New York University is launching the area’s first master’s program in game design beginning next fall.

The curriculum out of the NYU Game Center — which also hosts major video-game tournaments like this week’s “Angry Birds Challenge” — focuses on the creative aspects of video-game design and programming.

Students will also turn a critical eye toward the industry as aspiring game critics, along with studying the history of video games.

via NYU launches area’s first master’s degree program in video game design – NYPOST.com.

An interesting reflection on the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in games.

Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation « e27.

“Around the country, pockets of faculty have been adding games to their courses as a way to stimulate learning. At Boston College, nursing students conduct forensics at a virtual crime scene. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a game called Melody Mixer teaches students how to read and compose music. Students at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., play World of Warcraft, a multiplayer online game, in a course on intelligence studies. ‘The key driver is the need for ways to make learning more engaging,’ says Larry Johnson, CEO of the non-profit New Media Consortium and co-author of a report this year that predicts an explosion of game-based learning in higher education within three years. ‘Games can open that door for many students.'”

Read more: via Colleges latest thrust: Video games – USATODAY.com.