Games Animation

In your first year, you'll build a strong foundation in games development, exploring games design, mechanics prototyping, game asset creation and the principles of games animation. Working with industry-standard software and game engines, you'll develop the creative and technical skills needed to bring characters and interactive experiences to life.

In your second year, you'll specialise in games animation, developing expertise in motion capture, gameplay animation and hand-keyed animation while exploring areas such as cinematics, audio design and real-time visual effects. You'll also work as part of a multidisciplinary team in our Game Production Studio, collaborating with students from across the Staffordshire Games Institute to create a professional-quality game prototype in a simulated studio environment.

In your final year, you'll refine your specialist animation practice through advanced body mechanics and an industry-focused live brief, before undertaking a major independent project that showcases your creative and technical expertise. You'll graduate with a professional portfolio that demonstrates your skills in games animation and prepares you for careers across the games and real-time creative industries.

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.

Our graduates are in demand across the global games industry, with alumni working at leading studios on some of the world's biggest game franchises.

A degree in Games Animation prepares you for a wide range of specialist careers, including Gameplay Animator, Motion Capture Specialist, Hand-Keyed Animator, Technical Animator, Cinematic Artist, Performance Capture Specialist and 3D Animator. You'll graduate with the creative, technical and collaborative skills sought by studios developing games for PC, console, mobile and emerging platforms.

Our graduates have gone on to work at studios including Rockstar North, Ubisoft and Cloud Imperium Games, contributing to some of the world's most successful games.

The real-time animation expertise you develop throughout the course is also highly valued beyond the games industry, opening opportunities in areas such as film, virtual production, immersive experiences and interactive media.

Students on this programme have the opportunity to enhance their studies with a placement year, gain valuable work experience, and take part in international activities—potentially supported by the Turing funding.