DigiPen Institute Of Technology announced today that it has developed two game design degree programs to be launched in the Fall 2008 semester at their Redmond campus. The four-year programs include a Bachelor of Arts in Game Design (BAGD) and a Bachelor of Science in Game Design (BSGD). DigiPen notes that their graduates have worked at companies such as Valve, Nintendo, Monolith, Activision, ArenaNet and Bungie, to name a few.

"DigiPen is committed to address all aspects of the game production pipeline," explained Claude Comair, Founder and President of DigiPen. "We have excelled in Computer Engineering, Real Time Interactive Simulation and in Production Animation. Today, after many years of research that included consultation with professionals from the game industry, we are announcing two new degrees that we believe are very much needed by the industry. With these programs, DigiPen completes yet another area of its game education pipeline."

"We worked very closely with current industry designers, discussing the needs of graduates and the hiring requirements they have," added Jen Sward, current Chair of the Game Software Design and Production Department and lead developer of the programs. "We felt strongly that designers need to have additional skills beyond straight game mechanics or story telling. Designers need to be able to code or script events or artificial intelligence, place and tune enemies, tune weapons or other entities within the game. On the other hand, designers can also be more artistically inclined, in which case they need skills in texturing, creating urban, rural, fantastical or science fiction environments. To achieve this, we created the two programs: the BSGD which has a high programming and technology component, and the BAGD which has a high artistic and architecture component."

Doug Lombardi, VP of Marketing at Valve, commented, "DigiPen is leading the academic community by providing a starting point for those wishing to pursue a career in the country's fastest growing entertainment industry. From the Valedictorian of DigiPen's first graduating class to the seven graduates who produced 2007's Game of the Year, Portal, DigiPen has become a leading source for finding new and talented employees at Valve."

DigiPen also noted that starting in September the school will utilize the Nintendo Wii and DS Development systems in some of their classes.