Video Game Development Club (VGDC)

The Video Game Development Club (VGDC) is a student organization that explores design and implementation characteristics within the development process of 2-D and 3-D video games. Members are given the opportunity to participate in game development projects centered around collaboration and creativity, with the chance to learn skills and techniques vital to the world of game engineering. The club also provides several resources and tutorials for honing individual abilities, as well as a platform to discuss and examine these relevant materials. Lastly, the club promotes a friendly, laid-back environment where members can get to know each other better through the one thing we all have in common: a love for video games!

Our organization's main activity is a year-long game development project, where we start completely from scratch brainstorming ideas for a game, refining those ideas and transforming them into game mechanics, comparing implementation techniques with those of existing video games, organizing the workload and dividing tasks amongst groups of members, realizing our initial ideas through coding and design, and producing a final product in the form of a working, playable game. The experience gained from this type of outcome is something you won't find in a typical classroom setting: this is a full-on group effort from start to finish, with no passing grades to make and no required classes to attend. It is solely a passion for game development that drives this project, and a desire to grow, learn and have fun that brings members together.

It is also important to realize that this organization does not demand perfection from its members. Whether you're a veteran programmer or have never touched a game-dev engine in your life, we want you in our club. One of the biggest concerns we get from prospective members is that they feel they are not skilled or knowledgeable enough to be a part of the club or contribute to our projects in a meaningful way. To that, we ask you this: what do you imagine our officers were thinking before they accepted their roles for the club? We are all students, just like you, with so much more to learn about game development and computer science in general. This isn't some boot camp to get you a job at Nintendo or Sony, this is a group of people who like video games, want to talk about video games, and want to try and learn more about how video games are made. So please, don't feel like you're unqualified to be a part of this club: come to one of our meetings and see for yourself just how qualified you actually are.

Finally, the other important thing to keep in mind is that game development is not just about coding. In fact, you don't even have to be interested in computer science to be able to engage in the club's game development projects. Like art? You can help draw and design character models or world features! Is music more your thing? We could have you create some sound effects or song tracks! English major? You'd be perfect for story narratives and game lore! Are none of those things to your liking? Completely alright: you can just sit back, relax, and help with the game testing! As you can see, several different components make up a game project, so even if you aren't interested in one of them, we can definitely find something for you to help us with! 

To find out more about our organization and to speak directly with some of our members, join our discord server and shoot a message to any of our officers in the chat. Discord is our primary form of communication, so to stay up-to-date with all club activities and information, we highly encourage anyone interested to join the server. Additionally, if you choose to join the club, please navigate to our InvolveSouth page at and register as a member. This is mainly so we can keep track of contact information as well as the official roster of members. Thank you for taking the time to learn about our organization!