People interested in games and gaming can be found all over the Bloomington campus and beyond. Whether you're a game builder looking for a degree, a game player looking for friends, or a game researcher looking for information, this site can guide you to the right people at IU.

In the left column you'll find resources for students who want to prepare themselves for game industry careers. It's a good move. The game industry is booming. There are even programs out there that focus entirely on video games, but we have a different philosophy. No one in the game industry today cares what program you've taken or what your degree is; they only want to know whether you have experience making games. So you don't gain anything from having a "video game degree." More importantly, that kind of specialized approach can be a problem down the road. Specialized degrees lose their value as the world changes - who would want a degree in "Radio Studies" today?

At IU we urge gamer students to pursue a traditional major, but to enhance it by taking the numerous game-related courses we offer. With those skills, students can then take several game-production courses (in Telecommunications) to gain experience and build their portfolios. The portfolio is further enhanced through game projects in extracurricular clubs like Hoosier Games. With hands-on game production experience alongside the skills of a traditional major, IU students are well-prepared for a game career and for the challenges of the 21st century economy.

Bloomington is filled with gaming groups, companies, and activities. You can play RPGs at the Game Preserve, board games at SGCIU, and LAN Wars through IU Gaming. Local companies and entrepreneurs include Studio Cypher and Sproutbox. Students clubs include the Hoosier Games production company and Game Zombie, the game review site. See the right column for links. Jump in and get involved!

Bloomington has many professors and graduate students interested in games. The names can change, but the following academic units have a fairly long-term commitment to research and advanced study with and about games.

Telecommunications

Effects of games on individuals and society; the game industry; game design.

Communication and Culture

Games and society; games as cultural artifacts; games as rhetoric.

Informatics

Games as programming applications; games and human-computer interfaces; games and artificial intelligence.

Education

Games for learning; serious games to change society.

In addition to the above, you might find game-related activity going on in many other places at any given time. Faculty in the School of Public Health and the Kelley School will work on serious games about health and business. Artists from the Hope and Jacobs Schools make interactive exhibits that are game-like. The Wells Library has hosted Game Nights and owns a giant chess set. Speaking of libraries, the Lilly Library holds a huge puzzle collection. Faculty in Economics, Political Science, and the Workshop on Political Theory often give talks on high-level, mathematical game theory. Psychologists and Cognitive Scientists use games and virtual worlds to study human cognition, perception, and emotion. Professors in the School of Library and Information Science examine games as data fields. It seems now that people in many diverse and varied departments have found themselves working with games - perhaps because gaming has become more prevalent in society.