Santa Ana (Orange County)
California

CULINARY
At The Art Institute of California, a college of Argosy University, Orange County you pick your tools. We show you how to use them.

To develop and design an animated three-dimensional game, it takes the work of both an artist and a technical programmer. The artist creates characters, backgrounds, and other graphics to make the game visually appealing and exciting while the technical programmer creates programs/scripts to enable the various movements and interactions of characters and objects. For both sides to work effectively as a team, it is critical to have a third party whom the industry professionals call ?technical artist.? The technical artist must have the artistic talent and abilities, and more importantly, be well versed in the technical aspects of a game.

The technical artist is capable of comprehending the intent of the artistic creator and the technical needs and challenges in achieving the intended results of the game designers. With that unique understanding, the technical artist can customize the programming tools in a computer software application to best meet the needs of an individual game.

The Visual & Game Programming Bachelor?s degree program is designed to offer education and training to individuals with a strong interest in games or films as well as creative and technical ability. The Art Institutes offers students access to the learning needed to apply for entry-level positions in various areas of digital visual production. Intensely hands-on, this program combines traditional animation skills with the technical skills necessary to create programs/scripts for three-dimensional graphics animation.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
To receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Visual & Game Programming, students must: receive a passing grade or credit for all required coursework; earn a minimum of 180 quarter credits; achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher; meet portfolio or other requirements as outlined by the program; and satisfy all financial obligations to The Art Institute.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates should be able to:
? Demonstrate proficiency in the areas of design, color, and drawing through their portfolio reviews and at graduation.
? Apply technical skills to set up efficient models, rigging, texturing, shading, and lighting and demonstrate a solid, consistent naming convention system in keeping with a production pipeline.
? Use programming skills in object-oriented, 3-D scripting, shell scripting and game scripting languages.
? Demonstrate clear verbal communication and critical thinking skills and work as a team member in the field.