Game - Design and Simulation

Ever finished a game and thought you could have designed a better level? Cambrian College’s Game - Design and Simulation is a two-year, four-semester Ontario College Diploma taught in Sudbury, with no portfolio needed to get in, that trains you as an entry-level game creator across design, programming, art and production.

Semester one introduces Game Psychology, Introduction to Programming, Game Level Design, Game Design Theory I, Game Engine Development and Game Asset Creation 2D. Semester two adds Stories, Quests and Missions, Game Animation, Object-Oriented Programming, Advanced Engines and Algorithms, Game Asset Creation 3D and Workshop I. In semester three you take Game Mechanics and Prototyping, UI UX for Games, Game Production, AI for Games, Game Design Theory II, Workshop II and Decolonizing the Creative Arts, and semester four brings Game Sound and Music, VR and Simulation in Gaming and Introduction to Entrepreneurship.

The programme finishes with the eight-credit Game Development Capstone Project, where you take a game from concept to a finished, playable build. You learn on industry-standard software supplied by Cambrian, specialise in creating 2D and 3D portfolio pieces, and on-campus students can borrow Oculus Quest 2 or Quest 3 headsets for the virtual reality and simulation work. Faculty bring industry partnerships into the Workshop courses, and graduates can continue their studies through Cambrian’s articulation agreements with partner colleges and universities.

Cambrian lists careers such as video game developer, simulation designer, game marketer, software developer, project manager and creative director for software development. The programme suits gamers who want to understand why games work, enjoy both coding and visual design, and are ready to build a portfolio from their very first semester.