VIDEO GAME DEVELOPMENT

Become a “Summer Trojan” and earn college credit.

In Video Game Development, students will learn the fundamentals of creating and implementing content in commercial video game engines. Starting with critical learning about existing games, platforms and genres, students will work their way through core development principles to implement those designs in game engines, ultimately making their own playable games. Video Game Development is an opportunity to learn how to bring exciting game ideas to life!

PROGRAM DATES
June 15 – July 12, 2025

PREREQUISITES
Laptop that can work with 3D game engines (see below in COURSE OVERVIEW)

COURSE DRESS CODE
None

DAILY SCHEDULE & ACTIVITIES
MONDAY – FRIDAY
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Classes in session
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Classes in session

COURSE OVERVIEW

Highlights

  • Develop physical and electronic game prototypes using industry-standard tools
  • Explore your own game concepts to create playable games you can share with family and friends

Topics of Study

  • Learn core game design principles
  • Understand what makes physical and electronic games successful
  • Build physical and digital prototypes of games
  • Learn to prototype and construct game elements in a commercial game engine
  • Learn to run playtests to gather critical feedback
  • Practice pitching and presentation of your projects
  • Solve team-based production challenges

Laptop Spec Requirements
Students are required to have a laptop that can be used for work with 3D game engines. The spec requirements are as follows:

  • 15″ to 17″ Windows Laptop
  • Processor: 13th or 14th Generation Intel Core i7 or i9, Intel Core Ultra 7 or 9
  • Memory: 16GB or more
  • Storage: 512GB or more SSD
  • Windows 10 version 21H1 (build 19043) or newer
  • GPU must support DX11, DX12 or Vulkan
  • Required Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 or higher, or Nvidia Quadro RTX 3000 or higher. Examples include:
    • HP ZBook Studio G10
    • Razer Blade 16
    • MSI Stealth
    • Alienware x16 or m16

HEAR FROM OUR FORMER STUDENTS

USC Summer Programs give students access to numerous resources and allow them to interact with people from different backgrounds.
A few more weeks of school is worth it because the network of people you meet and tasks given can’t be found elsewhere.