Atlanta
Georgia

PHOTOGRAPHY
A The Art Institute of Atlanta education teaches you how to express yourself, and bring your ideas to life.

Part art and part computer science, the visual & game programming program offers students an opportunity to become part of the team that brings 3D games, animated films, and interactive motion graphics to life. In visual & game programming, students learn to fill the important role of the technical artist who has both artistic ability and the skills to solve technical problems and bridge the gap between the creative artist and technical programmer. This intensely hands-on program combines artistic skills with the technical skills deeply embedded in the concepts of animation. The curriculum was developed with input from game and animation industry veterans.

Students in visual & game programming begin with an intensive foundation in art and design, including drawing, life drawing, and sculpture. They also cover related areas of game design and animation, such as character and object design, scriptwriting, and storyboarding. In the first half of the program, students learn the more technical areas of programming for 3D animation, including shading development, motion capture management, and network management. Programming and scripting tools such as Perl, C++, C-shell, MEL scripting, MAXScript, DirectX and OpenGL, and familiarity with different operating systems are essential elements of the program. At the advanced level, students learn critical thinking and problem solving skills and are introduced to the principles of artificial intelligence, multiplayer games, and game prototyping.

Upper-level classes in the program require students to work in teams to replicate the environment of the industry. Faculty, who themselves have professional experience in the gaming field, direct and advise the teams. Game artists and programmers are also frequently guest lecturers in the classroom. In the last quarters of the program, students are encouraged to do an internship in the game industry as well as to develop a professional-quality portfolio of their work, demonstrating their programming skills and documenting their accomplishments throughout the program. This programming portfolio showcases their abilities to prospective employers.

With my new skills, I can be...
Technical artist
Technical developer
3D tools programmer
Artist wizard
Data wrangler
Rendering wrangler
Junior technical cinematic artist

(entry-level positions)