This program is designed to be paired with the Interactive Technology Bachelor of Science Completion Program With a Concentration in Game Design degree program. Apply today to get started.
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The Game Development Associate of Applied Science at Full Sail University is designed to provide the programming skills and game design methodologies needed to progress within the world of video games and interactive entertainment. Students will first explore the foundations of game design, visual scripting, and the game development pipeline to create game levels and prototype gameplay systems. Through threaded project-based learning, students will be introduced to increasingly sophisticated techniques in level design, systems design, game mechanics, rapid prototyping, and hands-on game production in Unreal Engine and will evolve their work to build their portfolios. Throughout the program, students will advance their technical abilities with Unreal Engine prototyping tools and AI-assisted workflows, including the Unreal Editor for Fortnite, Unreal Engine Blueprint, and the generative AI Epic Developer Assistant. Students will also experiment with emerging tools such as Unreal's embedded Model Context Protocol (MCP) prompt-driven AI code generation utility. In the final portfolio course of the program, teams of students will produce a tightly scoped game from concept through completion using rapid prototyping and iterative design techniques.
In addition to navigating the game development pipeline, courses will focus on probability, game-relevant math such as algebra and coordinate geometry, as well as player psychology. As the field increasingly adopts AI-facilitated workflows, students will learn to apply asset generators like Meshy and Suno as well as LLMs to support and validate their design decisions and accelerate preproduction. Students will complete the program with a portfolio of playable prototypes, assembled according to professional standards and suitable for presentation to further education and industry internship opportunities.
The goal of the Game Development Associate of Applied Science degree program is to provide students with the technical foundation and conceptual understanding of how video games are designed, built, tested and released, equipping them for continued growth in the professional video game and interactive industries. The technical tools, industry-standard techniques, and professional mindset acquired through this curriculum outfits students to pursue internship and entry-level roles such as QA testers and level designers. Across the curriculum, students will build core skills game designers need, including visual scripting, level design and visual storytelling, systems design and probability, gameplay design and playtesting, rapid prototyping and project documentation, and will apply them through hands-on project-based work to build a game development portfolio. In addition to a strong technical foundation in visual scripting, skills developed in this program include the ethical use of generative AI tools and LLMs like ChatGPT and Google Gemini for brainstorming, research, documentation, placeholder asset creation, and playtest validation.
Students will develop an essential knowledge of game design terminology and player-centered level design and system design methods needed to populate an immersive, interactive game world. In addition to technical skills and creative development, courses cultivate students' critical-thinking, problem-solving, professionalism, and analytical skills to encourage lifelong learning and sustaining an enduring professional career in the interactive entertainment and media industries.
Please Note
- Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree programs are designed to prepare students for entry into technical and professional fields. A.A.S. degree programs are fully transferable into related Full Sail University bachelor’s programs. The transferability of credit from Full Sail to another institution is at the discretion of the accepting institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits will be accepted by another college.