Course content
Our modules contain group projects, individual work, and lots of hands-on experience making games. Alongside practical work you will build confidence in planning, pitching and communicating your game ideas effectively.
In your first year, you’ll learn how to use game engine software, understand the creative processes behind game production, develop game mechanics and explore how narrative is used within games. This will provide you with valuable insights into the game development process, vital for anyone aiming for a game production role.
During your second year, you’ll refine your technical skills and design knowledge, and experiment with gameplay systems, controllers and interaction techniques. You’ll put your production skills into practice within a collaborative group project, supporting the team with your creativity, planning skills and development experience. You will also have a variety of specialist option modules available to develop your understanding of topics such as user interfaces, audio, level design, game technologies and writing for games.
For your final year, you will undertake a major project tailored towards your professional interests. You will design and produce an industry-ready interactive storytelling experience. There is also a range of specialist option modules allowing you to further enhance your expertise. These modules include level design, technical design, rapid prototyping, and programming skills aimed specifically for game designers. The aim of your final year is to create a portfolio of engaging, stand-out projects that showcase your skills to prospective employers.
Professional body accreditation
Accredited by TIGA (The Independent Game Developers' Association) as delivering skills relevant to the games industry. TIGA accreditation is applicable to courses meeting any of a wide range of games industry needs, such as programming, art, design and entrepreneurship.
Modules
The tables provide an indicative list of the modules that make up the course for the current academic year. Each module is worth a specified number of credits. Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. We aim to ensure that all modules run as scheduled. If for any reason a module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and will provide guidance on selecting an appropriate alternative module where available.
Mechanics Prototyping
In this module, you will identify, design and implement core game mechanics in order to create fun, compelling gameplay experiences, whilst also further enhancing your use of game engines. You will also produce clear documentation that supports your design choices and the testing strategies used to refine your work. By the end of the module, you will have strengthened both your technical abilities and your understanding of how gameplay elements shape the player experience.
Module code: GDEV40045
Narrative Worldbuilding
Everybody loves a good story! This module will help you understand why by looking at how narrative is applied to modern and traditional gameplay settings. Through understanding the worlds that games are set in, you will gain perspective on the history & trends of interactive fiction. You will learn to showcase your talents by developing interactive narrative experiences using industry-standard production practices. This is where your future in narrative storytelling begins!
Module code: GDEV40046
Introduction To Games Design
This module introduces you to games design through the analysis, design and implementation of game levels and mechanics.Using a games engine, you will learn how to create various gameplay using scripting, and embedding this in a level of your own design.
Module code: GDEV40042
Pre-Production For Gameplay Designers
So, you want to be a game designer, but you don’t know where to start out? This module will introduce you to the creative conceptual process that occurs during game design pre-production. This module will provide you with a snapshot into the kind of work that goes into lots of game design sub-fields, from levels to narrative, UI to puzzles, and more! From here you will understand the general work that occurs in each area and be able to pursue the path of game design that appeals to you.
Module code: GDEV40048
Audio Design For Games
Audio is one of the main pillars of game development. During this module, you will learn and explore a multitude of different audio system algorithms that comprise sound synthesis, audio file manipulation, audio effects and audio mixing strategies to be used in a game world. You will then create an audio mechanic system to further integrate your audio system algorithm into the wider gaming world.
Module code: GDEV50054
Cross Reality
Cross-reality technology offers novel means of interaction with both the real and virtual worlds. Freed from the limitations of a two-dimensional screen, you will learn how to design and implement physical and spatial experiences while considering the risks involved with the use of cutting-edge technologies. You will explore how designing for cross-reality devices differs from designing for traditional games, ensuring that you consider the human-in-the-loop and the effect of presence. From this design, you will create a playable demonstration of a game or application showcasing the implementation of the considerations you made.
Module code: GDEV50058
Game Production Studio
You will work in a group consisting of peers from across the suite of games development courses, forming a multidisciplinary team that mirrors a real development studio. Together, you will plan, prototype and deliver a vertical slice of a game.The module places strong emphasis on collaboration, communication and professional conduct. You will learn how to work effectively within a team, manage workflows across different disciplines, give and receive constructive feedback, and adapt to the challenges of shared production pipelines. Alongside their technical development, you will build key soft skills such as leadership, organisation, problem solving and time management, all of which are essential for a successful career in the games industry.
Module code: GDEV50060
Systems Design For Games
This module develops your understanding of game engines, scripting techniques and gameplay systems design. By deconstructing existing game mechanics and learning systems-based approaches, you will design your own gameplay systems, implementing them as a game framework.
Module code: GDEV50079
User Interface Design
This module will explore the key principles of User Interface design as you research existing Interfaces in games and then design your own. You will explore a range of User Experience principles and use these skills and knowledge to implement your own User Interface into a game engine.
Module code: GDEV50081
Rational Level Design
This module centres around the creation of a level through the implementation of an industry standard pipeline. You will utilise tools to ideate, construct, test, and iterate your level, applying level design principles and theory, strengthening rationale, and expanding tool proficiency.
Module code: GDEV50072
Writing For Video Games
If you want to learn to write stories that others will love, this is the module for you! This module will explore the craft of creative writing within the context of interactive media. Through learning how to shape dialogue, set scenes, and conceive environments that respond to the player, you’ll practice production techniques used by writers and narrative designers from AAA spectacles to Indie gems. Along the way, you’ll discover how different game studios approach narrative and how writing adapts across platforms, including journalism and marketing.
Module code: GDEV50084
Experimental Games Production
Game design thrives on experimentation and innovation. This module invites you to push boundaries by creating games that are impactful, embrace new technologies, and challenge conventions. You will design, prototype, iterate, and playtest innovative gameplay experiences by exploring game mechanics, hardware interfaces, and alternative genres, developing transferable skills such as problem-solving, adaptability, and creative thinking. We encourage you to expand the possibilities of games as an expressive medium.
Module code: GDEV50059
Advanced Level Design
This module focuses on the research and experimentation of game mechanics in order to develop an understanding of them in the context of level design. You will further your knowledge of level design and underlying principles to develop a portfolio of professional work.
Module code: GDEV60038
Final Year Project: Technical Artefact
Modern game technologies continue to advance rapidly, shaping the way developers design, prototype and deliver interactive content. New engines, frameworks and production techniques are transforming what is possible across gameplay systems, simulation, interaction design, tooling and real-time rendering. This module gives you the opportunity to explore this evolving landscape by creating an independent technical artefact. You will define a technical challenge of your choice and develop a playable game, interactive experience or applied games technology prototype that responds directly to it. Working under supervision, you will investigate the techniques, tools and theories relevant to your chosen problem, plan and implement a substantial technical project, document your development process and evaluate your outcomes through structured reflection.This module is suited to students who want to push their technical abilities further and produce a portfolio-quality artefact that demonstrates readiness for roles in game development, technical design, programming, research and development, or further study in advanced games technologies.
Module code: GDEV60053
Final Year Project: Dissertation
This module allows you to investigate an emerging area of game development through an independent technical research project. Working with a supervisor, you will define a research question, explore it through academic and technical investigation, create a practical artefact, and evaluate your findings in a written dissertation. The module is ideal for students seeking to deepen their technical expertise and produce a substantial portfolio piece that supports progression into industry, postgraduate study or research and development roles.
Module code: GDEV60052
Final Year Project: Collaborative Project
Game development is an inherently collaborative discipline. Modern studios rely on teams of designers, programmers, technical artists and production specialists working together to create complex interactive systems. This module gives you the opportunity to experience this collaborative environment by working as part of a team to produce a technical artefact.You will define a shared technical challenge and work with your group to create a playable game, interactive experience or applied games technology prototype. As a team, you will investigate relevant technologies, plan your development workflow, build and refine your artefact and document your progress through shared and individual evidence.Alongside team responsibilities, each student will take ownership of a defined area of contribution and produce a development document that records their personal workflow and technical decision making. The module concludes with a viva in which you will present the collaborative artefact and demonstrate both team understanding and individual accountability.This module is designed for students who want to strengthen their technical skills while developing the collaborative and communicative abilities that are essential for professional game development and wider creative technology industries.
Module code: GDEV60051
Programming For Game Designers
Intended for students who are confident with Blueprints and want to take their first steps into C++. You will be introduced to C++ terminology, basic programming techniques, and how to seamlessly integrate Blueprints and C++ together. The aim of the module is to create simple gameplay features in C++ and build your own designer-friendly Blueprint nodes. The module provides a starting point for C++ development and encourages further learning into programming techniques, enhancing your portfolio with new skills and enabling you to work alongside programmers and technical designers more effectively.
Module code: GDEV60061
Interactive Storytelling
It's time to turn everything you’ve learned on your academic journey into something unforgettable for this capstone project. In this module you will design and build your own level that presents a narrative that blends story, space, and audio into a cohesive interactive experience. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your creative voice, technical ability, and production knowledge through a polished and professional piece of work that will stand out in your portfolio. Here is where you’ll prove you’re ready for the next step into the games industry.
Module code: GDEV60059
Rapid Games Design
If you’re passionate about designing games that feel satisfying and intuitive, this module is built for you! This module will challenge you to design, refine, and polish short gameplay experiences to a professional standard. You’ll learn how to analyse game feel, craft satisfying feedback, and explore what makes gameplay feel satisfying and engaging to play. By the end, you’ll have a polished piece that demonstrates your technical ability, design thinking, and readiness for industry production environments.
Module code: GDEV60063
Prototyping For Technical Design
Prototyping for Tech Design will help you launch your Technical Games Design portfolio. In this module you’ll produce Technical Games Design projects within leading Game Engines. Your projects will be supported by excellent Technical Design Documentation and presented by demo reels.
Module code: GDEV60062