Digital Game Design - About

The primary aim of university education is to develop universal awareness, problem-solving skills and critical thinking. Guided by the motto of universality and flexibility, our University offers its students a wide range of elective courses, giving them the chance to go even further by choosing the area of specialization they wish, and educates creative individuals who can produce work in line with international standards and become pioneers in their fields.

PROGRAM

The Digital Game Design Undergraduate Program aims to provide the sector with qualified human resources and to achieve success at both the local and global levels by producing creative and innovative projects and teams. Offering everyone who dreams of designing games all stages of game production both theoretically and practically, this program gives its students the opportunity to achieve their goals in a global industry.

In light of an interdisciplinary approach, the Digital Game Design Undergraduate Program not only brings together the fields of software, art and design but also offers an interdisciplinary working environment across our University, particularly with the Faculties of Engineering and Education. In addition to the Bahçeşehir University Game Lab (BUG), established within the Faculty of Communication in 2012, and the Game Design Master's Program (Master BUG) offered under the Graduate School of Social Sciences, the program is directly supported by BUG Berlin, an activity hub of the European gaming scene; the virtual reality laboratory VR First BAU; and, most recently, BUG Lab TEKMER, a government-supported (KOSGEB) incubation and technology center dedicated to the gaming industry that became operational in 2022. Graduates of the program have the chance to become game designers, game developers, game visual artists, game producers, game project managers, game scriptwriters, game sound designers and game economy specialists.

Students take almost all fundamental courses related to game design and also have the chance to specialize in later stages through the various elective courses offered. Gaining both knowledge and experience through the events and seminars organized throughout their education, students learn to move together with the industry while still studying.

LABORATORIES

Thanks to the BUG Kitchen and VR First BAU spaces, students can observe the most up-to-date approaches and benefit from the laboratories' facilities to carry out their own projects. At the same time, thanks to computer laboratories updated with the latest technology, they can easily carry out all necessary technical and design work. In addition, while still students, they can apply to BUG Lab TEKMER with their game projects and be admitted to pre-incubation, and in later stages they can turn their ventures into companies with the mentorship they receive.

MISSION

The Bahçeşehir University Department of Digital Game Design aims to educate game designers who are inquisitive, have problem-solving and decision-making skills, can adapt to global conditions, are experienced, and have technical and theoretical knowledge, for the field of gaming, which is becoming increasingly widespread throughout the world and will maintain its place among the entertainment and creative industries for a long time.

OBJECTIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DIGITAL GAME DESIGN

Students enrolled in this program:

1. Specialize in game design and development in the ever-evolving digital environment.

2. Develop work of a quality that can contribute to the world of game design globally.

3. Create value in the global competitive environment by effectively using technology and technical knowledge and skills.

4. Aim to take the field even further by assuming qualified and leading roles in game design.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

1) To gain the ability to understand the conceptual importance of games in the field of communication and to carry out design-oriented, player-centered practice.

2) To be able to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information and ideas from various perspectives.

3) To be able to analyze the basic elements that constitute game genres and forms of interaction and narrative, and to understand how they are used to create a successful game.

4) To understand game design theories and methodologies and use them when developing games; to make fun, engaging, immersive and educational games tailored to the target audience.

5) To understand the technologies and computing foundations used in game development; to master the use of game engines.

6) To grasp the theories and methodologies for understanding and measuring player experience and to make use of this knowledge in the game production process.

7) To master marketing in order to be able to present a video game to players, investors and publishers and to effectively communicate the features and potential commercial gains of a game idea or game.

8) To master the process of creating 2D and 3D characters and their animations in games.

9) To grasp how games convey an idea, a message and an emotion through design, and to make use of this knowledge in the game production process.

10) To be able to manage the game design and development process by preparing the necessary documentation, and to follow the game production pipeline through this documentation.

11) To grasp the structure and working methods of game development teams, as well as the responsibilities of team members and methods of collaboration, and to be able to apply them in practice.

12) To be able to grasp and put into practice the publishing process of a game, beyond development, in line with industry standards.

ADVANTAGES OF BEING A BAHÇEŞEHİR STUDENT

I) Our University's Galata Campus is in a highly advantageous location and has a very strong structure with faculty members recognized in their fields. Having been launched with the opening of the first graduate program in Türkiye, the department continues with a very strong academic staff specialized in the field of games.

II) Thanks to the Bahçeşehir University Game Lab (BUG Lab), students can produce work side by side with the industry and take part in many different seminars and/or events that are closed to outside access. In this way, students can benefit from the knowledge and experience of expert industry professionals and have the chance to get to know many distinguished game design companies in person.

III) Bahçeşehir University is the only university in Türkiye with officially registered universities and campuses abroad. At present, our sister universitiesBerlin International is located in Berlin, Germany, andBay Atlantic is located in Washington, D.C., USA. Both universities have campuses and facilities in these cities. In addition, there is an English language school in Washington. The programs of Bahçeşehir Istanbul and its sister universities are fully compatible with each other. With this structure, BAU is the only university that offers global students the opportunity to complete their education not only in Türkiye but also in two of the world's most important centers, the EU and the United States. Bahçeşehir University is working to expand this system to other countries, especially Hong Kong, in the near future.

In addition, Bahçeşehir University has student exchange agreements with more than 50 universities around the world, and our students may also benefit from the Erasmus program if they wish.

III) Bahçeşehir University is the first university in Türkiye to truly implement university–industry collaboration. This collaboration is carried out within the framework of the COOP program. Under the COOP program, senior executives of real-sector companies or banks with which we have agreements come to the University for one semester (14 weeks) to teach students how work is done at their companies, and also provide on-site training by taking students to their companies. Before graduating, Bahçeşehir students gain extensive knowledge of how work is done in the gaming industry. Among the companies with which our department currently has COOP agreements are many well-known game design studios.

IV) Thanks to the BUG Laboratory within our University, independent game developers, the industry and students can come together. Thanks to this umbrella structure, students do not settle for what they learn in class but advance their learning through real projects. Thanks to this structure, which does not exist at other universities and was introduced in Türkiye for the first time by Bahçeşehir University, students can start their careers as qualified and pioneering experts.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Our Career Center helps graduating students find employment. Our graduates have the chance to work in various positions such as game designer, game developer, game visual artist, game producer, game project manager, game scriptwriter, game sound designer and game economy specialist at many national and international game design studios. They can also establish their own game studios. As mentioned above, Bahçeşehir University offers students several important advantages in finding employment in the future. These are:

1. The opportunity to establish one-to-one contact with the industry and its senior executives while still studying, thanks to the COOP program
2. The opportunity to work in the sector while studying during the semester, thanks to the Joint Education Model (OEM)
3. The international experience gained by completing part of their education abroad (Berlin International - Germany or Bay Atlantic - USA)
4. A strong foundation gained through practice-oriented education with both theoretical and practical emphasis
5. The opportunity to follow industry dynamics thanks to the connections between BUG Lab and the sector

 

DIGITAL GAME DESIGN RANKING AND BASE SCORE

The 2021Digital Game Design rankingsand base scores have been announced. The 2021 TYT AYT (YKS) Base Scores and Success Rankings are the university placement scores and rankings for 2020. You can make your preferences by comparing your 2021 score and ranking.