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Interactive Narrative Specialist

College of Liberal Arts / Technical Communication and Interaction Design
Undergraduate certificate

About The Program

The Interactive Narrative Specialist certificate is created to give students a chance to explore the creative and technical world of interactive narrative writing. This type of writing, often called writing in decision trees, takes unique skills that are applicable in a wide range of fields including Game Design. Students will gain skills and abilities in usability testing, critical thinking, creating core game mechanics, balancing and adjusting gameplay, design thinking, creative writing, devising complex challenges, providing and utilizing feedback, visual design, and editing.

Student outcomes

  • Explore a variety of topics related to the field of game studies and game design such as the history of video and tabletop games; the current landscape of the video game industry; future projections for game industry; game and narrative design; toxicity in the games community; race, gender, and identity in games; game design schemas, employment possibilities in the game industry, and theories of interaction design. 
  • Create and develop narrative elements of an interactive story such as characters, levels, dialogue, a bestiary, game lore, and story arcs 
  • Craft prompts, dialogue, options, exposition, and/or descriptions that are consistent across the constructed environment

Courses and Requirements

SKIP TO COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Required Courses

This course is an introduction to the vast and interdisciplinary field of game studies and game design. Students in this course will explore how games can be art, math, story, identity, political systems, ethical systems and more. Topics covered may include the history of video and tabletop games; the current landscape of the video game industry; future projections for game industry; an introduction to Game and Narrative Design; toxicity in the games community; race, gender, and identity in games; game design schemas, and an intro to theories of interaction design. Students will demonstrate this knowledge through creating a paper prototype of a tabletop game as part of a development team. No programming knowledge assumed.

Full course description for Introduction to Game Design

In this course, students will learn strategies for analyzing and creating game worlds, levels, and characters that are consistent, compelling, and fluent. Students will focus on what makes compelling and engaging video game dialogue, settings, backstories, and more. This theory- and writing-focused course will let students create and/or expand on all the writing that goes into a good video game story as well as explore games as a humanistic field. There will be a particular focus on creating characters, stories, and scenes with an anti-racist perspective in response to the industry¿s history representing marginalized characters, stories, and lore. No programming knowledge is assumed.

Full course description for Game, Level, and Character Design

In this course, students will learn the unique style of writing and storytelling used in an interactive environment. In this production-focused course, students will produce a video game (or slice of a video game), interactive story, or interactive website prototype by the end of the course. Students will focus on creating a continuity of experience across a system, writing compelling prompts, writing and thinking in decision trees, and anticipating audience input. Students will conduct usability testing/playtesting and revision of their constructed environments. No programming knowledge is assumed.

Full course description for Writing in Interactive Environments