Year 1
Design Methods 1 (Design)
Harness the power of fundamental design skills and learn how to craft a wide variety of engaging player experiences. Engage with topics such as motivation, players, emotion and mechanics. These concepts are considered with reference to the player's interactive experience and contextually, in conjunction with associated tools, as a part of the iterative development process.
Design Methods 2 (Design)
Continue on your design journey by engaging in topics such as immersion and narrative structure. You will be introduced to design work which informs the development of immersive worlds and identifiable characters.
Introduction to Game Development (Requisite Core)
Develop games in a contemporary game engine (e.g. Unity, Unreal) to bring your designs to life! This module equips you with a wide variety of transferable skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, scripting.
Group Project (Requisite Core)
Experimenting with your newly-acquired design skills, develop your projects and test them on your chosen audience. Working in teams, you will adopt a professional pipeline to turn your ideas into realities. You will also work with students from the second year who will act as more senior members of the team.
Introduction to Non Digital Game Design (Design)
Non digital game making allows you to focus on the key components of game development without the barrier of developing the game within a game engine. You will apply the design skills learned in other modules directly into this one, allowing you to rapidly iterate and hone your design skills in an efficient and effective way.
Games Jams (Requisite)
Game jams are events that require the participant to create a game in a limited timeframe, and learning via game jams is linked to established and well-researched pedagogy, including collaborative learning, learning through first principles, and informal learning. Game jams are also usually accompanied with certain design constraints, such as a theme that participants should design towards. By engaging in game creation through game jams, students will be introduced to the co-creation process and improve in their soft skills, design skills and problem solving
Introduction to Programming (Programming)
Students will produce several small scale projects that allow them to explore and investigate the topics covered through workshops and lectures. The core programming language is C++.
Algorithms and Data Structures (Programming)
An introduction to the range of algorithms and data structures that are used throughout programming.
Maths for Software Development (Programming)
An introduction to mathematics orientated towards Computer Science, with a focus on Discrete Mathematics and Linear Algebra. These topics are at the core of computer science and software engineering and students must achieve a basic understanding of the contents covered to be able to fully engage in further modules on the course.
Year 2
Advanced Design Methods (Design)
Games design has deep behavioural psychological underpinnings which will be covered here. You will obtain a solid understanding of topics such as knowledge, intelligence and memory, behavioural economics, social mechanics, operant conditioning and habit forming and reinforcement. You will be introduced to systems design and the structural forms associated with sustainable fun, progression and replayability with reference to a cross section of genres and experiential goals.
Digital Scripting for Games (Design)
It is crucial that you have sufficient understanding of the technical aspects of game development so that you are able to produce your own prototypes, explore mechanics and create fully-fledged games. Continue learning how to develop games and enhance your abilities in gameplay scripting as you iterate on a range of 2D and 3D games.
Games Research Methods (Mandatory - Core)
Explore the cutting edge of games design by engaging with the vast amount of research that is published within the field. Learn how research can be used as an additional tool in your arsenal to enhance your design decisions. For example, design a game using VR and Neuralfeedback, which allows you to use brain activity to influence the game. Use eye-tracking technology to understand player behaviour or even as a mechanic itself. Use state of the art user experience techniques to create innovative mechanics and intuitive interfaces. As part of this module, this is an opportunity to compete in an annual game design competition which is internationally recognised and seen by several industry members.
Managing Games Production (Mandatory - Core)
Having developed games in a team, it is now your turn to manage a small team of your own as you oversee the development of games from original concepts and documentation through to testing and polishing.
Rapid Game Development (Optional Design)
Enhance your game development skills and build on the creative process. Over the course of the module you will be completing a series of games and engage with professional critique of games made by your peers. This process is designed to challenge your boundaries and as a method to recognise your creative identity. This module is designed to explicitly recognise your creative voice and pulls together skills learned over the course of the degree so far.
Level Design (Optional Design)
Level design is the method through which we develop physical spaces for our players to experience; as designers, we want these spaces to not only provide a set of suitable challenges for the player, but they should also engender feelings and emotions. This module looks at a range of techniques that can be applied across both single and multiplayer levels for first or third person games in both single and multiplayer forms.
Game Engine Development (Optional Programming)
Study the multitude of elements that make up a game engine, then design and develop your own 2D game engine.
Tools Programming (Programming)
This module explains the basic features and concepts of GUI Programming and the creation of tools applications/plugins, etc. with a variety of uses within a game’s development environment.
Artificial Intelligence for Games (Programming)
Learn a range of AI techniques commonly used in the games industry including; path finding, finite state machines and behaviour trees.
Programming for Graphics (Programming)
The module introduces students to the fundamental algorithms, theory, principles methods and techniques of 2D and 3D computer graphics. The mathematical underpinnings are covered in further detail from the level 4 Math for Software Development module. Students develop skills in implementing and developing computer graphic applications with C++ and standard graphics libraries (such as OpenGL) within a games programming context. The shader pipeline is also introduced, with students producing shader programs for use in their graphics applications.
Year 3
Honours Project (Mandatory)
This module represents the culmination of skills you have learnt over the course of the degree in addition to the acquisition of new skills. Spanning the entire academic year, it is a major project intended to push your boundaries to produce a substantial piece of work in your field of study. You have a degree of creative freedom with this project and you will be assigned a supervisor to guide and mentor you throughout. Notable past dissertations include topics such as: eliciting awe through a 3D environment, the procedural generation of level missions, the investigation into the effect of music and lighting on flow and styles of play, designing meaningful quests, the impact of rewards against player traits, and more. This module is a way for you to demonstrate to employers your expertise in an area within games, but also as a way to prepare you for postgraduate study.
Game Development Masterclass (Requisite)
In this module, you will collaborate in small teams to build a single, high quality game. The game which is developed can be created for any platform including non-digital and on any subject matter, however, there should have a clear and identified target market. You will also gain an understanding of the importance of building an early business case for your proposed game, as well as understanding the various potential markets and platforms. It is highly encouraged that the games developed in this module are also submitted to the Tranzfuser competition through our Games Hub, to give you the chance at obtaining funding and continuing your game development journey!
Portfolio (Requisite)
You are almost ready to take the game development scene by storm and you will need a professional online presence and curriculum vitae. We have first-hand experience of industry recruitment and with our support you will stand out from the crowd. You will also engage with mock interviews as part of this module, further preparing you for the road ahead into the games industry.
Professional Practice (Requisite)
Working with industry partners, you will have the opportunity to engage with a professional brief and dip your toes into the world of professional game development
