Specialty Area

Game Design and Development

Example Course Pathway

In this section, we present examples of how to package this content into meaningful course sequences across particular specialty areas. The boxes in each diagram represent discrete courses.

Course Definitions

This section contains example courses and descriptions, with the assumption that individual schools and districts may modify the offerings to meet local contexts and needs.

Content Progression

Game design and development content progression, which shares content with other 2D and 3D digital simulations. (Also note that there was no consensus related to naming this pathway, and whether it should be described more broadly.)

Foundational CS Content

Programming basics
Testing and debugging
Inclusive collaboration on projects
Social and ethical impacts
Cybersecurity basic

Fundamentals

Game Design
Game, 2D, and 3D Art
Game Sound
Interactive Design
User Interface
Psychology of Games
Storyboarding
Ethics
AB testing
GPUs
Interaction of physical devices with a program/game (e.g., joysticks, VR headsets)
Accessibility (games should be accessible to all)
Inclusivity (broad cultural, religious, gender, physical, cognitive differences)
Social impact (games have power to influence culture, cultural values and norms)
Physical modeling
Programming (e.g., interaction, navigation, world building)
Human Behavior/Safety in game environments and simulations
Debugging
Game/simulation pathways and careers