Starting this Fall semester, Mount Saint Mary College’s Division of Mathematics and Information Technology will offer a new Game Programming major.
With its recent integration into pop culture, video games have become accessible to a wider variety of audiences by constantly evolving and adapting with the introduction of new technologies. The Mount is committed to teaching the next generation how to use these emerging digital media and programming technologies within the game development industry, and within diverse settings and populations that also use these state-of-the-art technologies.
At the Mount, Game Programming majors will take an interdisciplinary approach by gaining artistic, communication, mathematical, and computational skills that will help them understand the game development process and what makes the games they enjoy fun.
These skills can be used for more than just making their own games: the computer programming principles they will demonstrate are the same ones that drive the websites, mobile apps, and desktop applications we use every day.
Micah Modell, assistant professor of Information Technology, noted, “People have played games…because they engage so many aspects of who and what we are: they give us problems to solve; they allow us to exercise and display our skills; they can lend form and structure to our relationships with our communities and more.”
In addition to honing such skills, students will focus on developing 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional games using computer programming languages and modern software engineering practices throughout their courses. They’ll also learn all about the game development process by analyzing professional game engines, scripting languages, graphics, networks, and various other components.
Modell added, “Thinking about games affords us valuable perspective on what makes people tick. It helps us understand why our peers get bored and how to engage them. It gives us an outlet for our creative sides while providing valuable service that brings joy and sparks delight. Even if we don’t go on to build the next great computer game, we can use these skills to motivate and lead our teams, excite our clients, and keep our kids optimally challenged and satisfied.”
The Mount’s Division of Mathematics and Information Technology offers a variety of innovative programs, such as Actuarial Science and Cybersecurity. With opportunities for research and application of skills outside the classroom, Math and IT programs prepare students to enter fast-growing fields with the training they need to be successful.