A class offered for the first time this past spring might sound like it’s just for fun, but the students in the new Game Design class knew that there was a lot more to it.
Peter Britton, assistant professor of art, joined the Missouri Western faculty in the fall of 2015 to teach classes in the digital animation program. He had taught a game design class at a previous university and thought it would be a great class for Missouri Western students. He noted that there is a trend for students wanting to do more game design, and he hopes to offer the class each spring.
Most students said it was a very tough class, but that they enjoyed it, Britton said. Those who had the advanced modeling class had an easier time with the game designing, so he said that class would most 
likely become a prerequisite for the game design class.
The class used Unreal Engine 4, a suite of game development tools. Britton noted that familiarity with Unreal Engine 4 would prepare students for a job that used any game development tools.
“We’re the beta testers for the class,” joked digital animation major Adam Carroll ’16, referring to the software development term for the second phase of software testing where an intended audience tries the product. “I really enjoyed it.”
Carroll, from Dearborn, Missouri, said he signed up for the class because he would love to work for a game studio after he graduates. “I now have something to show on my portfolio. Companies want to see your experience.”
He was on a team with Kaitlyn Gales and Amanda Francis, who both graduated with digital animation degrees this past May, and the three developed a fantasy game set in a medieval castle. Each student planned out a different level: Carroll, a “creepy” dungeon; Francis, a library, or a wizard study area; and Gales, outdoors, with a courtyard, maze and tower.
“It was a lot of work, but it was a fun class. It’s was what I expected and then a lot more,” Francis said. “Missouri Western gave me the right tools to succeed. They gave me a solid foundation of digital animation.”
“We learned a lot of techniques,” Carroll said. “Peter Britton knows a lot about what goes into game design; it’s a totally different technique for games.”
Gales said she took the class to learn another aspect of digital animation. She would love a career in environmental design, character design, gaming, movies or animation.
“Actually, I’m open to where my degree takes me.”
The requirement by the end of the class was to create content and know the process of content creation for games, Britton said.
Amanda Francis, Kaitlyn Gales and Adam Carroll work on designing their video game.
This past summer, he began working with several students, including Carroll, to create a game. They are continuing to work on it during the academic year and plan to finish it and publish it next summer.
“One of the main hurdles to get into the field is that employers say, ‘have you published a game?’ With this they can say they have that experience, and it will be a big plus when graduates are trying to get hired,” Britton said.