Below I’ve compiled a list of helpful sites that related to the study of game development, from blogs like this one to school sites and helpful posts. If you have a link that you think should be included in this list, please e-mail it to me using the contact page.

Blogs		Websites
Articles
Education Specific Industry Oriented On Scenario Writing
Specializations
Bachelors Programs Japanese Schools

Game Design Blogs

• Venus Plays Video Games

Vespyr a game design student at USC and production intern in the Los Angeles area.

• Blog of a Budding Game Designer

Isidoro is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Asian Studies and a concentration in Japanese Literature. He recently began a career in video game development as a QA Tester at a well-known 3rd party developer. Isidoro’s goal is to eventually design games professionally as a creative director.

• Japanmanship

JC Barnett is the nom de plume of a video games developer working and living in Japan.

• Gamine Expedition

Academic oriented blog touching upon various facets of my doctoral research on digital games and children’s media/technologies.

• “On Game Design”

Game Design Articles

• Game Design FAQs
• The Game Design Portfolio: Is There Such a Thing?
• Blood, Sweat, Tears, and a Company: What it Takes to Make a Game
• What kind of jobs are there in the gaming industry?

Education Specific

• Game Design Education Without a Game Design Major?
• I Am a Game School Dropout [expansion of Game School Dropout: Whining 101]
• Wanna Study Game Design in Japan? Here’s How

Industry Oriented

• What Game Companies Want From Graduates
• Made In Japan: Western Perspectives On Japanese Game Development
• Introduction: the who, the why, the now, and the how

On Scenario Writing

• How I Became a Game Writer
• Ask the Experts: My Kid Wants to Write Video Games
  

Useful Websites

• International Game Developer’s Association
• Game Career Guide
• Gamasutra
• Women In Games International

Game Design Specializations

Bachelors Programs

• Columbia College Chicago [B.A. Interactive Arts and Media Game Design Major]

The Game Development concentration provides an environment for students to creatively author a wide range of games – including real-time games, engine-based games, and simulations. After completing the Game Design core students begin the concentration with an introduction to the industry and to developing original games, followed by a series of production courses. The Game Development track prepares students to produce and develop in a team setting as they work with animators, sound designers, and programmers to build a large-scale game in the senior capstone course.

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [B.S. Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences]

Rensselaer’s Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences program, like the existing Game Design Studies Minor, is a second-generation program intended (1) to educate students for early career positions and (2) to provide them with the technical, communication, and leadership skills needed to help shape an industry emerging out of the “games” phenomenon.

• UC Santa Cruz [B.S. Computer Science: Computer Game Design Major]

This interdisciplinary program, offered for the first time in fall 2006, provides students with a deep understanding of the technical aspects of computer game engineering and a broad background in the artistic, narrative, and dramatic elements of game design.

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute [Interactive Media & Game Development]

WPI’s Interactive Media and Game Development (IMGD) majors receive a base education in both the technical and artistic aspects of interactive media. There is particular emphasis on programmers and artists working closely together, providing invaluable experience for their post-graduate years. IMGD majors are also provided with a base of knowledge in mathematics and science, which serves as a foundation for IMGD professional activities or post-graduate studies.

Japanese Technical Schools

• コンピュータ総合学園HAL [English page]

HAL is an institution focusing mainly on the development of high technology games and 3DCG. It also offers courses in: Car, Robot, Multimedia, Music and General information processing. It has an original educational system and is supported by the industrial world. A variety of courses are provided to meet the demands of different business styles: for instance there are both daytime courses and nighttime courses. HAL is tied in a cooperative relationship with leading high-tech companies such as IBM, Nintendo, Microsoft, etc. This way the school can offer an educational environment in accordance with the rapidly progressing needs of industry.

• Tokyo Net Wave [Japanese Only]

ゲームの企画立案や、発想法といったゲームに特化したカリキュラムだけではなく一般教養、映像系メディア、マネジメント、制作するゲームをいかにして商品化していくかについてのマーケティングなども学びます。また、プランナーとして求められるゲーム制作上の技術、知識、制作チームのマネジメントまでも習得します。領域の広いカリキュラムのもとで、ゲームだけでなく作品制作の“引き出し”をより多く持ち、広い視野でゲーム制作に携わることができるプランナーを養成します。