College courses and bachelor’s degrees in digital game design and related subjects are common today. The Entertainment Software Association recently reported that 254 colleges and universities offer courses and degrees in video game development.
James Mahoney has been on the Dartmouth College faculty since March 2014 in the computer science department. He teaches graduate and undergraduate students in several areas including visual reality and augmented reality design and development, digital art and animation, design and 3D modeling, and programming for interactive art. Mahoney has both a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a master’s degree from Cornell University, where as a graduate student he researched design and artificial intelligence. He previously worked in the private sector in several areas related to digital art and design, animation and web-based video games and similar projects.
Question: When did Dartmouth begin offering a digital game design course and what was the reason for it?
Answer: We first offered this class in spring of 2025 and then once again in the spring of 2026. The class gives students the chance to apply their developing skills in a challenging real-world context they care about. The class will be offered again in the spring of 2027.
Q: Gaming is a form of entertainment. Is this a rigorous course that requires knowledge in fields such as computer science?
A: Although games are for entertainment, designing and building them is very difficult and technically demanding, challenging the students on many levels. The topic is exciting for many students and motivates them to synthesize and exercise the skills they are learning in other classes, including computer science, algorithms, optimization, performance tuning, game engines, usability, user interface design, 3D modeling, computer graphics, digital audio and animation. Perhaps the most valuable lessons of the class, though, come from the teamwork itself in leading, planning and making decisions under tight deadlines.
Q: The course description states students will learn how to build a game from scratch. How complicated or complex are the games they will create?
A: Students create three games in the 10-week term. A 2D game, a 3D game and a final project. In the first two quick projects, students learn about the process, tools and techniques.
For the final project students are given more time to produce a deeper and more polished experience, integrating what they learned in the shorter assignments. We were shocked at the high quality of the games created — fully playable experiences that were original and fun. A few of these games were sufficiently developed to be ready for fundraising. The quality far surpassed what was expected given the time constraint.
Q: Do you ask students why they took the course? What do they tell you?
A: The students were already involved in computer science and digital arts. They were looking for ways to use their skills for something they were passionate about. Several dream of starting their own indie game company after graduation.
Q: What specific skills will the students come away with that will make them marketable in the gaming industry?
A: They learn the fundamental workflows for design, prototyping, testing and iterating. In the process, everything from building intelligent non-player characters with AI, level design, characters, physics, user experience design, multiplayer interaction and more are explored in various situations. Again, perhaps the most important skill is creating and managing a healthy and effective team.
Q: What can you tell me about careers in gaming and earnings potential?
A: Entry-level positions in the game industry are very competitive, especially now with the advent of AI. I have been teaching interactive 3D development with the Unity game engine in another class (Augmented and Virtual Reality Design and Development) once or twice a year since 2019.
Several of those students have used the work done in that class to create an impressive portfolio of work that enabled them to land excellent high-paying jobs in industry, such as Epic Games and Blizzard Entertainment. Many have also gone on to work at smaller independent game studios such as the very successful Ballot Games company out of NYC that was started by a handful of students from that class.
Their first game, “Ready, Set, Go” for the Meta Quest 3 is highly rated. Two students from this past spring are planning to launch their class project on Steam.
Q: The digital world is changing rapidly and AI is accelerating that change. How do you think AI will change the development of games and how should students be prepared?
A: In my view, students should learn to work with AI’s capabilities without giving up their own agency. We’re all still learning to navigate the changing landscape of AI in workflows. I see students invigorated by the integration of AI to help alleviate some of the minutiae of game development while allowing them to focus on the big picture. Humans are still “driving the bus” to make the game experiences that they want to see while AI is allowing them to be more ambitious.