Computer Games Programming Degrees and Courses

Computer gaming is the passion of millions around the world. As such, it’s supported by a huge global industry.

As games become increasingly varied (from the latest RPGs to multiplayer online worlds, blockbuster FPS games, console bestsellers and fun mobile phone apps), there’s a real demand for talented, enthusiastic people who can turn a concept into a reality. And that’s where Computer Games Programming comes in.

As one of our Computer Games Programming graduates, you’ll have a well-respected qualification and you’ll be highly skilled in taking ideas, artwork, sounds and stories, and turning them all into a working game.

But you won’t be limited to a career in games: you’ll learn the core computing concepts necessary to be a success anywhere in the computing industry.

• BSc(Hons)/BEng(Hons) Computer Games Programming
• BSc(Hons)/BEng(Hons) Multiplayer Online Games Programming
• BSc/BSc(Hons) Computer Games Programming (Top-up)

Our Computer Games Programming degrees are accredited by BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) and IMIS (Institute for the Management of Information Systems).

The Multiplayer Online Games Programming course is even Cisco-accredited, which means you get the chance to gain Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) certification. And, to give you the very best real-world training, we’ve developed our courses with the help of top games companies like Rare, Blitz, Sony, Codemasters and many others. These companies think very highly of our graduates, sometimes recruiting them onto development teams and constantly working with us to review and update our courses with the very latest games programming trends.

What’s more, you’ll be studying at one of the most prestigious Computing Faculties in the UK. We were one of the first universities to offer a Computing degree back in the 1960s and we were similarly pioneering with Games degrees, offering them from 2004 onwards.

Our lecturing staff are well-known experts in their fields so you’ll be learning from the best.

For example, before coming to us, one lecturer was a Games Programmer at Astraware, developing games across a wide range of mobile platforms for major players including Microsoft and Sony.

The Director of the University’s Applied Research Centre for Information, Intelligence and Security Systems is an expert in image processing, computer vision and computer graphics. He’s presented at international conferences, supervised postgraduate students and had papers published in leading academic journals.

Two of our experts, meanwhile, are specialists in Artificial Intelligence and related disciplines — they’ve worked on projects using AI techniques to aid medical analysis and to evaluate health and fitness using computer game technology.

Our Computer Games Programming Award Leader researches computerized natural motion and applied virtual reality, while our Level 2 tutor researches goal-oriented behaviour in games.  Both have extensive industrial experience as software developers, and a keen interest in applying software engineering techniques to game development.

You’ll be taught by enthusiastic and friendly academic staff, and allocated a personal tutor in your first week to support you throughout your course.

Student advisors and a student welfare network are also on hand to help you with any non-academic problems you have.

Our Computer Games Programming courses are designed to give you real hands-on training that’ll prepare you properly for the workplace, focusing on the core skills you need to develop computer programs in general, and games in particular. You’ll learn several programming languages including C++ (the industry standard), Java, and C#, as well as the software engineering skills needed to design, develop and test large systems in teams.

You’ll also study the specialist topics required to make games, like graphics, artificial intelligence, physics, gameplay, networking, audio integration and user interaction.

In your final year, you’ll work on a large project, which could involve developing a complete game or solving a specific game development problem.

You’ll learn through whole-group lectures, small-group tutorials and practical sessions in the laboratories, as well as discussions with lecturers and fellow students.

Our web-based Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) holds the resources for your modules in one place, so that you can access them easily whether you’re in the classroom or at home.

To make you even more employable, we’ll help you build up a portfolio of work as you progress through the course.

Almost all of our Computer Games Programming students opt for a sandwich degree, which includes a one-year work placement between Years 2 and 3. It’s a fantastic way to put learning into practice and to improve your employability with real on-the-job experience.

Lots of our students are offered final-year sponsorship or graduate jobs by their placement company so it’s no wonder that over 90% of third-year students surveyed in 2010 said they’d learned a lot on their placement and would recommend it to others.

We have contacts with hundreds of companies throughout the UK and abroad, placing over 200 Computing students every year.

Our students have gone to top games companies including Astraware, Asylum Entertainment, Blitz Games, Climax, Codemasters, Endrant, Gusto, Jagex, Jester, Juice Games, Kuju Entertainment, RARE, Sony Computer Entertainment Studios and THQ.

Alternatively, we can help you to gain valuable experience at a non-games company. Germany-based Eurocopter, for example, values our Games Programming students for their C++ programming ability.

Several of our students have even gained a place on the incredibly competitive Technical Student Programme at CERN, working with students from all over Europe on the large Hadron Collider project.

If you prefer, you may even be able to use the placement year to develop and run your own company.

You’ll be based at the Octagon, a purpose-built computing facility with top-notch lecture theatres, extensive computer labs, and study areas containing computers, wireless access and laptop ports for independent and group work.

We have two specialist Games Programming laboratories kitted out with high-end dual boot (Linux and Windows) PCs with software for games, graphics and AI development.

There’s also a suite of Sony PlayStation 2 and 3 development kits, and facilities for developing Microsoft XNA games for PC and Xbox 360.

Our Mobile Computing lab has development kits and hardware for creating and deploying mobile and handheld games. If you’re thinking of doing Multiplayer Online Games Programming, we’ve got two networking laboratories containing 48 PCs and some seriously expensive networking equipment. In all, there are around 1,000 networked computers on campus, about a third of which are upgraded every year.

With a qualification in Computer Games Programming, it goes without saying that you’ll be all set for a career as a Computer Games Programmer.

You might find a job at a games company focusing on game engine, gameplay, tools, networking, graphics, mobile/handheld or AI programming. But since games are cutting-edge examples of computer systems, you’ll find your skills in programming, software engineering, hardware platforms and advanced algorithms make you very employable throughout the computing industry.

Recent graduates have gone straight into jobs as software developers, analysts, web apps developers and software engineers. There’s also the option to stay here and study for a postgraduate Computing qualification like an MRes or a PhD.

We have lots of success stories, including Simon Parr, who got a job as an Entry Level Programmer at Codemasters just a few weeks after graduating with a BEng(Hons) in Computer Games Programming in 2010. His first project was working on DiRT3 as part of the “Ego Racing” group, developing AI and the game experience.

Alan Abram spent his placement year working for Weaseltron Entertainment. After graduating in 2010, he went to work for Devil's Details, where his first release was the PlayStation Move game Top Darts™.

• Computer Games Technology
• Computer Networks
• Computer Science, Computing Science and Software Engineering
• Digital Applications for Creative Technology
• Digital Forensics and Cyber Security
• Web and Multimedia

“The computer department has a fantastic reputation and it was the exact course I wanted. Lots of my class are bucking the recession and already proving their worth as industry must-haves.”
Ed Catchpole, BSc(Hons) Computer Games Programming

“I found the industrial placement year an invaluable experience. The Computer Games Programming degree prepared me well for general software development and I could apply almost everything I’d learnt on the course to developing and testing general software applications whilst on placement."
Christopher Fitzpatrick, Final Year student, BEng(Hons) Computer Games Programming

The commitment and achievement of students on the course is excellent. Their desire to learn the demanding skills required to develop games provides the motivation needed to excel. On graduation they all say ‘it was hard, but it was worth it’."
Bob Hobbs, Computer Games Programming Scheme Leader

“Studying Computer Games Programming allows many students to participate in subjects that they have traditionally found difficult. Games provide a real sense of fun to learning serious topics.”
Trevor Adams, Computer Games Programming Level 2 leader

• To see a range of videos and interviews visit the StaffsUni YouTube channel
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• Downloadable version of this subject guide (PDF, file size: 561.33KB)