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BA (Hons) Games Design
GAMES DESIGN
Do you love games and have a curiosity for the creative and technical decisions that bring them to life? At Futureworks, our games design degree will prepare you for this exciting and fast-moving industry. Our graduates are now working with games developers such as Supermassive Games, Sumo Digital, Rockstar, Rebellion Games, Ubisoft, d3t, Codemasters, Lucid Games, Team17, Cloud Imperium Games to name but a few.
This course will prepare you for a life in games design and along the way, you’ll cover every aspect of this fascinating industry. We examine the principles and theory of game design, world building, structure and gameplay, while providing hands on technical skills that will take you through every stage of games design. You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of games – from idea generation and game mechanics, to programming and the use of game engines, such as Unreal Engine.
We also cover art and design, sound effects and the role of original, interactive music and there are modules that take you through 3D modelling using Autodesk Maya, and others that look at other design disciplines that are important in games, like architecture and character development. By the final year, you will be ready to embark on your self-directed honours project which will focus on your chosen career path.
Running through the course is a strong theory thread which covers historical, contemporary and future issues in the game design industry. Our career focused approach mean that you will also be given the opportunity to respond to a detailed game brief to create a finished game as part of a team.
WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE THIS PROGRAMME?
All our teaching staff are still very active in the games industry. They have experience of developing award winning games with AAA games development companies. What this means for you is that we have great connections in the real world – connections that you can use to start building your own professional network, before you’ve even graduated.
It also means that you can be confident that skills and techniques you learn are relevant to today’s industry.
With outstanding guest lectures and workshops, and the opportunity to work on live project briefs, this degree will ensure that you gain the experience to give your games career a flying start.
One aspect of this course that is particularly loved by past students are the small class sizes. This allows our tutors to provide lots of personalised one-to-one mentoring, giving you the opportunity to develop the skills that will be important in your preferred specialisms.
Being part of the Futureworks family means you also get to work with film and audio students, and collaborate on a range of interesting and innovative projects.
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
This course provides a fantastic springboard into the games industry for future Games Designers, Level Designers, Prop and Asset Modellers, or even into Production Management roles. We’re proud to say that past students are currently working throughout the industry, from major game companies to small independents – or even start your own company like one group of Futureworks students did (Torque Studios) to enter a national competition. They won the competition, picking up a £25,000 prize which helped fund their first game which was nominated in the BAFTA games awards.
AWARDING BODY
The final qualification for this programme is awarded by the University of Central Lancashire.
Admissions
START DATES
All of our courses start in September and are full time, 3 year courses. More information on relevant dates can be found on the Term Dates page.
FEES
Tuition Fees are £9,250 per year.
You may be eligible to apply for a student loan from Student Finance. Please see our Tuition Fees page for more information. You may find it beneficial to invest in additional equipment and/or study resources to support your learning. Additionally, there may be the option of attending events outside of Futureworks which would further enhance your studies. We recommend that you budget in the region of £300 to £600 over the duration of the course to cover these expenses.
ENTRY CRITERIA
To be considered for this course, you will require 104-120 UCAS points.
This could be gained via a number of qualifications, for example:
- BCC or above at A2 Level
- DMM or above at Extended Diploma Level
- M or above at UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma Level
- A proven interest in this area
If you’re unsure how many points you have you can use the UCAS tariff calculator.
Remember that qualifications such as Graded Examinations in Music Performance and Arts Award (Gold) can also count towards your UCAS points – check the tariff calculator!
All applicants are expected to have at least a Level 4 or grade ‘C’ in GCSEs Maths and English Language or equivalent. Non-UK applicants will need to have an English Language qualification at International Level B2 or higher, such as an IELTS of 6.0 or better (with no component below 5.5). Students with equivalent qualifications will also be accepted.
HOW TO APPLY
You can apply for this course by submitting an application via the UCAS system. The UCAS codes for this course are as follows:-
UCAS Code: WG24
Institution Code: F98
For information about applying in July and August, please see our Clearing page. Futureworks is currently unable to accept any applications from anyone who requires a Student Visa (formerly called Tier 4 Visa) to study in the UK.
If you have any questions about applying for a degree course please call us on 0161 214 4602, email [email protected] or look at our Admissions FAQs.
APPLICATION PROCESS
If your application is successful, you will be invited to an interview where you will have the opportunity to talk about your work, influences and interests. A guide will be sent with your interview details to help you prepare for your interview. Ideal applicants will have a keen interest in art, design, and video games. You are welcome to bring any relevant examples of work with you, if you have them. The portfolio is required for this course and applications will not be considered without the provision of a portfolio.
You will need to provide a digital portfolio. This could be a link to a website or a PDF document with images of your work. Personal projects are also of interest. You might send through some art/modelling, gameplay gifs, or links to gameplay videos. Any supporting documents such as assignments, research, or modelling inspirations will also be helpful. It’s not essential that you’ve studied games/software already, but if you have had the opportunity, then we’d love to see your work. If you haven’t had an opportunity to study game design, then an example of your current school/college work will be ok.
Structure
AWARD: Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree
DURATION: 3 Years (Full Time)
AWARDED BY: University of Central Lancashire
MODULES:
HE LEVEL 4 (YEAR 1)
- Introduction to Games Design (40 credits)
- Creative Thinking (40 credits)
- Contextual Studies (20 credits)
- Introduction to 3D Modelling (20 credits)
HE LEVEL 5 (YEAR 2)
- Games Development (40 credits)
- 3D Modelling (40 credits)
- Heading into the Games Industry (20 credits)
- Games Specialism (20 credits)
HE LEVEL 6 (YEAR 3)
- Games Proposal (60 credits)
- Honours Project (60 credits)
WHAT ARE CREDITS?
As a guide, 20 credits typically represents around 52 hours of tutor contact time (e.g. lectures/workshops/feedback) and 148 hours of self-study time (usually over the course of a semester). These numbers may increase or decrease depending on the nature, length and level of the module, especially towards the end of the course.