This course investigates aesthetic and technical aspects of sound for video games and interactive 3-D environments. Artistic implications of the technology are also explored from the perspective of the electronic composer and performer. Students will work with a game engine to create an immersive interactive environment. Additional topics include: Csound, Java and other relevant technologies. Completion of a final project, class presentation, as well as several weekly assignments is required.
Category Archives: Fall 2026
Intro to Visual Communication (GAMES-UT 201)
This course allows students to harness the power of visual language in order to convey messages and meaning. The elements of visual foundation covered include components (color, texture, image and typography), composition, and concept. Although the class takes place in the Game Design department, the focus is less concerned with visuals as they apply to games and instead look at visual communication across a wide range of disciplines, from visual art to graphic design to web and interface design. Although non-digital mediums are addressed, the understanding and use of industry-standard software is also a primary goal. The class is about the importance of visual design, how it shapes our culture. The students learn about and discuss widely-practiced methods of visual communication, and then find their own voice through developing their own works, driven by a clearer understanding of their own tastes and interested fields.
Intro to Programming for Games (GAMES-UT 180)
Introduction to Programming for Games is a course that introduces students to the concepts, problems, and methods of computer programming, and how these apply to the creation of video games. The course assumes no prior programming knowledge, and is designed to touch on the basic principles of digital design in the form of computer code. There will be an emphasis on programming fundamentals; they will be motivated through the lens of designing and producing video games.
Games 101 (GAMES-UT 101)
Games 101 is the foundational course for the NYU Game Center. The focus of Games 101 is game literacy – a shared understanding of games as complex cultural and aesthetic objects. The class incorporates lectures, discussion, readings, and writing assignments, but the primary activity of the class is critical play – playing games in order to better understand and appreciate them. The class covers games on and off the computer, including classic and contemporary board and card games, sports, and games on the PC, internet, and consoles.
Class #
Section #
Meets
Class #: 17393
Section #: 001
Meets: M 2-3:40p
Class #: 17348
Section #: 011
Meets: W 8-10:45a
Class #: 17349
Section #: 012
Meets: W 11a-1:45p
Class #: 17350
Section #: 013
Meets: W 2-4:45p
Class #: 17352
Section #: 015
Meets: F 11a-1:45p
Class #: 17353
Section #: 016
Meets: F 2-4:45p
Class #: 17354
Section #: 017
Meets: F 4:55-7:40p
Shader Lab (GAMES-UT 208)
Shader Lab is an introduction to shaders for game designers that are artists first, and technicians second. This course attempts to bridge gaps in the necessary knowledge and establish the contextual foundation to allow students to make sense of the disparate sub-disciplines necessary to meaningfully express themselves aesthetically in a rendered environment. Ultimately, Shader Lab is a primer for students seeking to create unique and expressive aesthetics for their digital games. The course empowers designers by providing a conceptual and functional understanding of 3D rendering in order to enable the design and implementation of their personal style.
The Visual Music Experience (REMU-UT 1228)
From Concept Album films of the 1960s to the MTV revolution of the 1980s and 1990s to the innovations of YouTube and Virtual Reality, this class will examine how the convergence of visual and auditory mediums has created some of the most impactful art. We’ll extract the great lessons from the pieces we study and utilize our production skills to create videos, on-stage visuals, and songs of our own. We’ll also investigate how the creation of videos alongside songs has disrupted the marketing and sales fates for the music industry multiple times. If you’re interested in the convergence of visual art, music, technology, and business, you’ll have fun in this class.
Introduction to Animation Techniques (FMTV-UT 41)
A beginning production course in which students learn the basic principles of animation, develop visual language, storytelling, observation, and communication skills. A freshman core production selection, but open to students at all levels. It is the prerequisite for several of the other animation and visual effects courses. Prior drawing experience is not necessary. The first half of the semester consists of weekly exercises in which students explore various styles and methods of animation including optical toys, stop motion, traditional drawn, and 2D digital animation. Students will be introduced to programs including Dragon Stop Motion, After Effects, Avid, Flash, and Photoshop. Various technical topics covered include aspect ratio, frame rates, storyboarding, editing animatics, scanning, working with image sequences, alpha channels, vector vs. raster art, compositing, rendering, using a Cintiq, and shooting stills with DSLR camera. During the second half of the semester students will complete a 15-30 second animated film with sound.
Documentary Strategies (PHTI-UT 1006)
Prerequisite: Photography & Imaging II, or permission of the department. This course considers the creative possibilities of a variety of documentary strategies. The editing of images, their structuring into an essay form, the interpretation of their various meanings, and the impact of the documentary essay on the world are all discussed. Students are assigned a range of problems that explore visual description and interpretation ranging from the photojournalistic to the autobiographical. In addition each student devotes a significant amount of time to producing a single-subject documentary project. Classes are lecture-demonstration with critiques of student work and regular presentations of documentary photographs made throughout history, in different cultures and for different reasons, including the personal and the societal. Each student must have a still camera or a video camera. This course requires a nonrefundable lab fee.
Intro to Game Design (GAMES-UT 150)
This class is an intensive, hands-on workshop addressing the complex challenges of game design. The premise of the class is that all games, digital and non-digital, share common fundamental principles, and that under- standing these principles is an essential part of designing successful games. Learning how to create successful non-digital games provides a solid foundation for the development of digital games. In this workshop, students will: analyze existing digital and non-digital games, taking them apart to understand how they work as interactive systems; create a number of non-digital games in order to master the basic design principles that apply to all games regardless of format; critique each other’s work, developing communication skills necessary for thriving in a collaborative field; explore the creative possibilities of this emerging field from formal, social, and cultural perspectives; develop techniques for fast-prototyping and iterative design that can be successfully applied to all types of interactive projects.
Class #
Section #
Meets
Class #: 17361
Section #: 001
Meets: T 2-4:45p
Class #: 17362
Section #: 002
Meets: F 11a-1:45p
Class #: 17363
Section #: 003
Meets: F 2-4:45p
Class #: 17364
Section #: 004
Meets: R 11a-1:45p
Class #: 17365
Section #: 005
Meets: F 8-10:45a
Class #: 17366
Section #: 006
Meets: R 8-10:45a
Intro to Game Studies (GAMES-UT 110)
This class is an overview of the field of games that approaches them from several theoretical and critical perspectives. No special theoretical background or prior training is needed to take the course, but to have had a broad practical experience with and basic knowledge of games is a distinct advantage. Also, an interest in theoretical and analytical issues will help. You are expected to actively participate in the lectures, which are dialogic in form, with ample room for discussion. The course will prepare the student to: Understand and discuss games from a theoretical perspective, as well as the components of a game; Apply new theories and evaluate them critically; Assess and discuss game concepts and the use of games in various contexts; Analyze games, and understand and apply a range of analytical methods.
Capstone (IMNY-UT 400)
The interactive project will illustrate students’ unique interests as well as evidence of competency within the field of interactive media production. Students are encouraged to develop their project around a theme previously explored in their work. Projects will be presented and critiqued repeatedly throughout the capstone process to peers, faculty, and industry professionals. A final presentation of the interactive project will be delivered late in the semester. The research paper (4000-5000 words) will focus on at least one aspect of the interactive project: e.g. culture, theory, philosophy, or history, the project context, and/or production methods. For example, students may write about their project’s reception by a set of specific users, or by users who are part of a larger culture, society, or market. It is important that students think beyond the project itself and situate it in a broader context accessible through research. The research paper will include an annotated bibliography of the books and other resources they used for their research. Students will also be guided in the production of an online portfolio to showcase their work and accomplishments to the outside world. Graduates will be evaluated by their portfolio when applying for jobs, graduate school, artist residencies, grants, and the like. Portfolios will be tailored to the demands of each student’s future goals and target audience.
Topics in Computation and Data: Mobile Application Development Mobile Application Development (IMNY-UT 220)
This course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience working with computational media (programming, creative coding, etc.) and data. The forms and uses of computational media and its application are explored in a laboratory context of experimentation and discussion.
User Experience Design (IMNY-UT 262)
This course aims to provide students with the critical thinking and practical skills for creating effective and compelling interfaces. We will dissect what a compelling user experience is and discuss and apply design methods for creating one. Throughout this 14-week course we will examine a wide range of examples of interfaces with a focus on understanding the attributes of a successful interface and applying proven research, mapping and testing techniques. The class format will include lectures, case studies, student presentations, discussions of readings and in-class design exercises. The format is very hands-on with assignments that focus on problems that are typical of those a UX designer will encounter in the professional world.
Immersive Experiences (IMNY-UT 282)
This course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience creating immersive experiences, with a focus on designing artistic, meaningful worlds for virtual reality headsets. The class will also touch on related technologies, methods, and fields including experience design, virtual painting, augmented reality, interactive installation, and 360 video/audio. The course materials will also include readings and discussions on prior art/relevant critical texts. This class uses VR as a lens for understanding experience design in general. Some basic familiarity with programming, image-making, and time-based media is a plus, but not required. Communications Lab: Hypercinema or equivalent experience.
Creative Approaches to Emerging Media (IMNY-UT 205)
We live in a world where we have more data, computational power, and access to digital connectivity than ever before. But how do we make sense of the promise inherent in this reality while holding space for the challenges that it presents for different groups and communities? How do we situate the technologies that we have come to take for granted? And more importantly, how do we leverage an artist’s perspective to creating active responses that interrogate and hint at the potential for different futures? This course examines emergent technological fields, spanning topics like data collection/representation, digital archives, artificial intelligence, social algorithms, and automation and asks how the technologies inherent to each can be leveraged for artistic response, creation, and critique. While this course is primarily conceptual and art theory-based, the content covered will be technical in nature and students will be tasked with making three creative responses to the content in the tradition of the new media, digital, and conceptual art worlds. Prerequisites: Creative Computing or equivalent programming experience and Communications Lab: Hypercinema or equivalent media production experience is required.
The Code of Music (IMNY-UT 222)
This course explores how sound, code, and interaction can merge to create musical experiences that invite listeners to shape the music, not just hear it. Students create a series of browser-based musical systems that respond to users, incorporate randomness, and draw patterns from existing music. We begin by creating a series of audio-visual interfaces—an instrument, a score/mixer, and a loop-based piece—that invite deeper listening through play. Incorporating elements of sound and music production, these projects turn tools normally hidden in the studio into interactive spaces where listeners, performers, and audiences can engage with music in new ways. From there, we dive into the inner workings of music, examining how sound organizes into rhythm, melody, timbre, and harmony, and how these patterns can be expressed in code. Students design interactive studies on each musical element, reimagining tools like drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers into experimental, playful, or educational systems that incorporate creative coding, machine listening, and machine learning techniques. Classes combine lectures, coding tutorials, listening sessions, design exercises, and discussions of existing interfaces. Throughout, students bring their own musical sensibilities into the work while developing their creative coding skills using p5.js and Tone.js. Students regularly share work and receive feedback, using input from the class to develop and iterate on their ideas. The semester culminates in an interactive or generative piece that builds on the semester’s studies, documented through sketches, demos, and code. About Luisa Hors: https://www.luisapereira.net/ Prerequisite: Creative Computing (IMNY-UT 101)
Introduction to Fabrication (IMNY-UT 242)
An introductory course designed to familiarize students with all the IMA prototyping shop has to offer. We will cover everything from basic hand tools to the beginnings of digital fabrication. You will learn to use the right tool for the job. There will be weekly assignments, created to develop your fabrication techniques. There will be in class lectures, demos, and building assignments. Emphasis will be put on good design practices, material choice, and craftsmanship.
Networked Media (IMNY-UT 223)
“The network is a fundamental medium for interactivity. It makes possible our interaction with machines, data, and, most importantly, other people. Though the base interaction it supports is simple, a client sends a request to a server, which replies; an incredible variety of systems can be and have been built on top of it. An equally impressive body of media theory has also arisen around its use. This hybrid theory and technology course will be 50% project driven technical work and 50% theory and discussion. The technical work will utilize JavaScript as both a client and server side programming language to build creative systems on the web. Technical topics will include server and client web frameworks, such as Express, HTML, CSS, templating, and databases. The theory portion of the course will include reading and discussion of past and current media theory texts that relate to the networks of today. **** it is HIGHLY recommended you take Front End Web Development (or have equivalent front end web development experience) to get the most out of this course. We will be going over fundamentals of HTML/CSS but it would be useful to have prior knowledge ***”Prerequisite: Creative Computing or equivalent programming experience.
3D Modeling for Games (GAMES-UT 206)
This course is an introduction to 3D graphics for video games, starting with the foundations of 3D modeling and texturing in industry-standard tools. It focuses on building fluency with basic tools and techniques, as well as developing experience with aesthetic issues of look, style, and critical judgement in visual art.
Introduction to Narrative Design (GAMES-UT 161)
Narrative Design is an advanced game design course where students learn a variety of strategies to bring together game design and storytelling, both in table-top and digital games. Every assignment covers a different challenge when it comes to integrating systems design with storytelling. Students also learn some of the basics of storytelling, such as character development, dramatic action, generating conflict, and world-building.