Serious Games - Design and Development

What if the games you build trained workers and learners instead of just entertaining players? Cambrian College’s Serious Games - Design and Development programme is a two-semester Ontario College Graduate Certificate at the Barrydowne campus in Sudbury, and the college describes it as the first of its kind in Ontario. It teaches you to use game engines, gamification and extended reality to create workforce training for any industry.

Semester one covers Serious Game Design Theory, Advanced Game Engine Dev, Game Programming Patterns, Asset Integration, Software Project Management and Serious Games Capstone I. Semester two adds XR Tech for Serious Games, Serious Game Testing, Learning with Games, Ethical Issues in Game Design and Applied Simulation Design, and finishes with Serious Games Capstone II. This mix of engine programming, learning design and simulation courses prepares you to build games that teach and measure skills rather than simply entertain.

Flex delivery lets you join scheduled, instructor-led classes on campus or virtually. The two capstone courses run across both semesters, with opportunities to work with real clients and members of Cambrian’s research and development teams, so you graduate with a portfolio-ready piece. VR headsets are available for loan, and you need a Windows laptop with a discrete graphics card for engine work. Applicants need a diploma or degree in computing, IT, game design or computer science, or five years of related experience.

Graduates work as software developers, game designers, serious game designers, AR/VR developers, simulation developers and engagement specialists with training companies, simulation firms, healthcare organisations and industry. The Serious Games certificate suits game or computing graduates who want to apply their skills to education, training and simulation.