Available courses

Determination of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage Data

This course introduces students to the definitions of tangible and intangible cultural heritage through selected international examples representing the eastern and western cultures. The exemplary cultural heritage formations determined initially within the scope of the Project including Greek and Roman civilization, Phrygian Culture, The Baku Inner City and Eyup Sultan principal the Holy Shrine in İstanbul. Students will be able to understand the universal criteria for cultural heritage as defined by UNESCO and identify similar examples. This module covers the historical reserach of seleceted examples of cultural heritage and their significance as both for their tangible and intangible values. This module aims to rise awareness among the young generation about the importance of sustainable preservation of cultural heritage by employing methods that appeal to students, such as digital games.

Game Development

This course equips students with practical and conceptual skills in game development using Unreal Engine. Through a combination of visual scripting, system architecture, and real-time asset integration, students will learn to build interactive game experiences from scratch. Topics include Blueprint programming, animation systems, user interface design, AI behavior, shader development, and game optimization. Emphasis is placed on project-based learning, encouraging students to prototype, test, and polish their own games while developing problem-solving and debugging strategies essential to modern game development

Level Design

This course introduces students to the core principles, methods, and tools of level design within the context of 3D game development. Through hands-on practice using Blender and Unreal Engine 5, students will gain experience designing, building, and refining gameplay environments. Emphasis is placed on spatial reasoning, visual storytelling, environmental design, player engagement, and technical skills required to create immersive and functional game levels.

Interactive Narrative

This course explores how storytelling evolved through different mediums and how it is incorporated into contemporary video games. World design, plot and structure, characters, meaningful choices, interactive stories, and cinematography are the key concepts.  During this course the students will understand linear and nonlinear interactive narrative techniques, develop an interactive storytelling perspective for video games, understand player types and develop an interactive narrative project in a fictional setting chosen by the instructor. Students will read and analyze the best practices of contemporary written works, such as fictional novels. Students will also play and analyze contemporary video games (in different platforms) with special emphasis on their stories. Students will also be familiar with the digital tools used by narrative designers of video games.

Psychology for Game Design

In this course, students will be introduced to the basic concepts and models of psychology in games and game design. The course introduces students to selected theories explaining experience and motivations when playing games. This should allow students to better understand both their own gaming experiences and other people's gaming experiences. On the practical (UX) level, this module also covers the basics of designing game experience and emotion. It is aimed to introduce students to the basic concepts and models of psychology in games and game design, as well as to examine the sociological and cultural aspects of the concept of play.

Fundamentals of Game Design

This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive foundation in the principles and processes of game design, with a particular emphasis on analog formats such as board and card games. Through a blend of theoretical instruction and applied practice, students will gain an understanding of the core components that constitute effective game design, including mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics. The course systematically explores the iterative nature of game development—ranging from conceptual ideation and rule formulation to prototyping and user testing—thus enabling students to critically engage with design strategies and problem-solving methods.