Game Development and Interactive Media

General information

The Game Development and Interactive Media program is designed to provide students with a wide range of game design development and interactive media expertise. Students are immersed in the game development process from day one and develop complete video games beginning in their first year. Successful students develop their knowledge and skills in a diverse team environment and learn to work effectively with programmers, artists, and designers to create innovative products that push the medium to its limits. Each semester, students participate in the Game Development Workshop (GDW) that integrates knowledge in all disciplines in a back-to-back semester-long team project to design/develop/extend/polish an interactive game. Students work in multidisciplinary teams to apply their specific discipline developing and delivering a game at the end of each year. Students gain further experiential experience through the FBIT Experiential Options available (e.g., Capstone, Internship, Venture Creation, etc.). Please see the Game Development and Interactive Media Handbook available on the Faculty of Business and IT website for more details on these and other program-related options. 

Our state-of-the-art Game Development lab features state-of-the-art and emerging technologies allowing students to explore new and exciting ideas in their projects. The lab contains exciting technologies such as Virtual Reality headsets, 3D scanners, Volumetric/Motion capture facilities, an audiometric sound recording booth, and the latest in interaction devices to provide students with real-world experience using technologies that they would not have access to otherwise. 

Students have opportunities to acquire business and management knowledge and develop entrepreneurial skills through the core and elective business courses, allowing graduates to quickly advance their careers in the game industry as employees or entrepreneurs in charge of developing and managing their own gaming businesses. 

Throughout years two to four of the program, students can choose to focus on the disciplines that interest them the most and gain valuable depth of knowledge in development disciplines such as (but not limited to) Game Programming, Game Design, Technical Art, Serious Games and Simulations, and Game User Research.

Admission requirements

Admission is competitive. The specific average or standing required for admission varies from year to year. Students are selected by taking into consideration a wide range of criteria including school marks, distribution of subjects taken, and performance in subjects relevant to the academic program. Possession of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Preference will be given to applicants with the best qualifications.

Current Ontario secondary school students must complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with six 4U or 4M credits including English (ENG4U) with a recommended minimum average of 60 per cent and one of Advanced Functions (MHF4U) or Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) or Mathematics of Data Management (MDM4U) with a recommended minimum average of 60 per cent or Computer Science (ICS4U) with a recommended average of 70 per cent. All other applicants should refer to admissions  for the requirements for their specific category of admission.

Internship program

This program offers students who have successfully completed two years of study, achieved a minimum 2.3 GPA (C+ average on a 4.3 scale) and who are in good academic standing an opportunity to engage in a contracted learning partnership with businesses locally and globally. Faculty members may provide links to various internship placement opportunities or a student may secure an employer who meets the criteria as prescribed by the Faculty of Business and Information Technology.

The internship program not only gives students an opportunity to apply classroom concepts to the challenges of organizational life but also helps them to gain valuable and relevant work experience to promote networking and life-long career success. Participating employers are given the opportunity to bring the motivated learners, thinkers, and doers of tomorrow into their workplaces, as well as provide valuable mentoring to students.

The internship program placement equates to a minimum of 560 hours of progressive business and management experience. The intern’s wages (stipulated in a contract) are paid by the sponsoring business over a contracted period. Successful work placement completion and both a verbal and written final report will result in the intern receiving a letter grade and three credits toward their undergraduate degree requirements. Students who have successfully completed the Internship program are not required to take the Capstone Study Project.

Admission to the internship program is competitive. While students are participating in an internship program, they may enrol in one course (3 credits) per semester. This course must not interfere with the internship schedule outlined by the employer.

Program details and degree requirements

To be eligible for the honours Bachelor of Information Technology degree with a major in Game Development and Interactive Media, students must successfully complete 120 credit hours, including all courses outlined in the following program map.

Although reasonable efforts will be made to adhere to the following program map, course requirements and term offerings may change. For the most up-to-date list of course offerings, please visit the faculty website at businessandit.ontariotechu.ca.

Year 1

• INFR 1020U – Essential Mathematics for Games I
• INFR 1030U – Essential Mathematics for Games II
• INFR 1100U – Programming for Games I
• INFR 1110U – Programming for Games II
• INFR 1315U – Visual Narrative Foundations
• INFR 1325U – Introduction to 2D Animation for Games
• INFR 1330U – Basic Introduction to Game Design
• INFR 1335U – Digital Game Design
• INFR 1395U – Game Development Workshop I
• INFR 1396U – Game Development Workshop II

Year 2

• BUSI 1600U – Management of the Enterprise
• INFR 2395U – Game Development Workshop III
• INFR 2396U – Game Development Workshop IV

Year 3

• BUSI 2550U – Introduction to Project Management
• INFR 3395U – Game Development Workshop V
• INFR 3396U – Game Development Workshop VI

Year 4

• INFR 4560U – Law and Ethics in Game Development
• INFR 4395U – Game Development Workshop VII
• INFR 4396U – Game Development Workshop VIII

Additional requirements

Additionally, students must complete the following to complete their degree:

Electives (60 credits) 

• 12 GAME electives
  • Students must select a minimum of 12 courses of GAME electives as defined in the Game Development and Interactive Media Program Handbook subject to scheduling and credit restrictions. 
• 3 general electives 
  • Students must select a minimum of three non-INFR, non-computer science related courses from any faculty, subject to scheduling and credit restrictions. 
• 3 open electives 
  • Students must select a minimum of three courses from any faculty as open electives, subject to scheduling and credit restrictions. 
• 2 BUSI electives 
  • Students must select a minimum of two BUSI courses, subject to scheduling and credit restrictions. 

Experiential credit (3 credits) 

• Choose one of: Internship, Capstone, Venture Creation, or Directed Studies (Research Project)

Electives

General elective

Students must select a minimum of three non-INFR, non-computer science related courses from any faculty, subject to credit restrictions.

Open elective 

Students may enrol in any courses from any faculty as open electives, subject to credit restrictions. These courses may be either non-INFR/non-computer science courses or may include INFR/computer science courses.

GAME elective 

Please see the Game Development and Interactive Media Program Handbook for help with choosing GAME electives.

BUSI elective 

Students must select a minimum of two BUSI courses from the Faculty of Business and IT, subject to credit restrictions.