Game design might cause visions of dozens of university students playing video games, but with a closer look, the potential of this program quickly emerges: Electronic games are currently, and will continue to be, major drivers in the development of computer hardware and software. The latest in graphical processors, 4D modelling techniques for virtual reality, real-time systems and control, animation tools, user interfaces and sensory feedback have all been heavily influenced by the demands of game designers. In turn, the technology from the gaming industry is finding and driving countless other fields including digital image processing, audio and visual modelling, flight simulation, military training, design prototyping, architectural visualization and animation. Entirely new fields outside engineering, such as interactive arts and digital music, are being made possible by the technology. New areas of research,such as computationally efficient mathematical models to accurately simulate physical environments, are emerging. From a commercial point of view, computer games have become one of the bright lights in the software industry. The recent release of Halo 2 by Microsoft, with over 7 million units sold worldwide in less than six months, illustrates the commercial potential of computer games. Developers are also porting the technology to countless other new products, such as surgical simulators for the training of medical doctors, remote control (with sensory feedback) of remote mining operations, and simulation of life-threatening or catastrophic crises. All these will help extend the commercial reach of gaming software technology. This four-year program involves animation, real-time simulation, multimedia, and everything to do with designing and implementing interactive games and data visualization.

Graduates of the program will earn a B. Eng. in software engineering. Students will learn the fundamentals of software development and be equipped to: * Design world-class user interfaces for any kind of software; * Understand the balance between simulation accuracy and efficiency; * Understand the human aspect of software. And, students will be ready to find employment in the computer gaming, animation, data visualization and high-fidelity simulation industries as well as other software development jobs.