Game Design program opens new career paths for Roadrunners

APRIL 9, 2025 — One of UTSA’s newest academic offerings is giving Roadrunners an opportunity to combine their technical and creative skills in the world of game development. Fueled by the booming gaming industry and growing student interest, UTSA’s Game Design program is rapidly expanding with new courses, industry partnerships and a growing community of game creators.

Game Design is one of 14 different tracks available within the multidisciplinary studies bachelor’s degree. The track includes three focus areas (game programming, digital art, and media and game studies), giving students a strong foundation in computer science and programming fundamentals and in art, design and communication principles.

“As the Game Design program grows, we are continuing to develop new courses that bridge these three focus areas together,” said Jianwei Niu, dean of University College. “This cross-disciplinary approach will prepare our students for careers in a variety of industries such as traditional and mobile games, design, animation, educational software, virtual reality and other interactive media.”

“As the Game Design program grows, we are continuing to develop new courses that bridge these three focus areas together.”

UTSA is intentionally creating career pathways and building a talent pipeline for the growing gaming industry, which had an economic impact of $6.5 billion in Texas alone in 2023. Texas is one of the top five states for jobs in the industry and is home to over 200 software companies including regional offices for major businesses like Activision, Blizzard Entertainment and Electronic Arts, and many independent game development studios.

In addition to classroom instruction, the Game Design program is helping students grow their skills and professional networks outside of the classroom. Led by University College Program Manager Reyna Tostado and the new University College Student Success Center, the program has formed partnerships with local organizations like DEVSA and the Greater Gaming Society of San Antonio (GGSSA).

Most recently, the program collaborated with GGSSA in January to host students on UTSA’s Main Campus for the Global Game Jam, an annual game development competition where individuals and teams create a video game from scratch in 48 hours. The event allowed students to build their portfolios, gain hands-on experience and compete with other game developers from nearly 100 countries around the world.

Following the success of the event, sophomore Alex Caldwell has helped bring a Game Jam student organization to UTSA so students can host local game development competitions on a regular basis.

“When I learned that UTSA was going to have a game design degree, I knew that students pursuing that degree would need to have a decent portfolio and experience working in teams with diverse skill sets to be best prepared to enter the industry,” Caldwell said. “The UTSA Game Jam organization will host fully online, weeklong game making competitions where teams or individuals are given a theme to make a game.”

These experiential learning opportunities encourage students to apply their newfound skills in game mechanics, storytelling, UX design and various programming languages to bring their own games to life.

A prime example of this is alumnus Nathan Morrison ’24, one of the first students to enroll in Game Design courses when they debuted last year. In a game development class taught by Assistant Professor of Instruction Samuel Ang, Morrison learned how to better evaluate the design and overall playing experience of games, in addition to the underlying code.

He is now in the process of developing an original indie video game, Spirits of Jinmenju, that he plans to release next year.

“Professor Ang would give us assignments that included giving our reviews or critiques of other games to evaluate the design, rather than just the code of a game,” Morrison said. “That has helped me think of questions that people may have about my game and helped me make certain design decisions by thinking even deeper about how a player may like or dislike certain mechanics, story writing, or other game elements.”

In addition to Ang’s game development course, the Game Design program is in the process of developing several new courses that will be introduced in upcoming semesters. These courses will explore a variety of topics such as the history of the video game industry in the U.S. and abroad, the effects of gameplay on users, and how cultural contexts shape the game design process in different parts of the world.

Students can enroll in Game Design courses and more during Fall 2025 registration, which is currently open.

The multidisciplinary studies program acts as an incubator for new and innovative academic offerings based on student interest and workforce trends. It offers over a dozen prescribed academic tracks, or students can design their own unique degree plan by combining three academic areas that align with their interests and goals.

In addition to multidisciplinary studies, the University College is also home to several graduate and certificateprograms, the Academic Introduction and Strategies program, the Writing Program, the Air Force and Army ROTC programs, and the Dual Credit program.

University College equips students to flourish in today’s increasingly complex world by fostering leadership, critical thinking, communication and connections, self-exploration and interdisciplinary learning.

— Chloe Johnson