BFA in Games and Animation

University of Cincinnati

OverviewFormal games have a 5,000-year history, and recorded animation, if we take cave paintings found at Lascaux into account, dates back 17,000 years or more. These media are not new, but the design renaissance of the past century -- from Elizabeth Magie and Winsor McCay, to Respawn Entertainment and PIXAR -- is ever-evolving. Games and animation permeate every aspect of our culture. Games implement and model systems animation models movement in space. Animation can be found in games, film, and television, but also marketing, motion graphics, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR). Games can be found everywhere there is a way to implement rules and set a goal, from education to corporate salesrooms. Being able to animate or create games in a production environment is not only necessary, but invaluable. Games and animation now have festivals, major awards, and galleries around the world devoted to them, as well as career paths and lifelong, fulfilling job prospects.Taught by industry veterans in games and animation, this program straddles between the production side of media creation and the expressive 'auteur' models. Games and Animation (henceforth GAA) students will learn what it takes to be in the production of a television series or feature film, or how to produce their own work for galleries or film festivals. Students can try out many different digital tools of animation and game design as well as long-tested analog techniques, all implemented through cycles of development reliant on playtesting and iteration.In the University of Cincinnati BFA in Games and Animation, there is no artificial separation between theory and practice, between art and industry, between conception and production.The goals of the BFA-GAA Program at the University are to provide an opportunity for students wanting to pursue a career in Animation, Video Game Designer, or related fields to have a competitive program in Ohio. The curricular structures are separated into four years, and programmatic student learning outcomes (SLOs) are listed following the summaries.Career2D Animator3D AnimatorLevel DesignerSystems Designer2D Character Artist3D Character Artist2D Environment Artist3D Environment ArtistVisual Development ArtistConcept ArtistGameplay ProgrammerGraphics ProgrammeRigging ArtistShader DeveloperUser Interface DesignerUser Experience DesignerQuality Assurance TesterGame TesterCinematics AnimatorCinematics DirectorVirtual Reality DeveloperAugmented Reality DeveloperMultimedia DesignerMultimedia AnimatorSimulation Software DeveloperSimulations EngineeriOS Game DeveloperAndroid Game DeveloperGame ProducerAnimation ProducerHard Surface ModelerOrganic ModelerVFX ArtistSpecial Effects AnimatorNarrative DesignerGame WriterMotion Capture AnimatorMotion Capture Director

College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning