Game design · IMD Specializations

Faculty Working Draft
Prepared September 2026

Purpose

This document uses Game Design as a pilot case for defining what an IMD specialization could be. It is not a final curriculum proposal or a request to add a fixed set of courses. It demonstrates how an area of specialization might connect competencies, existing courses, project continuity, portfolio development, facilities, faculty expertise, and career preparation across the current B.A. and B.S. track structure.

The case is organized around a central principle:

A specialization should be more than a list of electives. It should provide a visible progression through which students develop an identity, sustained body of work, and demonstrable area of expertise.

1. Why Game Design Is a Useful Pilot

Game Design is an appropriate test case because it already exists across the IMD curriculum in partial form:

The Computing B.S. provides substantial preparation in programming, algorithms, software systems, graphics, artificial intelligence, and game programming.
The Emerging Creatives B.A. provides substantial preparation in visual design, 3D and spatial practice, digital art, creative coding, critical theory, and media culture.
The shared IMDM sequence provides interaction design, collaborative production, experiential media, project development, critique, documentation, and public exhibition.
Existing faculty and courses contribute expertise in sound, animation, XR, physical computing, interactive installation, creative technology, and related practices.

The problem is not that games are absent. The problem is that students must assemble these pieces for themselves, and the route is significantly more visible and accessible to some students than to others.

Game Design can therefore test whether IMD can turn distributed strengths into a coherent specialization without abandoning the interdisciplinary character of the program.

2. Proposed Identity

Working Title

Game Design and Interactive Systems

The shorter public-facing name could remain Game Design, but the expanded title better communicates the specialization's relationship to IMD.

Distinctive IMD Position

The specialization should not attempt to reproduce a conventional computer science game-development degree or a conventional game-art program. Its strength would come from the intersection of:

game systems and mechanics;
programming and technical implementation;
visual, spatial, sonic, and interaction design;
experimental and expressive play;
XR, physical interfaces, installation, and emerging media;
collaborative production;
game studies, culture, ethics, and critical inquiry; and
independent, entrepreneurial, and small-team practice.

This positions games as designed interactive systems and cultural works, not only as commercial entertainment software.

3. Specialization Learning Outcomes

Students completing the specialization should be able to:

Design game systems in which rules, mechanics, goals, feedback, space, narrative, audio, and player action work together intentionally.
Prototype game ideas rapidly using physical, visual, and computational methods.
Test games with players, interpret feedback and observation, and revise designs through iteration.
Contribute meaningfully to a collaborative game-production process using clearly defined roles, shared repositories, documentation, versioning, and production milestones.
Demonstrate technical or creative depth in at least one area of game production.
Analyze games as cultural, social, aesthetic, and ethical objects.
Document and present game work through playable builds, design documents, process evidence, trailers or walkthroughs, portfolio case studies, and public demonstration.
Articulate realistic pathways into professional, independent, entrepreneurial, research, educational, cultural, or graduate-level work.

4. Shared Competency Framework

All students in the specialization should encounter the following competencies, although the depth and form may differ by degree track.

Competency	Introduced	Practiced	Advanced	Demonstrated
Game Systems and Mechanics	Rule systems, goals, feedback, player action	Small playable prototypes	Interdependent systems, balance, emergence	Substantial playable work and design rationale
Prototyping and Iteration	Physical and digital prototyping	Repeated design-test-revise cycles	Comparative testing and evidence-based revision	Documented iteration process and final design decisions
Programming and Technical Implementation	Basic interactive logic	Mechanics, state, input, data, and feedback	Architecture, tools, AI, physics, networking, optimization, or platform systems	Stable working build appropriate to the student's role
Visual and Spatial Design	Composition, form, space, and visual communication	Environments, interfaces, assets, animation, and feedback	Cohesive art direction, technical art, 3D systems, or spatial experience	Integrated visual and spatial language
Sound and Music	Audio as feedback, atmosphere, narrative, and spatial information	Sound implementation and responsive systems	Interactive music, spatial audio, middleware, or advanced sound design	Integrated and documented audio system
Narrative and Worldbuilding	Character, setting, structure, and player perspective	Interactive narrative choices and environmental storytelling	Systemic narrative, nonlinear structure, or authored worldbuilding	Coherent narrative experience where appropriate
Interaction and Player Experience	Affordance, feedback, usability, and accessibility	Playtesting and interface revision	Player research, onboarding, accessibility, and experience design	Evidence-based player-experience decisions
Collaboration and Production	Roles, scope, attribution, and shared workflow	Milestones, repositories, asset pipelines, and critique	Sustained production and cross-disciplinary leadership	Publicly presented work with clear credits and process record
Game Studies and Critical Context	Games as cultural and designed objects	Formal and contextual analysis	Research into social, ethical, historical, and political questions	Critical framing integrated into creative or scholarly work
Professional and Independent Practice	Roles, fields, and modes of practice	Portfolio documentation and production planning	Publishing, funding, entrepreneurship, community, or client contexts	Public release, exhibition, pitch, case study, or professional presentation

5. One Specialization, Two Track-Specific Routes

The specialization should have a shared intellectual and production core while allowing students to develop depth through the existing degree tracks.

Shared Core

All participating students should develop competency in:

game design and rapid prototyping;
game studies and critical context;
playtesting and iterative development;
collaborative production;
project documentation and portfolio presentation; and
a substantial advanced game or interactive-systems project.

Computing B.S. Route

The B.S. route would emphasize:

gameplay programming;
game architecture and tools;
graphics and rendering;
artificial intelligence;
physics and simulation;
networking or multiplayer systems;
data, optimization, and performance; and
technical leadership within interdisciplinary teams.

CMSC425 is the clearest existing technical anchor. Related electives may include computer graphics, HCI, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, visualization, software engineering, and other approved courses relevant to the student's intended role.

Emerging Creatives B.A. Route

The B.A. route would emphasize:

game and interaction design;
visual development and art direction;
2D, 3D, animation, and technical-art workflows;
narrative, worldbuilding, and experience design;
sound and music;
experimental, expressive, and installation-based games;
game culture and critical inquiry; and
creative leadership within interdisciplinary teams.

IMDM350, ARTT370, advanced digital-media courses, creative coding, collaborative studios, and approved special topics provide important existing components.

Shared Standards, Different Depth

The two routes should not imply that B.S. students only code or that B.A. students only make assets. Every student should understand design, iteration, collaboration, and critical context. The track-specific route identifies the student's principal area of depth, not the limits of their participation.

6. Current Assets and Current Gaps

Current Assets

Need	Existing or Potential Support
Programming foundation	IMDM127, IMDM227, and the CMSC core
Collaborative production	IMDM101, IMDM290, IMDM390, and Capstone
Game programming	CMSC425
Graphics and 3D systems	IMDM327, CMSC427, ARTT200, ARTT370, and advanced digital-media work
Interaction and HCI	IMDM227, IMDM327, IMDM390, and CMSC434
AI and intelligent systems	CMSC421, CMSC422, CMSC472, and project-based application
Visual and digital-art practice	ARTT foundations, ARTT255, ARTT370, and ARTT47x
Critical and cultural context	IMDM150 and IMDM350
Sound and music	IMDM227, IMDM290, advanced topics, and project-based work
Independent depth	IMDM398, IMDM399, IMDM498, and IMDM499
Public demonstration	IMDM491 and the Senior Capstone Showcase

Current Gaps

No clearly shared introduction to game design. Students need an accessible course centered on mechanics, prototyping, playtesting, and iteration rather than on advanced programming prerequisites.
Unequal access to the clearest game course. CMSC425 provides substantial depth but is most readily accessible to students who have completed the upper-level Computing sequence.
Game studies is present but not established as a dedicated, shared sequence. IMDM350 provides important critical context, but it is part of the B.A. route.
Advanced production is project-dependent. Students may make games in IMDM290, IMDM390, special topics, or Capstone, but a sustained advanced game-production experience is not guaranteed.
Audio, narrative, technical art, and production are available unevenly. These areas may depend on instructor expertise, special topics, or individual project choices.
The pathway is not visible through advising or public-facing materials. Students may not know which courses, roles, projects, or portfolios constitute meaningful preparation.
Faculty ownership is distributed. The program lacks a dedicated faculty member responsible for connecting game design, game studies, curriculum, student community, and external relationships.

7. Illustrative Curricular Model

The following is a conceptual structure. Course numbers, credit totals, and formal requirements would require a separate curriculum audit and approval process.

Stage 1: Foundation

Students develop foundational ability in creative practice, computation, media, critique, collaboration, and documentation through the existing B.A. or B.S. requirements and the shared IMDM core.

Relevant courses: IMDM101, IMDM127 or CMSC preparation, IMDM150, IMDM227, ARTT foundations, and related track requirements.

Game-design evidence: a small interactive system, rule-based experiment, physical game, mechanic study, or analysis of an existing game.

Stage 2: Shared Game Design and Prototyping

Students complete an accessible course focused on game design rather than advanced game programming.

Provisional course concept: IMDM2XX: Game Design and Prototyping

Core content:

mechanics, dynamics, and player experience;
physical and digital prototyping;
rules, goals, feedback, uncertainty, and balance;
level and spatial design;
interaction, onboarding, and accessibility;
playtesting, observation, and revision;
basic production roles and scope; and
critical introduction to games as cultural works.

This course could initially run as a recurring IMDM298 or IMDM398 topic before formal course approval.

Stage 3: Track-Specific Depth

Students select technical, creative, or critical coursework aligned with their intended roles.

Possible B.S. depth: CMSC425 plus approved work in graphics, HCI, AI, vision, software engineering, or related technical fields.

Possible B.A. depth: IMDM350, ARTT370, ARTT47x, and approved work in animation, digital art, sound, narrative, 3D, interaction, or related creative fields.

Cross-track expectation: Students should complete meaningful collaborative work with peers whose principal expertise differs from their own.

Stage 4: Advanced Collaborative Production

Students apply their areas of depth within a sustained team production.

This could occur through:

a game-focused section or project pathway within IMDM390;
a recurring advanced IMDM398 or IMDM498 topic;
a provisional IMDM4XX: Advanced Game Production course; or
an approved independent or externally partnered production experience.

The advanced experience should include preproduction, prototyping, production milestones, playtesting, revision, documentation, and public presentation.

Stage 5: Demonstration

Students demonstrate the specialization through Senior Capstone, a substantial advanced project, or an approved portfolio of connected work.

The culminating evidence should include:

a playable build or publicly demonstrable interactive work;
a clear account of the student's role and contributions;
design and production documentation;
evidence of testing and iteration;
a portfolio case study;
appropriate credits and attribution; and
a reflective account connecting the work to critical, cultural, or professional context.

8. Illustrative Credit Structure

A formal concentration should use existing degree requirements and elective space wherever possible. The following model is illustrative rather than prescriptive.

Component	Possible Requirement	Likely Status
Shared foundation	Existing IMDM and track requirements	Already required
Game design and prototyping	One accessible shared course	New or recurring special topic
Game studies or critical context	One approved course or embedded requirement	Existing for B.A.; access or alternative needed for B.S.
Track-specific depth	One or two approved electives	Largely existing
Advanced game production	One sustained collaborative production experience	New, adapted, or recurring special topic
Demonstration	Game-focused Capstone or approved advanced portfolio	Existing structure, with added criteria

A realistic goal would be to create a concentration that adds little or no time to degree completion by using track electives, approved special topics, and existing Capstone requirements.

9. Project Continuity Case

The specialization should explicitly support project development across courses while requiring new learning at every stage.

Stage	Possible Student Work	Required New Development	Handoff Evidence
Foundation	Rule system, interaction study, creative-coding sketch, or physical prototype	Basic concept, interaction, and documentation	Prototype, reflection, source materials
Game Design and Prototyping	Several small mechanics or one tested game concept	Playtesting, iteration, rules, player experience, and scope	Design brief, playable prototype, test record, next-step memo
IMDM290	Collaborative vertical slice or media-rich prototype	Team workflow, asset pipeline, integrated media, and production planning	Build, repository, credits, asset inventory, critique record
Depth Course	Technical system, art pipeline, audio system, narrative system, or research project	Role-specific expertise	Reusable system or body of work with documentation
IMDM390 or Advanced Production	Sustained team project	Integration, independent decision-making, larger production, and public testing	Stable build, production archive, player evidence, portfolio documentation
IMDM490	Capstone proposal and developed prototype	Substantial transformation, feasibility, research, and production planning	Approved proposal, prototype, schedule, risk and resource plan
IMDM491	Completed and publicly presented work	Refinement, exhibition, promotion, and professional presentation	Final build, case study, installation guide, trailer, credits, and postmortem

Students would not be required to carry one game through the entire sequence. At each transition, they could continue a promising project, reuse a system or asset pipeline, transfer a research question, or begin a new project informed by documented prior experience.

10. Portfolio Expectations

A student completing the specialization should graduate with evidence of process and depth, not only one large final game.

Recommended Portfolio Evidence

At least two small prototypes demonstrating different mechanics or design questions.
Evidence of playtesting and revision.
One substantial collaborative game or interactive-system project.
One example of track-specific depth, such as a technical system, visual-development portfolio, audio implementation, narrative system, level-design study, research paper, or tool.
A Capstone or equivalent advanced demonstration.
Clear credits identifying the student's role and contributions.
A concise case study explaining goals, constraints, process, evidence, revisions, and outcomes.
A playable build, video walkthrough, trailer, installation documentation, or other appropriate public record.

The portfolio should make the student's developing identity legible. “Worked on a game” is less informative than “designed and tested combat systems,” “built the procedural-animation pipeline,” “directed environmental art,” or “implemented adaptive music and spatial audio.”

11. Faculty Capacity and Hiring Priority

A formal Game Design specialization requires identifiable faculty leadership. A hire in game design and game studies should remain a high program priority.

The ideal hire would be able to:

teach accessible game design and prototyping across both tracks;
teach or contribute to game studies and critical theory;
lead advanced collaborative game production;
advise game-focused Capstones;
work across programming, design, art, sound, narrative, and research rather than serving only one production role;
build relationships with regional studios, cultural institutions, serious-games organizations, independent developers, and alumni; and
support public programming, playtesting events, exhibitions, and student community.

No single hire can cover every game-production specialty. The purpose of the position would be to provide curricular coherence and intellectual leadership while connecting existing faculty expertise.

12. Facilities and Community

The specialization would benefit from treating the Innovation Design Lab as a regular game-development and playtesting hub.

Possible uses include:

weekly work-in sessions;
open playtesting;
student project displays;
game jams and rapid-prototyping events;
visiting designers and critics;
portfolio and reel reviews;
small public talks or postmortem sessions; and
cross-cohort recruiting for project teams.

The specialization should also identify required or recommended access to:

development workstations and game engines;
version-control and collaboration tools;
controllers, headsets, displays, and alternative interfaces;
audio-production and implementation tools;
motion capture, 3D scanning, and animation resources where relevant;
playtesting space; and
reliable methods for archiving playable builds and project documentation.

Facilities should support the curriculum, but the specialization should not be defined by a particular engine, platform, or device.

13. Career and Public Messaging

Career language should be ambitious and accurate. The specialization should not imply that completion leads directly to a narrow AAA studio pipeline.

Relevant Career and Practice Areas

game and systems design;
gameplay or tools programming;
technical design and technical art;
level and interaction design;
2D, 3D, animation, and visual development;
game audio and interactive music;
UX, accessibility, player research, and quality assurance;
serious games, simulation, training, education, and health applications;
immersive experience design and location-based entertainment;
interactive installation and media arts;
independent and small-team development;
entrepreneurship, contract work, and creative technology; and
graduate study, research, and teaching.

The program should prepare students to explain how their abilities transfer beyond the commercial game industry. Systems thinking, prototyping, real-time media, collaborative production, interaction design, and user testing are relevant across a much wider range of fields.

14. Implementation Path

Phase 1: Make the Existing Path Visible

Publish an advising guide using current courses.
Identify faculty currently supporting game-related work.
Add consistent syllabus language connecting relevant courses.
Track game-related projects in IMDM290, IMDM390, special topics, and Capstone.
Begin regular work-in and playtesting sessions.

Phase 2: Pilot the Missing Shared Core

Offer Game Design and Prototyping as a recurring special topic open to both tracks.
Establish common design, playtesting, documentation, and portfolio expectations.
Pilot an advanced game-production experience through IMDM390, IMDM398, or IMDM498.
Collect student work, enrollment, demand, and progression data.

Phase 3: Formalize the Concentration

Confirm the credit structure within each degree track.
Approve permanent introductory and advanced courses where evidence supports them.
Establish a dedicated Game Design and Game Studies faculty line.
Define concentration admission, advising, electives, and demonstration requirements.
Publish the concentration and career language in program materials.

Phase 4: Sustain and Review

Maintain regular playtesting, showcase, and alumni or industry engagement.
Review course access, staffing, facilities, student work, and employment or graduate-study outcomes.
Adjust approved electives and production practices as technologies and faculty expertise change.

15. Evidence of Success

The specialization should be evaluated using evidence that reflects both curricular coherence and student development:

student demand and enrollment;
progression from introductory to advanced work;
equitable participation by B.A. and B.S. students;
quality and variety of prototypes, advanced projects, and Capstones;
evidence that projects or competencies develop across courses;
student ability to identify and articulate an area of depth;
quality of portfolio documentation and role attribution;
participation in playtesting, work-in sessions, exhibitions, and public events;
internships, employment, independent releases, entrepreneurship, graduate study, and adjacent professional outcomes; and
faculty workload, course availability, equipment access, and long-term sustainability.

Success should not be measured only by placement in large commercial studios. A specialization aligned with IMD should also value experimental practice, independent production, research, education, public culture, social impact, and the transfer of game-design methods into other immersive and interactive fields.

16. Decisions Requiring Faculty Discussion

Should the public-facing name be Game Design, Game Design and Interactive Systems, or another formulation?
Should the specialization be one concentration spanning both tracks or parallel concentrations with shared requirements?
Which competencies must every student demonstrate regardless of track?
Can a recurring special topic establish the shared introductory course before permanent course approval?
Where should game studies reside so that both B.A. and B.S. students can access it?
Should advanced game production occur within IMDM390, in a dedicated course, or through multiple approved options?
What portion of the concentration can fit within existing electives without increasing time to degree?
What faculty expertise is already available, and what gaps require a new hire?
What constitutes an acceptable culminating demonstration: a game-focused Capstone, a portfolio of connected work, or either?
How will the pathway remain open to experimental, serious, physical, XR, installation-based, and noncommercial game forms?

Working Conclusion

Game Design is already latent within IMD. The program has technical depth, artistic depth, collaborative studios, critical inquiry, specialized facilities, and a public Capstone structure. What it lacks is a shared design foundation, equitable access across tracks, a guaranteed advanced production experience, visible advising, and dedicated faculty leadership.

The specialization should therefore be understood as an act of connection rather than invention. Its purpose would be to connect existing strengths into a coherent student journey:

Foundation → Game Design and Prototyping → Track-Specific Depth → Advanced Production → Portfolio and Capstone Demonstration

That model could later be adapted to other areas of specialization across IMD.

Source Basis and Companion Documents

This case should be read alongside the IMD Current-State Curriculum Map and the IMD Faculty Syllabus Continuity Guide. Course availability, prerequisites, elective access, staffing, and credit applicability should be confirmed before any formal proposal is developed.