Game Design Colleges

The types of careers you can expect to have as an option to you after recieving a game design degree at a top gaming college include:

Video Game Programmer
A programmer can work on the game engine, the Artificial Intelligence features, the tools, hardware and network. Salaries can range, for those with 1-2 years of experience, from $55,000 to $70,000. Programmers are often in high demand in the industry, especially those who are flexible and can perceive the “big picture.”

Video Game Designer
A designer – or artists – can be an animator, 3D artist/modeler or 2D artist/texturer. Salaries range quite widely, and that doesn’t necessarily depend on experience. The reason: some designers just have the right look that is highly sought-after at that moment. Studios will pay big bucks to entice those designers, regardless of their background and experience.

Video Game Level Designer
Though it sounds similar and uses some of the same skills as a designer, Level Design is a job unto itself. This involves placing and organizing the structures that make the game world, a feat which is much easier said than done. To create a design that looks natural but striking, a great amount of general knowledge is required. Level Designers need to have some art proficiency, but must also have good spatial awareness, organizational skills, lightning effects knowledge, and even some familiarity with architecture. This position can often pay quite well.

Video Game Producer/ Video Game Production Personnel
Production is ensuring that the job gets done in the end, on budget and on time. Production workers can be anywhere from the producers who conceive and oversee the entire project time to the office administrators.

With project budgets in the multiple millions of dollars and involving dozens of programmers and designers, simply organizing the project can be an incredible challenge. This can involve writing the documentation, tracking the work and checking the final product for errors.

Video Game Audio Specialist
An audio artist is in charge of doing the audio engineering, sound effects design and musical composition. An audio artist could also work with the production team in recording and editing voice-overs.

Video Game Support
Game development teams rely on other departments within their company, as well as other, smaller firms, to handle the tasks of getting the games out to the public. That can include marketing, customer support and packaging. Finally, the gambling industry needs creative and technical people to create and maintain arcade games, online gambling features and casino games.

Video Game Writer
This is a growing position in the game community. As average team sizes grow, studio managers realize the need for quality communication skills. Documentation is a necessary part of any software creation, and games are certainly no exception. Aside from documentation itself, there is the manual to write, the story behind the game to design and narrate in an interesting way. Every speaking character must have a script. As more writers join the game industry, game plots become more detailed and entertaining, causing the industry to be taken more seriously as an art and entertainment form.

If you would like to learn more about game design programs please browse through our list of game design schools below. To request more program or cirriculum information, follow each schools link to learn more.

Featured Online Game Design Schools
If you do not find a convienent campus location near you we recommend looking into online game design programs.

Academy of Art University (Online) - Programs in Game Design, Animation (Video Game Animation), Illustration, Graphic Design, Fine Art, Computer Arts offered at the Academy of Art University.

The Art Institute (Online) - The Art Institute offers programs in Digital Design, Interactive Media Design (Associates and Bachelors Programs), Game Art & Design (Bachelors), Graphic Design (Associates and Bachelors Programs), Interior Design (Bachelors), Web Design (Diploma). Find out more about video game design programs at The Art Institute today!

Westwood College (Online) - Online Game Design, Software Development Program
About Westwood College Game Design and Development Program: The game and entertainment industry has seen a steady increase over the past 6 to 7 years averaging 14% growth per year, and is expected to continue this strong growth for years to come. A love of games is an advantage in an industry whose stock in trade is fun and fantasy. But game development also requires serious technical skills, and only highly qualified people will find jobs focused on interactive software that run from game design to the military, health care, television and even education. Strong mathematical, computer and analytical skills and aptitude are keys for success in this field. The Online Game Software Development program is designed to provide students with the ability to apply core knowledge of software engineering to employment settings through a curriculum that emphasizes game and interactive software development. In addition, general education courses assist students in applying critical thinking, logic, communication, and problem solving skills in managing challenges that occur in a game development environment. This program helps prepare a student for an entry-level position in the game Software Development industry including the following roles: Game and Interactive Software Tester, Game Maintenance Administrator, Game Documentation Writer, Game Requirements Analyst, and Game Support Specialist. Find out more about video game design programs at Westwood College today!

Game Design Schools

Arizona Game Design Schools
DeVry University (Phoenix AZ) - Bachelor's Degree in Game Design, Game Simulation Programming
The Art Institute of Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ) Game Design, Game Art Design
The Art Institute Online - Game Design Game Art & Design (BS)
The Art Institute of Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ)
The Art Institute of Phoenix - (Phoenix, Arizona) - Visual Effects & Motion Graphics

Colorado Game Design Schools
Westwood College Denver (North Denver, CO, South Denver, CO) - CO Game Design Game Art and Design, Video Game Software Development
The Art Institute of Colorado - (Denver, Colorado) - Visual Effects & Motion Graphics

California Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of California Orange County (Santa Ana, CA)
Game Art & Design, skills in drawing, perspective, 2-D design, explore motion maps, characters, level design, and rotoscoping, scriptwriting, storyboarding, character animation, programming, networking, and Web-based game content production.
DeVry University (Fremont, CA) - Game & Simulation Programming
Mt. Sierra College (Monrovia CA) Graphic Design, Visual Effects & Digital Video, Multimedia Arts & Design, Game Arts & Design
The Art Institute of California (San Diego, CA) - Advertising, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation, Interactive Media Design
Westwood College (Long Beach, CA) - Animation, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design & Multimedia, Visual Communications, Web Design & Multimedia, Computer Aided Design.
The Art Institute of California (Santa Monica, CA) - Video Game Design
The Art Institute of California ( Orange County, CA) - Video Game Design
The Art Institute of California (San Diego, CA) - Video Game Design
The Art Institute of California (San Francisco, CA) - Media Arts & Animation, Simulation & Virtual Environments, Visual & Game Programming
California Design College (Mid-Wilshire, CA) - Video Game Design
San Francisco Art Institute (San Francisco, CA) - Media Arts & Animation, Simulation & Virtual Environments, Visual & Game Programming

Florida Game Design Schools
Southwest Florida College (Fort Myers FL, Tampa FL ) - Game Design Degree
College of Business and Technology (Miami, FL) - Game Design Program, Digital Graphic Design: Commercial Art, Animation, Game Design, Web Design and Publishing AS in Networking Administration: A+, Network+, MCP, MCSA and CCNA, AS in Business Administration: MOS, Accounting, Small Business Administration, 3D/CAD: Drafting Design.
International Academy of Design & Technology (Orlando, FL) - Game Design and Development
IADT's Bachelor Degree program in Game Design and Development is designed to provide training in principles and techniques used to create interactive 2D and 3D computer games. Students can learn design software, programming languages, modeling and animation skills, networking principles, level design and game engines used to design and develop games, and will examine market research and business concepts related to game production and distribution processes.
Keiser College (Ft Lauderdale, FL)
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - Video Game Design
The Art Institute of Tampa (Tampa, FL) - Video Game Design
Miami International University of Art & Design (Miami, FL) - Video Game Design

Illinois Game Design Schools
The Illinois Institute of Art Schaumburg (Schaumburg, IL) - Game Design Game Art & Design Program.
Animators breathe life into inanimate objects. Actually, animation is the illusion of life accomplished through the use of controlled movement over time. Animators observe, analyze, and interpret the motions of living creatures and natural forces; and with that knowledge, bring life and character into their animation. At one time, the animation industry consisted of only television and film production, however, animation has now spread into virtually every form of visual communication.
Westwood College (Woodridge, Calumet City Chicago) - Game Design, Video Game Development, and Software Development.
For a career in video game design it is essencial to have strong creativity, design, computer, and problem solving skills are the keys for success in this exciting and growing field. With these specialized skills in mind, Westwood College has designed a Bachelor degree program in Game Art & Design to get you on the fast track to the career in video game design that you have always dreamed of. As with all Westwood College programs, you'll acquire real-world applied knowledge through our hands-on teaching approach. Best of all, Westwood also provides you the conceptual knowledge you need to be productive and successful in your new career. Get started today.
The Illinois Institute of Art (Chicago, IL Schaumburg, IL) - Video Game Design

Indiana Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN) - Video Game Design

Georgia Game Design Schools
DeVry University (Alpharetta, GA, Decatur, GA) - Undergraduate bachelor's programs in Game & Simulation Programming.
The Art Institute of Atlanta (Atlanta, GA) - Video Game Design

Massachusetts Game Design Schools
The New England Institute of Art (Boston, MA)
The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University (Boston, MA) - Video Game Design

Minnesota Game Design Schools
Minnesota School of Business and Globe College (Plymouth, MN) - Programming and Game Development
program offers the ultimate union of art and technology. Students enrolled in the program will be expected to learn multiple languages in order to write code for the creation of original computer games. The goal of the program is to train the students to become marketable as entry level programmers who also have the ability to develop their own digital video games.
The Art Institutes International Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) - Video Game Design

Missouri Game Design Schools
Sanford Brown Institute (St. Charles, MS) - Computer Game Design

Nevada Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) - Video Game Design

New York Game Design Schools
Katharine Gibbs School (New York, NY) - Game and Web Design, Computer Programming, Digital Media, Digital Filmmaking and Multimedia, E-Commerce, Visual Communications
The Art Institute of New York City (New York City, NY)

North Carolina Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Charlotte (Charlotte, NC) - Video Game Design

Oklahoma Game Design Schools
Vatterott College (Tulsa, OK) - Video Game Design

Ohio Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Ohio (Cincinnati, OH) - Video Game Design

Oregon Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Portland (Portland, OR) - Video Game Design

Pennsylvania Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) - Video Game Design
The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) - Video Game Design

Texas Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Dallas (Dallas, TX) - Video Game Design
The Art Institute of Houston (Houston, TX) - Video Game Design

Virginia Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Washington (Arlington, VA) - Video Game Design

Washington Game Design Schools
The Art Institute of Seattle (Seattle, WA) - Video Game Design

International Game Design Schools
Video Game Design Schools in Canada
International Academy of Design & Technology (Toronto, Ontario) - Video Game Design & Development
The International Academy of Design and Technology offers career-oriented education in today's most exciting design fields. We help students achieve their goals by offering Job Placement Assistance and Financial Aid for those who qualify. If you want a career in Fashion, Graphic or Interior Design, IADT is the place to go.
The Art Institute of Toronto (Toronto)
The Art Institute of Vancouver – Burnaby (Burnaby, BC) - Animation, 3D Modeling for Animation & Game Design