The Art Institute Online, a division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, will offer a bachelor of science in Game Art & Design beginning in fall 2002. The Art Institute Online currently offers programs in graphic design and multimedia and Web design in an interactive, faculty-facilitated, asynchronous format that allows students to log in to complete their classes 24 hours a day, seven days a week at their convenience, making it ideal for students with irregular schedules or those who live in areas far from a brick-and-mortar school. Students in the Game Art & Design program start out by studying color theory, drawing, sculpture and other art fundamentals. The program then adds courses in 3D modeling, animation, texturing, scripting, storytelling, storyboarding and other aspects of character design and game level design. In order to develop a well-rounded knowledge base, students also take general education courses in mathematics, the social sciences, psychology, art history, philosophy, the humanities and other areas. The program culminates in the creation of a portfolio and reel specifically targeted to the game industry. Entry-level positions appropriate for graduates of Game Art & Design include texture artist, character animator, modeler and level designer. The Game Art & Design program curriculum was designed with input from an industry advisory board from the game and animation fields. Experts with experience at Electronic Arts, LucasArts, Sega of America, BioWare, Double Fine, Macromedia, Konami of America, Ronin Entertainment, Terra Lycos, Pixar, PDI/DreamWorks and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) have reviewed the curriculum and offered input from the industrys perspective. Students may take a demonstration online course by visiting The Art Institute Online at www.aionline.edu/pr1 or by calling 1-877-872-8869 for more information.
