Junior year in Drexel’s Game Design & Production (GDAP) program is a defining moment, as students transition from academic learning to hands-on industry experience through co-op placements. This year is all about applying game development, programming, and design skills in real-world settings while working on advanced coursework. Whether working at a game studio, software company, or indie development team, junior year is the time to gain industry insights, refine portfolios, and build professional connections.
While some students spend half of the year in co-op roles, coursework continues to focus on polishing game development skills and preparing for senior capstone projects. With junior year and real-world experience under their belt, GDAP students head into senior year ready to tackle their capstone project and industry showcase. The next step? Building an impressive final game project and preparing for full-time job opportunities.
Core Classes
While some students spend part of the year in co-op roles, coursework continues to sharpen game development skills and prepare students for senior capstone. Key classes include:
- Game Development: Workshop I (GMAP377): Covers pre-production, game design documents, and prototype creation in small teams.
- Advanced Game Playtesting (GMAP321): Teaches rigorous playtesting methods, player behavior analysis, and usability testing.
- Game Development: Workshop II (GMAP378): Transitions pre-production into full game development, with a focus on production pipelines and polish.
- Electives: Allow students to focus on specialization areas like technical art, AI, or narrative design.
Skills You’ll Develop
- Industry Production Pipelines: Scrum, Agile workflow, and version control with Git
- AI & Advanced Game Systems: Enemy behavior, pathfinding, game logic
- Project & Time Management: Balancing projects, portfolio work, and co-op responsibilities
- Professional Communication: Presenting ideas, collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams
Co-op Experience: Learning in the Industry
Many GDAP students spend six months working in professional game studios, indie teams, or software companies. These co-ops provide real-world experience across several disciplines:
- Game Programming: Gameplay mechanics, physics simulations, AI behavior
- Game Art & Animation: 3D modeling, animation, texture work
- Game Design & Narrative: Level design, player experience, interactive storytelling
- Technical Art & Optimization: Shaders, VFX, real-time performance improvements
Through co-op and coursework, students also tackle more complex and industry-aligned projects:
- Full Game Prototypes: Playable, polished game experiences
- Cinematic Cutscene Development: Motion capture, animation, and storytelling integration
- Game AI & Physics Systems: Complex logic and responsive environments
- Portfolio & Resume Refinement: Creating strong case studies and demo reels
Tips for Success: Treat your co-op like a long-form job interview—ask questions, build relationships, and absorb as much as possible. Tailor your demo reel to your desired job role. Learn new tools like procedural generation systems, real-time rendering workflows, or AI-assisted design tools. Attend game dev meetups and online events to expand your network.