmmaker who lives and works in London and Oakland. Her animation films have been screened at international festivals in Asia, Europe, and North America and her artwork has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions. Bisineer's practice has expanded from traditional animation to working across media, including prints, direct-to-camera animations, live media, and installations. She is presently developing a new body of animation and installation works commissioned by The Wapping Project, London, and the Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum and Arts Centre, Scotland. A film featuring her work, Space Drawing in Time, premiered at London's Whitechapel Gallery in 2016.
Bisineer's 2016 animated short let me not be mad, commissioned by Film London, Arts Council England in association with London Shakespeare Centre at King’s College, London, screened at festivals across the world and she animated for Finding Altamira, director Hugh Hudson's 2016 feature film. She has received numerous awards, including the Judge’s Prize for Animation/ Film at the East West Arts Award, the David Gluck Memorial Bursary, The Discerning Eye Drawing Prize, and the Man Drawing Prize. Prior to joining the CCA faculty, Bisineer taught in the UK at the Royal College of Art, University for the Creative Arts, and University of Portsmouth.
BA, National Institute of Design, India; MA, Royal College of Art, London
Make compelling games that move everyone forward
At CCA, you’ll learn the art of making games along with the theoretical knowledge that turns play into empowerment, social critique, and personal expression.
Game Arts and Design students learn the many shapes and forms games can take— from tabletop to digital, and from the ancient to the present. They explore the philosophy behind what makes a game fun to play and the diverse ways to design them.
Students also master the technical skills needed to make their own games. They learn how to use sound and motion features for digital games, how to draw and design physical games, and how to collaborate as a team.
The program culminates in a capstone project of self-directed study in a game genre and work style of your choosing. Combine your talents with other students in a small group or work on your own. You can decide to concentrate on digital 2D, 3D, and XR games; analog or tabletop games; or something more experimental. View sample courses.
Investigate ideas through every dimension
Before diving into their chosen major, every undergraduate participates in the First Year Experience. Students explore a wide range of materials and tools over the course of two semesters. Faculty from different disciplines guide studio projects, group critiques, and theoretical discussions, setting students up for success throughout their major coursework.
BFA Game Arts & Design
Core Studio
- Drawing 1
- 3.0 units
- 2D, 3D, and 4D
- 9.0 units
Game Arts & Design Major Requirements
- Game Arts 1
- 3.0 units
- Game Design Studio
- 3.0 units
- Games Development
- 3.0 units
- Game Arts Workshops
- 6.0 units
- Interactive Storytelling
- 3.0 units
- Game 2: Technologies
- 3.0 units
- Game 3: Animation
- 3.0 units
- Critical Game Design
- 3.0 units
- Junior Game Project 1
- 3.0 units
- Junior Game Project 2
- 3.0 units
- Advanced Games Production Studios
- 6.0 units
- Senior Game Project 1: Development
- 3.0 units
- Senior Game Project 2: Production
- 3.0 units
Additional Studio Requirements
- Upper Division Interdisciplinary Studio
- 3.0 units
- Critical Ethnic Studies Studio
- 3.0 units
- Studio Electives
- 9.0 units
Humanities & Sciences Requirements
- Writing 1
- 3.0 units
- Writing 2
- 3.0 units
- Introduction to the Arts
- 3.0 units
- Introduction to the Modern Arts
- 3.0 units
- Foundation in Critical Studies
- 3.0 units
- Media History: Games and Play
- 3.0 units
- Literary and Performing Arts Studies (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Philosophy and Critical Theory (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Social Science/History (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Science/Math (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- History of Art and Visual Culture (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Critical Ethnic Studies Seminar
- 3.0 units
- Humanities and Sciences Electives (2000 or 3000 level, at least 6 units must be 3000 level)
- 12.0 units
Total 120.0 units
Careers
Achieve your creative and career aspirations
How to Apply
Reimagine how the world games
CCA’s BFA in Game Arts and Design is a specialized interdisciplinary degree that teaches the technical and technological skills of professional game making, as well as the conceptual, critical, and cultural theory necessary to build a game practice that is all your own. Located in the center of the gaming industry’s global home base, CCA is an ideal launchpad for a lifelong career in game art and design.