Game Writing Focus

Bachelor of Arts in Game Design

> Department of Game Design & Development

Degree Overview

Since the days of the first campfire, well-told stories have communicated ideas and added texture to our lives. Bringing the craft of storytelling to the video game medium is a natural next step in the digital entertainment industry. Today, the creative and financial success of major game releases increasingly depend on the strength of the game's world, characters and story. University of Silicon Valley's new Game Writing degree program concentration—one of only a few such programs in the world—was developed to empower and support aspiring writers and narrative designers who want to be a part of this bold new storytelling frontier. 

Your training will include a unique range of aesthetics, perspectives, and close interaction with industry professional school faculty. Game-specific narrative components such as branching dialogue, variable story elements and character desires are explored, along with the foundation of game design mechanics, gameplay principles, interactivity, and the means for creating and refining game content. Building on that foundation, as well as the technical aspects of 3D animation software and game engines, you will craft meaningful narratives that create gripping player experiences.

Course Highlights

Introduction to Game Storytelling University of Silicon Valley students are introduced to the theories behind fiction development and storytelling best practices. This game writing course explores how these principles have been and can be applied by game developers to their own craft. Students gain a better understanding of what it can take to bring a video game story to vibrant life.
Game Writing 1  In this project-intensive game writing course, students learn and practice basic, in-the-trenches writing and narrative development for video games, including story outlines, cutscenes, scripted dialogue, systemic dialogue and mission writing and design. University of Silicon Valley students’ efforts will be fully contextualized, making it clear how their work fits in with the rest of a typical game development team’s  structure, with a particular emphasis on the all-important aspect of flexibility.
Narrative Design & Leadership  In this game writing course students will examine the increasingly common role of the narrative designer and its relationship to storytelling, game design, systems planning, scope analysis, scheduling, and more. Students will also take on the lead narrative role on a large, simulated video game project, learning how to allocate resources, mentor junior writers, react to changing circumstances, and make crucial storytelling decisions.

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