Game Design Pathway
Game design has greatly influenced other areas of design through motivating and engaging play experiences. Through this pathway, you become a skillful game designer addressing important cultural contexts — designing games to explore activism, social change,
scientific and informational visualization and education.
Connecting the Dots
Parsons connects game design to a broader worldview. Here you work with designers of all creative domains, including interaction design, installation art and exhibit design, and experimental performance. You are encouraged to establish your own unique
game design pipeline and become a motivating, engaging, and persuasive play master. Our alumni and faculty have taken their game designs into countless artistic and socially relevant forums all around the world, from entrepreneurial independent game
development in New York to disaster education in remote villages of South Africa (see PETlab).
New Technologies and Opportunities
The platform shift toward new digital experiences in online, mobile, and casual gaming has led to a revolution in creative gaming methods. Studies in immersive, multi-player, and mobile gaming platforms, such as the iPhone, iPad, and Android, provide
you with valuable learning experiences in these ubiquitous technologies.
Serious Games
Parsons participates in initiatives like Quest to Learn, a public school that integrates digital tools and game design with traditional learning methods, and
Games for Change, a nonprofit that develops games aimed at producing positive social outcomes. These projects illustrate a commitment to and engagement with the growing use of games in many parts of society.
NYC Gaming Industry
New York City is the epicenter of new gaming trends. The city features many mobile media and gaming development houses and a massive independent game developers community. Parsons plays a leading role in that community as host school for the northeast
chapter of the Independent Game Developers Association (IDGA).
Creative Technologies Pathway
Through the Creative Technologies pathway, you learn to apply the creative process to digital technology. You experiment at the intersection of art and technology and come to understand that learning to code not only brings the ability to program but
also provides new modes of expression, means of investigation, and ways of seeing the world.
Changing Landscapes
Parsons connects emergent digital technologies to a broader view of expression, identity, social/political issues and culture. Design and Technology offers opportunities to learn and experiment with programming languages, hardware and open source platforms,
such as Processing, Arduino, and openFrameworks. We encourage you to be an independent thinker who explores, questions, and finds new ways to approach and solve problems.
New Perspectives and Opportunities
Creative Technologies projects enable you to apply your skills to develop new software, write applications for experimental interactions, produce innovative artwork, and program for the social good. From interactive museum exhibit design to participatory
performance and dynamic narrative experiences, you contribute to the vibrant and rich artistic fabric of New York and beyond.
Beyond the Screen
Many students create playful robotic creatures, make their own musical instruments and visualizations, and build experimental sound installations. At Parsons, you have opportunities to work in-house or collaborate on projects with peers across the university,
such as students in the College of Performing Arts.
Making with Code
Every BFA Design and Technology student learns to code. The results range from experimental websites, robotics, and sound-based work to spatial, sculptural, and performative installations. Students explore, experiment, and learn to make computer-based
art. Every project teaches something new.