Learn from professors who both teach and work in the industry, earning international recognition and awards.
Our Computer Game Design faculty work with some of the industry’s biggest names to innovate and create cutting-edge games. These award-winning educators combine practical research with mentorship to bring out the very best in our students and are frequent speakers at game conferences in the United States and around the world.
Our faculty work on games across the spectrum, from mobile to PC to the latest consoles, with industry giants like EA and Pixar. They present their work and support our students’ competition at the East Coast Game Conference (ECGC) and the Game Developers Conference (GDC). Many are also published authors who share their insights through books, scholarly articles, and global public presentations.
"There are some outstanding faculty members who come from the game design industry and who really put a lot of effort into ensuring the students grow the necessary skills and abilities to succeed. We were also exposed to most aspects of the industry which has been very helpful."—Kyle Bishop, 2013 George Mason University alumni and founder of Little Arms Studios
Members of our faculty are entrepreneurs who offer real-world opportunities for our students, from independent study to internships to part-time positions. Students can gain real-world expertise working alongside our faculty as assistants in the Mason Game and Technology Academy (MGTA) and the Virginia Serious Games Institute (VSGI).
Director Sang Nam, has explored new possibilities when art and technology merge, and his work has been exhibited worldwide, including the US, UK, Korea, and Hungary. As a teacher-scholar, Nam has actively pursued his research on the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning. His exceptional contributions have earned him numerous accolades, and he is a sought-after speaker, frequently invited to present at conferences and events both nationally and internationally.
Our faculty have won awards:
- Sang Nam (Director of the Computer Game Design Program)
- 2024-25 4-VA@Mason Collaborative Research Grant awardee
- 2010-2021 The Elon Teaching Scholar Award
- 2010 National Teaching Scholar Award (Carnegie Foundation/Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning)
- 2008 Wisconsin Teaching Fellow Award (University of Wisconsin Systems)
- Greg Grimsby and Eric Piccione - George Mason Teaching Award for excellence in teaching
- Seth Hudson - Teacher of Distinction awarded by George Mason University’s Stearns Center
- Kelly Nam - National Teaching Scholar awarded by the Carnegie Academy (Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning)
Our faculty have published books advancing the field of study:
- So You've Landed in a Fantasy World: How to Survive and Thrive Paperback, by Josiah Lebowitz, January 2022
- Mathematics of Game Development: A Collection of Applied Lessons (forthcoming, Spring 2022), by Jacob Enfield
- Serious Games in Personalized Learning (New Models for Design and Performance), Routledge, 2021, by Dr. Scott Martin
- Artificial Intelligence, Mixed Reality, and the Redefinition of the Classroom, Rowman & Littefield, June 2019, by Dr. Scott Martin
- The chapter called Creating personalized learning using aggregated data from students’ online conversational interactions in customized groups in: Learning Engineering for Online Education, Routledge, 2018, by Dr. Scott Martin
- Interactive Storytelling for Video Games, Focal Press; 1st edition, March 15, 2011, by Josiah Lebowitz and Kris Klug
Our faculty have worked at some of the top video game design companies:
- Activision (Eric Piccione)
- Electronic Arts (Matt Strangio, Eric Piccione and Greg Grimsby)
- Edutainment Systems LLC
- Pixar Animation Studios (Matt Strangio)
- Sega (Eric Piccione)
- Winterion Game Studios (Daniel Greenberg - owner and founder)
Our faculty members have created or contributed to such games as:
- Air Warrior II (Greg Grimsby)
- Aliens Online (Greg Grimsby)
- Alien Petshop Board Game (Greg Grimsby)
- Aurora’s Nightmare (Josiah Lebowitz)
- Coup (Robbie Dieterich)
- Dark Age of Camelot (James Casey, Greg Grimsby)
- Dungeon Keeper (James Casey)
- Eden to Green (Robbie Dieterich)
- Elite Beat Agents (Robbie Dieterich)
- EverQuest Next (Josiah Lebowitz)
- Gitarooman Lives (Robbie Dieterich)
- Imperator Online (James Casey)
- Infinity Blade Cross (Robbie Dieterich)
- Lips (Robbie Dieterich)
- Multiplayer Battletech: 3025 (Greg Grimsby)
- Ookibloks (Robbie Dieterich)
- Robot Legions Reborn (Robbie Dieterich)
- The Black Eyed Peas Experience (Robbie Dieterich)
- The Verities Silex trilogyUltima Forever (Josiah Lebowitz)
- Titanic (3D version) (Ted Prawat)
- Ultima Forever Online (James Casey)
- Warhammer Online: Age of Chaos (Greg Grimsby)
- Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes (James Casey)
Professors Sang Nam and Seth Hudson were quoted extensively in the recent U.S. News and World Report article, How to Get a Degree in Game Design.
Game Design professor Greg Grimsby launched his new game, Alien Petshop, an intergalactic board game for pet and alien lovers.
Our faculty members have created serious game technology for clients:
Professor Nam has been producing serious games for clients including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Department of Defense, and many other government agencies and private companies. He partnered with ThunderCat Technology, and they officially became a U.S. Army Information Technology Enterprise Solutions Software 2 (ITES-SW2) contract holder in 2020. They will be one of only 31 contractors on the $13 billion 10-year award.