Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media
Put your audience in the writer's seat to create immersive and infinite games, virtual simulations, experiences, and digital stories.
Break out of linear storylines.
If you love getting lost in a good story, we invite you to start writing your own at Champlain College with our Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media program. This Bachelor of Science degree is designed with the future of the industry in mind—one that’s fueled by talented storytellers, designers, and writers. At its core, the program is all about crafting captivating stories and bringing them to life in the digital world.
Think of interactive narratives as an upgrade to traditional storytelling. Unlike linear narratives, where you merely follow along, interactive narratives allow you to engage with the story’s world and make choices that influence how the tale unfolds. This non-linear approach depends entirely on your decisions as the player or reader, offering a dynamic and personalized experience.
Interactive narrative concepts and techniques are extending further beyond the game industry. They are being used to craft scenarios for simulations, enhance education and training in areas like business, military, and trades; to design non-linear user experiences in software, and even influence marketing strategies. Interactive narratives are a versatile tool that are increasingly transforming the way we learn, explore, and experience.
Whether you’re immersed in a story or navigating new digital landscapes, consider the impact of interactive narratives. They provide a dynamic way to experience and shape narratives, making storytelling a more engaging and participatory adventure, breaking free from the constraints of a linear narrative structure.
COMING FALL 2025
Applications for the BS in Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media will be available beginning Fall 2024 for Fall 2025 enrollment. Don’t want to wait? Apply as Undeclared in the Division of Communication & Creative Media to start taking classes in the major in Fall 2024.
To learn more, contact the Program Director Kel Bachus. He would love to hear from you!
Why Interactive Narrative at Champlain?
Be Among the First
Champlain’s Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media is one of the first four-year academic programs for interactive narrative in the country. This is your opportunity to be at the leading edge of a growing industry!
Choose Your Own Adventure
In this program, you’ll get to handpick three collaboration-focused classes that align with your interests and aspirations. With our Collaboration Electives, you’ll have a tailored curriculum that opens doors to our Game Studio and Creative Studio Experiences, bringing you closer to your desired career in games or digital media.
Built-in Creative & Professional Community
Whether you choose to pursue courses in the Game Studio, Creative Studio, or a mix of both, you’ll have access to resources, career opportunities, employers, alumni, and supportive faculty and classmates from across majors.
$129,020
According to Glassdoor.com, interaction designers earn competitive salaries, reflecting the high demand for their specialized skills.
15
No giant lecture halls here. Your average class size will be small enough for personal attention and engaging interactions.
THE BEST
Champlain College was listed among the “Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report in 2024.
Sample Curriculum in the Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media Major
The Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media major is among the most forward-looking programs offered at Champlain College. You’ll have the flexibility to choose electives and collaborative projects that provide hands-on learning in a studio-like environment.
Second Year
GMD 350
Interactive Narrative II
Third Year
Program Elective
Collaboration Elective II
Fourth Year
CCC 410INN
Capstone in Interactive Narrative
INN or XXX 4XX
Interactive Narrative Portfolio
OR
Interactive Narrative Studio
OR
Collaborative Elective III
You also might be interested in these…
Based on your interest in the Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media major, we thought you also might like to check out these other academic programs and opportunities.
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Majors
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Creative Media
Develop your self-expression in our Creative Media major, and learn the businesses side of interdisciplinary production, digital creation, and entrepreneurship.
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Game Design
As a Game Design major at Champlain College, you’ll start building worlds on day one, preparing for a burgeoning industry. And you’ll understand the strategies, narratives and motivators that compel people to play.
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Filmmaking
Master the production of motion pictures and understand the global business of filmmaking. Use the latest tools, work on real projects, and turn your vision into reality through observation, imagination, storytelling and technical skill.
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Interaction Design
Tomorrow’s technology requires good design to be usable. Specialize in user experience (UX) or user interface (UI) design at Champlain, and create new intersections between human minds and digital spaces.
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Writing & Publishing
Talent is an amazing ingredient, but it’s not the whole recipe. Working writers need a solid foundation in the mechanics of writing, a storyteller’s gift for narrative, a poet’s eye for detail, and drive to keep adapting and improving improving in a fast-changing industry. Champlain College can give you all that and more.
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Minors
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Digital Marketing Minor
Get the fundamentals of marketing down in the modern digital workplace. Use web-based tools to study metrics, enhance search engine optimization, assist in web development, and more.
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Media Production Minor
Effective media production is a foundation of any successful business. Learn about streaming, social media and traditional media, as well as how to write, produce, and edit content for each.
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UI Design & Implementation Minor
Bridge the gap between design and software development. Create dynamic designs and implement them with code for mobile apps, web apps, and other forms of electronic media.
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Writing Minor
Develop strong writing skills in technical writing like journalism and grant writing and more creative writing like poetry and fiction. Increase your media literacy and written communication skills.
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Areas of Study
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Creative Arts & Communication
Bring ideas to life in unexpected ways.
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Game Design & Development
Turn concepts into digital reality.
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Sign Up To Get Stickers + Helpful Info
Ready to be inspired? Fill out the form and sign up to receive helpful information about Champlain College—plus, we’ll send you a full sheet of high quality stickers designed by one of our Graphic Design & Visual Communication graduates.
Career Success
With a BS in Interactive Narrative from Champlain College, you’ll be prepared for roles such as a game writer, narrative designer, interactive media producer, virtual reality storyteller, and more.
YOUR CAREER OUTLOOK
By the time you graduate, you will…
- develop your authentic voice and become fearlessly open to new ideas and possibilities
- adopt and apply technology to a wide range of creative and practical narrative problems
- research, prototype, and iterate on workable narrative solutions that connect people with each other and technology
- work with colleagues, clients, and audiences toward a shared, cohesive goal
You’ll find a career in…
- game writing
- UX/UI writing
- narrative design
- interactive media producer
- virtual reality storyteller
- interactive education
- immersive events & experiences
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Pre-College Summer Program: Filmmaking & Media Production Exploration AcademyThe Filmmaking & Media Production Exploration Academy offers students the opportunity to learn about many of the different jobs available in creating content for film, television, and streaming – including movies, web series, documentaries, commercials, social media, drama, comedy and more. Students work together in a hands-on, supportive environment under the guidance of industry experts with extensive experience working at major film studios and networks.
This program is for students entering grades 10–12 and recent high school graduates.
Learn More on the Pre-College Summer Program Website
Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media
Meet Our Faculty
Kel Bachus
Program Director
Areas of Expertise
Interactive Narrative, Game development…
More Inside Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media
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Overview
Put your audience in the writer's seat to create immersive and infinite games, virtual simulations, experiences, and digital stories.
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Curriculum
Tailor your education with a customizable curriculum that reinvents traditional narrative by breaking out of the linear storyline.
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Faculty
Learn from committed and knowledgeable industry-expert faculty in the Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media program.