IU Games Community is a collaborative, interdisciplinary network and information resource for scholars, critics, players and makers to support the study of games while contributing to the robust community of games’ interest on campus and beyond. Here visitors will find information on members of faculty who research and teach games-related courses, graduate student research, The Media School’s B.S. in game design, IU’s game collections held at the Wells Library, student organizations and general news about campus events devoted to games.
The scholarly study of games is not easily contained in a single discipline or field of study. At IU students will find that active research and teaching on games cuts across departments and schools. Click on a profile below to learn about faculty interests.
The field of game studies as well as game design are being pushed every day by the creative labor and innovative thinking of young people actively investing in how we understand games and in shaping the types of games we play. Click on the profiles below to meet IU graduate students who work on games.
The B.S. in Game Design welcomes all students interested in designing and developing games. This is a fully accredited major within The Media School, designed to teach game design principles and prepare students for the job market in the game industry. Our students come from all areas: game art, game sound, game programming, game systems design and the business of games. They work together in teams and conclude their bachelor’s degree with a published game. To check out the major, click on the link below.
Games-related courses are plentiful at IU! They address both non-electronic and electronic games while spanning a wide-range of subjects such as, but not limited to: aesthetics, design and development, history, narrative, representation, sound, and users. Many courses can be found housed within the Media School’s BS Game Design degree as well as in the form of various courses offered across campus. Here is a list of courses that run frequently. Please consult IU’s course catalog for access to other courses that may have a games focus.
IU is home to a number of games collections on campus. For instance, the Lilly Library houses the Slocum Puzzle Collection that consists of over 30,000 mechanical puzzles, while the IUB Gaming Collection supports student access to a wide range of original video game hardware and software along with table top games. In addition, IU is currently processing a video and computer magazine of over 6,000 items for use at the Wells Library. The collection will be the largest in the Midwest.
Game Development Camp is a precollege summer program that teaches students ages 13-18 the basics of game design through the very same tools professional companies and studios use to create their work.
The pursuit of games at IU does not reside exclusively in the domain of faculty, courses and degrees. It also takes the organic form of undergraduate- and graduate-led organizations that host gaming activities, support initiatives and organize meetings, talks and conferences.
Here are some gaming organizations at IU:
GameDev@IU
gdiu.org
Gaming@IU
gaming.indiana.edu
inGame
ingame.luddy.indiana.edu
For further information, please contact mailland@indiana.edu.
