Courses
Game - Design-2024/2025
| Level 1 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| MMED-1073 | 3D Intro | 3 | ||
| This course will introduce students to the 3D environment using an industry standard 3D application. Topics will include: modelling, animating, lighting and rendering techniques. This course is a means to teach fundamental concepts of 3D development with modeling, animation and rendering software. Both practical techniques and theoretical principles of 3D development will be explored. 3D modeling for game developers explores how to model and render 3D design projects. | ||||
| MMED-1023 | Digital Drawing 1 | 2.5 | ||
| This is an introductory course into the study of two-dimensional design. Focus will be on using digital drawing tools & techniques to help visualize ideas. Topics will include realism, shading, lighting, colour, analysis of form, and concepts of light, space and surface. Students will refine their abilities to conceptualize, and develop drawings for gaming purposes. | ||||
| HIST-1041 | Art & Design Survey | 3 | ||
| This course will focus on the art and design disciplines and movements of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Lectures include topics on art forms, industrial design, architecture, graphic design, typography and global design movements | ||||
| MMED-1027 | Animation 1 | 2.5 | ||
| In the course students will explore the basic foundation principles of 2D and 3D animation. Topics will include: stretch and squash, anticipation, timing and motion, space, etc. | ||||
| MMED-1026 | Character Design Anatomy 1 | 2.5 | ||
| This is a course designed to teach an introduction to human anatomy as it pertains to Game Character art (for modelling, cinematics, concepts and animation). It will cover human bone and musculature structures as well as individual body parts, skeleton mechanics, facial expressions etc. A strong emphasis on Character Rotations for the purpose of Modelling will also be covered. | ||||
| INDS-1033 | Video Game Theory | 3 | ||
| This course will analyze the cultural and artistic significance of video games, and also the ways gaming reflects our larger relationships with technology. This course aims to discuss the relationship between video games and other media; gamers and the gaming community; and the important sociological, cultural, industrial, and economic issues that surround gaming. | ||||
| WRIT-1037 | Reason & Writing 1-Contemporary Media | 3 | ||
| This course will introduce contemporary media students to essential principles of reading, writing, and reasoning at the postsecondary level. Students will identify, summarize, analyze, and evaluate multiple short readings and write persuasive response essays to develop their vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, and critical thinking. | ||||
| Level 2 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| MMED-3055 | Animation 2 | 2.5 | ||
| In this course students will learn the various acting techniques necessary for animators to understand the relationship between physical action and their digital characters. It will cover the connection between thinking and emotion as well as thinking and physical action. | ||||
| MMED-3018 | Digital Drawing 2 | 2.5 | ||
| This is a continuation of Digital Drawing 1. Students will build on their previous drawing and digital painting knowledge and begin to explore and master Material Definition and surface variation applicable to all materials found in Video Games. Extensive Brush and texture techniques will also be taught. | ||||
| MMED-1028 | Technology Survey | 3 | ||
| This course will introduce students to supporting technologies for video game development and related digital creative fields. Technologies such as 3D Scanning and Photogrammetry, Virtual and Augmented Reality, and Procedural Generation, and Game Engines. Content will be a blend of theory and practical (hands-on) application. | ||||
| MMED-1029 | Texture 1 | 2.5 | ||
| This course will focus on using 3D Max with Photoshop to introduce the essential elements and concepts for texturing, lighting and rendering.. | ||||
| MMED-1030 | Modeling 1 | 2.5 | ||
| In this course students will explore the principles of 3D modeling. The course will address modeling techniques and how they relate to different applications such as digital characters, game environments etc. Students will learn about 3D geometry including the design of wireframe characters. | ||||
| MMED-3019 | Character Design Anatomy 2 | 2.5 | ||
| This is a continuation of Character Design Anatomy 1. Students will learn Character variation, Creature Anatomy, and characters in Dynamic poses including animation principles such as Line of Action, Path of Action, Secondary Action, Personality, Exaggeration and Silhouette. Students will also learn about Garments and Eras/roles as well as to Colour their creations using Photoshop painting techniques | ||||
| MMED-1031 | Game Design 1 | 2.5 | ||
| This course is designed to introduce students to the broad field of game design. Students will learn not only what defines a game but also why people enjoy game play. This will include an introduction to concepts such as meaningful choice, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and the difference between games and play. A hand's on, analytical and experimental interaction with games will provide the foundation for game design. | ||||
| COMM-3075 | Communications for Media | 3 | ||
| This course, designed for students who plan to work in the field of media, focuses on professional written and verbal communication skills. Students learn to prepare a variety of work-related documents. In addition, students learn about research methods and documentation formats. The principles of effective writing - organization, grammar, style, clarity, and tone - are reinforced throughout the course. The goal of the course is to prepare students for the communication tasks and considerations they will encounter in the media workplace in order to meet the needs of employers and/or the communities they will serve. | ||||
| Level 3 | ||||
| Gen Ed - Take a 3 credit General Education elective course. | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| MMED-3056 | Animation 3 | 2.5 | ||
| This course is a continuation of Animation 2. In this course students will continue to explore and refine acting techniques. In this course students will follow various acting techniques necessary for animators to understand the relationship between physical action and their digital characters. It will cover the connection between thinking and emotion as well as thinking and physical action. | ||||
| MMED-3021 | Digital Drawing 3 | 2.5 | ||
| This is a continuation of Digital Drawing 2. Students will build on their previous drawing and digital painting knowledge. The Video Game Production Pipeline will be emulated and students will concept and create 2D assets for their final project, a paralax scrolling Platformer Game. This includes Environmental art, Character art, and Animated User Interface/Menu system using Introductory knowledge of Photoshop's Timeline tool. | ||||
| MMED-1032 | Unity 1 | 2.5 | ||
| This course is designed to provide students with a strong design foundation in Unity 3D. Topics will include development for mobile and desktop games, proper use of scale, importing assets, proxy level design, adding lights, effects, textures and creating reusable assets. | ||||
| MMED-3022 | Texture 2 | 2.5 | ||
| This course will focus on using 3D Max with Photoshop to introduce the essential elements and concepts for texturing, lighting and rendering. This course expands on the first semester course by exploring advanced techniques for texturing. Students will learn how to unwrap, create advanced environment textures and skyboxes. | ||||
| MMED-3023 | Modeling 2 | 2.5 | ||
| This course is a continuation of Modeling 1. In this course students will further understand and exercise the principles of 3D modeling. The course will address modeling techniques and how they relate to different applications such as digital characters, game environments etc. Students will learn about 3D geometry including the design of wireframe characters. | ||||
| MMED-3058 | Digital Sculpting 1 | 2.5 | ||
| Students will learn detailed level design and explore how to design and fabricate their own products using industry standard software. This course will cover premises such as conceptualizing an environment, lighting, rendering and creating interactive elements within a game engine and 3D software environments. | ||||
| Level 4 | ||||
| Gen Ed - Take a 3 credit General Education elective course. | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| MMED-3060 | Environment Art | 3 | ||
| This course is an continuation of the skills students have learned in their previous modeling and texturing courses. In addition to making generic game assets, students will now expand their scope and consider the design of indoor and outdoor game settings. Planning the 'architecture' of the game level will require students to add buildings, streets, foliage, furniture, and other elements into scene. Gameplay and optimizing topology will be important factors students will need to plan for. | ||||
| MMED-5001 | Digital Drawing 4 | 2.5 | ||
| This is a continuation of Digital Drawing 3. Students will build on their previous knowledge of The Video Game Production Pipeline with a heavy emphasis on Storyboarding for their final project. Cinematic and cut-scene creation will be discussed and students will work towards creating an Animatic production video representing their Final Group Game Project using Photoshop's Timeline tool. | ||||
| MMED-3025 | Unity 2 | 2.5 | ||
| This course is a continuation of Unity 1. Additional intermediate content for this course will include: Basic scripting implementation, controllers, particle systems, physics and export formats, game functionality and real-time simulations as well as the processes for publishing a game. | ||||
| MMED-3026 | Texture 3 | 2.5 | ||
| This course is a continuation for Texture 2 with concentration on elements and concepts for texturing, lighting and rendering. This course expands on the first and semester courses by exploring more advanced techniques for texturing. Students continue to unwrap, create advanced environment textures and skyboxes. | ||||
| MMED-3061 | Animation 4 | 3 | ||
| In this course students will learn the principles of advanced animation topics such as rigging and motion capture. Utilizing the basic rigging tools (Bones, Biped, CAT etc.) students will explore the role of animation and creating lifelike movement in their characters. In addition to rigging, students will learn the Motion Capture pipeline including marker placement, capture and data clean-up. Motion capture data will then be applied to characters in a 3D application. | ||||
| MMED-3059 | Digital Sculpting 2 | 2.5 | ||
| This course will focus on the iterative process of production design and will expand on the design work of the previous semester. Students will attempt to improve on their previous designs and test their prototypes in focus groups. | ||||
| MMED-3029 | Game Design 2 | 2.5 | ||
| This course is a continuation of Game Design 1. It will explore more advanced themes of game design and investigate the genres of Serious Gaming, Simulations, Gamification, Edu-Games etc. | ||||
| Level 5 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| MMED-5002 | Game Design 3 | 2.5 | ||
| This course is a continuation of Game Design 2. In this course students will expand on their previous knowledge and learn advanced problem solving techniques as related to game and level design. They will create levels from concept through to production and play testing. Additional content for this course will include: level design, artificial intelligence theory and (scripting), gameplay styles and limitations, gameplay analysis, level construction, architecture techniques, and design principles. By the course end, students will create a level complete with 3D assets, lighting, effects, and scripting. | ||||
| DEVL-1040 | Portfolio Development 1 | 2.5 | ||
| The goal of this course is to provide instruction and direction for the creation of an individual game portfolio. Students will research and create delivery options for their game demo such as a portfolio websites etc. They will be encouraged to find their own 'specialization' and tailor their portfolio accordingly. Additional content will include: interview process, resume, social media marketing, freelancing issues, contracts etc. | ||||
| MMED-5003 | Thesis Capstone 1 | 6 | ||
| This will be the final portion of the Video Game program. Students will form interdisciplinary teams with the goal of completing a finished video game. | ||||
| MMED-1034 | 3D Asset Development 1 | 2.5 | ||
| Students will be introduced to the concept of 'asset tracking' for video game projects. Various asset tracking tools will be considered and appropriate tracking systems will be applied to their game projects | ||||
| Level 6 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| DEVL-5002 | Portfolio Development 2 | 6 | ||
| This course is a continuation of Portfolio Development 1. In this course students will continue to work on and refine their individual portfolios. | ||||
| MMED-5005 | Thesis Capstone 2 | 6 | ||
| This course is a continuation of Thesis Capstone 1. In this course, students will experience the full life cycle of video game production from concept to full production. They will work in groups to create a final completed video game project overcoming technical obstacles as well as managing project scope. Team work, time management and conflict resolution issues will conclude the content for this course. | ||||
| DEVL-3013 | Career Preparation | 2.5 | ||
| This course will provide students with the critical employability skills needed to get established in the Video Games and related industries as an employee, freelancer, or entrepreneur. | ||||
| MMED-5004 | 3D Asset Development 2 | 2.5 | ||
| This is a continuation of 3D Asset Development 1. Students will continue to utilize asset tracking tools and software to ensure timely delivery of their 3D assets. | ||||
| Gen Ed - Electives | ||||
| Take 6 General Education Credits - Normally taken in Levels 3 and 4 | ||||
| Program Residency | ||||
| Students Must Complete a Minimum of 28 credits in this program at Fanshawe College to meet the Program Residency requirement and graduate from this program | ||||