Game Academy

Make your own video games and ignite your creativity with our college-ready courses for high school students.

These programs prepare you for more than just making games. Our alumni are the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, computer scientists, writers, artists, animators, engineers, and more. Get started on a pathway to college and career—through game design.

Spring Break Game Design Lab

Beginner

PERIOD: Spring Break (3 days)
SCHEDULE: Apr 15-17, 10am-4pm
LOCATION: Learning Lab 
COST: No cost

Brand new to game design? Remix your own platformer arcade game with original art, music, and characters in 3 days during spring break. Get hands-on with industry game development tools, including Unity3D.

This course is fully enrolled for 2025.

2D Game Development - Summer Intensive

Beginner

PERIOD: Summer (July 7 – August 15, 6 weeks)
SCHEDULE: Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm
LOCATION: Learning Lab or online
COST: No cost

Kickstart your enrollment in Game Academy with our accelerated summer course.  Learn C# coding, pixel art, animation, music & storytelling through game development in a fun, accelerated computer science course that prepares you for creative STEM college programs.  Summer students can skip ahead to the 3D course in the fall.

2D Game Development

Beginner

PERIOD: School Year (Oct-June)
SCHEDULE: After school or Saturdays
COMMITMENT: 6 hours per week
LOCATION: Learning Lab or online
COST: No cost

Urban Arts Game Academy is an award-winning, three-level game design and computer science program for high school students.  The first level of Game Academy is 2D Game Development, where you will create the art, music, story, and code for your own 2D games with Unity3D.  Applications for school year programs open in the summer.

3D Game Development

Intermediate

PERIOD: School Year (Oct-June)
SCHEDULE:After school or Saturdays
COMMITMENT:
6 hours per week

LOCATION: Learning Lab or online
COST: No cost

After completing the 2D Game Dev course, you can level up your programming skills within the Unity3D engine, while working in small teams to create 3D games. Coursework includes advanced C# coding, art and animation with Blender, and version control with GitHub.

Game Studio Capstone

Advanced

PERIOD: School Year (Oct-June)
SCHEDULE: Thursdays after school + Saturdays
COMMITMENT: 9 hours per week
LOCATION: Hybrid (online and in-person)
COST: No cost

In our 3rd level course, you will develop a capstone game within your own indie game studio! Be the lead programmer, creative director, digital artist, narrative, or music designer, among many other roles needed in a game design team. Meet industry mentors, get help with college apps, and present your game at local events.

SeniorXP Fellowship

Advanced

PERIOD: Summer (July 7 – August 6, 5 weeks)
SCHEDULE: Monday-Wednesday, 10am-5pm
LOCATION: Learning Lab
COST: No cost

Rising high school seniors are invited to join this immersive summer program, which blends college application prep with hands-on game development. Over five weeks, students split their time between exploring college and financial aid opportunities and collaborating in teams to design and develop a digital game using Unity. With guidance from industry professionals, participants will build a portfolio-ready project while also crafting their personal statements, resumes, and other application materials—gaining key skills for both college and career success.

Why Study Game Design @ Urban Arts​

01

Field Trips & Workshops with Pros

Several Urban Arts students on a field trip playing a game together.

In all levels of Game Academy, you will have opportunities to connect with the local and national gaming community, as well as leading tech and media companies through field trips, mentoring days, and participation in industry events

02

College Access

Confetti rains down in a classroom as several students celebrate at the Urban Arts Arcade event.

100% of Urban Arts Game Academy seniors are accepted into college programs. Through our College Access services, including one-on-one guidance, workshops, and summer programs, we’ve helped our students earn over $25 million in college scholarships since 2017.  

03

Accessible Learning

Several Urban Arts students working on laptops and eating pizza.

We are committed to reducing the barriers you may have to participating in our program.

  • Meals, laptops, and Metrocards are provided for in-person courses
  • Laptop loans for students in remote programs
  • Low student-to-teacher ratio, Hands-on curriculum, and a flexible learning model to support neurodivergent students