The Game Design and Music combined major with a concentration in Music Technology prepares students to manage all aspects of music and sound design integral to the creative process in Game Design. Students focus on the digital sound technologies, audiovisual integration techniques and collaborative skills, grounded in real-world experience, that are necessary to apply one’s musical imagination effectively in a game design environment. Also emphasized are the aesthetic, expressive, psychological and social perspectives essential to meaningful engagement across a broad range of applications in the game industry.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
NUpath requirements Creative Expression/Innovation (EI), and Analyzing/Using Data (AD), Interpreting Culture (IC), Natural/Designed World (ND), Difference/Diversity (DD), Writing Intensive (WI), and Capstone Experience(CE) are met through the major course requirements. All other NUpath requirements must be met through electives.
Game Design Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTF 1000 | Art and Design at Northeastern | 1 |
| Game Design Required | ||
| GAME 1110 | Games and Society | 4 |
| GAME 2500 | Foundations of Game Design | 4 |
| GAME 2950 | Game Studio | 4 |
| GAME 3400 | Level Design and Game Architecture | 4 |
| GAME 3700 | Rapid Idea Prototyping for Games | 4 |
| GAME 3800 | Game Concept Development | 4 |
| Art + Design Electives | ||
| Complete four courses from the following. | 16 | |
| Any course in ARTD, ARTE, ARTF, ARTG, ARTH, and GAME subject areas as long as prerequisites have been met. | ||
| If GAME 4000 Topics in Game Design or ARTD 3000 Topics in Media Arts (or any other topics course in the subjects listed above) is completed more than once, multiple completions may be allowed toward the electives. | ||
Music Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Music Theory and Composition | ||
| MUSC 1201 | Music Theory 1 | 4 |
| MUSC 1202 | Music Theory 2 | 4 |
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Algebra and Geometry of Music | ||
| Sound Design | ||
| Music Perception and Cognition | ||
| Music Analysis Seminar | ||
| Music in Context | ||
| MUSC 1002 and MUSC 1003 | Music in Everyday Life and Lab for MUSC 1002 | 4 |
| Contemporary / Popular Music | ||
| Complete one from the following: | 4 | |
| Black Popular Music | ||
| Popular Music Since 1945 | ||
| Topics in American Music | ||
| 40,000 Years of Music Technology | ||
| The World of Choral Music | ||
| Sounding Human | ||
| Music and the Racial Imagination | ||
| Sound and the Sacred | ||
| Topics in Music since 1900 | ||
| Global Music Industries in Context | ||
| Hip Hop in the Music Industry | ||
| Music Technology Requirements | ||
| MUSC 2350 | Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Music | 4 |
| MUST 1220 | Introduction to Music Technology | 4 |
| MUST 2102 | Composing with Digital Technologies | 4 |
| MUST 2431 | Computer Music Fundamentals | 4 |
| Music Technology Electives | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Music and the Brain Research | ||
| Special Topics in Music Technology | ||
| Digital Audio Signal Processing | ||
| Electronics for Music | ||
| Embedded Audio Programming | ||
| Composition for Electronic Instruments | ||
Integrative Requirement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Note: MUST 1220 is already required in the Music Technology Requirements section | ||
| Introduction to Music Technology | ||
| Capstone | ||
| MUST 4611 | Music Technology Capstone/Senior Recital | 4 |
| GAME 4700 | Game Design Capstone | 4 |
Combined-Major Credit Requirement
Complete 96 semester hours in the major.
Music Grade Requirement
Students must maintain at least a 2.667 GPA (B- average) in the requirements of the music half of the combined major and also complete all required music courses with grades of at least C. Students who fail to meet the above standards will be placed on departmental probation; those who remain on probation for two consecutive semesters will be dropped from the major.
Program Requirement
128 total semester hours required
Sample Pattern, Four Years, Two Co-ops in Spring/Summer 1
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ARTF 1000 or MUSC 1000 | 1 | GAME 2500 | 4 | Art + Design elective | 4 | Vacation | 0 |
| GAME 1110 | 4 | MUST 1220 | 4 | Art + Design elective | 4 | ||
| ENGW 1111 | 4 | MUSC 1202 | 4 | ||||
| MUSC 1201 | 4 | MUSC 2350 | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 16 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| GAME 2950 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | ENGW 3302 | 4 | ||
| GAME 3400 | 4 | Elective (online) | 4 | Art + Design elective | 4 | ||
| MUSC 1002 and MUSC 1003 | 4 | ||||||
| EEAM 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| MUST 2102 | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 4 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| GAME 3700 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Elective | 4 | ||
| MUSC 3541, 2111, or 3300 | 4 | Elective (online) | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||
| MUST 2431 | 4 | ||||||
| Contemporary music requirement | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 4 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| GAME 3800 | 4 | GAME 4700 | 4 | ||||
| MUSC 3541, 2111, or 3300 | 4 | Computing and social issues | 4 | ||||
| Art + Design elective | 4 | Music technology elective | 4 | ||||
| Music technology elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 130 | |||||||