Abstract
Game development is an interdisciplinary collaborative process which involves programming, art, and design expertise. A game development education, therefore, builds upon the already unique challenges of learning game programming and game art, while acknowledging that successful video game development relies on designing and producing compelling player experiences. Given this complexity, to date there is not a standardized approach to building game development curriculum. Recent curriculum overviews reflect a large degree of variation in foci - technical degrees focusing on courses such as mathematics, physics, programming, graphics or art degrees focusing on courses such as 2D or 3D art, animation, world building, and game design, with an additional effort for cross-disciplinary collaboration in group projects if possible. While game design sits at the heart of game development, uniting the efforts of the technical disciplines involved, it is commonly considered as a second thought in a technical education. Relatedly, there is a visible negligence for game studies, the field that explores games as a medium to study its epistemology, culture, influence and the surrounding ecosystem. Game studies is intimately connected to philosophies of game design but is curiously absent outside of communications or media studies orientated degree programs. This paper explores the role of game studies in game development education and presents a stance for its necessity. We suggest that navigating the interdisciplinary nature of game development strongly relies on a healthy bond between games research and game design practice and that game studies holds game design practice grounded and connected. Therefore, it carries an important role in game development education.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.162
Citation
Bayrak, A.T.,and Piven, S.(2025) Permaculture of Game Development Education: the Intertwined Nature of Games Research and Game Design Practice, in Clemente, V., Gomes, G., Reis, M., Félix, S., Ala, S., Jones, D. (eds.), Learn X Design 2025, 22-24 September 2025, Aveiro, Portugal. https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.162
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Full Paper
Permaculture of Game Development Education: the Intertwined Nature of Games Research and Game Design Practice
Game development is an interdisciplinary collaborative process which involves programming, art, and design expertise. A game development education, therefore, builds upon the already unique challenges of learning game programming and game art, while acknowledging that successful video game development relies on designing and producing compelling player experiences. Given this complexity, to date there is not a standardized approach to building game development curriculum. Recent curriculum overviews reflect a large degree of variation in foci - technical degrees focusing on courses such as mathematics, physics, programming, graphics or art degrees focusing on courses such as 2D or 3D art, animation, world building, and game design, with an additional effort for cross-disciplinary collaboration in group projects if possible. While game design sits at the heart of game development, uniting the efforts of the technical disciplines involved, it is commonly considered as a second thought in a technical education. Relatedly, there is a visible negligence for game studies, the field that explores games as a medium to study its epistemology, culture, influence and the surrounding ecosystem. Game studies is intimately connected to philosophies of game design but is curiously absent outside of communications or media studies orientated degree programs. This paper explores the role of game studies in game development education and presents a stance for its necessity. We suggest that navigating the interdisciplinary nature of game development strongly relies on a healthy bond between games research and game design practice and that game studies holds game design practice grounded and connected. Therefore, it carries an important role in game development education.