Session 1

Game Design & Development

Bring Your Stories to Life

Students in this two-week program will explore the core concepts of game design with School of Engineering and Computer Science faculty as they create their own video game using Unreal Engine 4, an open-source gaming engine. This fast-paced “learn-by-doing” game design camp will teach students how to think about game mechanics and player behavior as they create a game that will be played at the end of the course. Along the way, we will discuss the nature of the video game industry, roles within game design teams and the life of a game designer.

Curriculum

This hands-on course will teach students to think like a game designer. Students will participate in lectures, discussions, and activities as they learn how to design games that are fun to play. Students will also learn to use Unreal Engine to create their own first-person video game.

Game Design student working at a computer
Planned Topics

Course topics will likely include:

  • Principles of Game Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics
  • Unreal Engine (Basic creation, visual scripting and terminology)
  • First-person Games
  • The Video Game Industry
  • Careers in Game Design
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Joshua Salyers
Faculty Lead
Joshua Salyers

Assistant Professor of Narrative Design (Games and Interactive Media)

Ph.D., University of Arizona, 2017
M.A., East Tennessee State University, 2011
B.A., East Tennessee State University, 2009

Joshua Salyers is an assistant Professor of Narrative Design in Game Development and Immersive Design in the Department of Art, Media Performance and Design at the University of the Pacific. He specializes in historical reconstruction and simulation for video games and serious game design for social impact. He came to the University of the Pacific as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration by the Department of History and the School of Engineering and Computer Science. This interdisciplinary student-driven initiative to create public humanities projects using game and immersive technologies has resulted in students creating games, pedagogical programs, and museum exhibits that explore the history of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta area.

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