BA/BSc (Hons) Studio Practice (Games) (top-up)

Core units

During this course you will study the following core units:

Launch Week

Your launch week comprises a range of activities, which will include an interdisciplinary Industry Guest Speakers’ Series offered to all students across the School of Games and Creative Technologies.

Final Major Project: Pre-Production

This extended period of study, starting with the Pre-Production unit running alongside the Critical and Conceptual Influences unit, allows you to develop a significant body of work that demonstrates your chosen pathway discipline, ideation skills, genre interests and your aspiration for your future role within the Games and entertainment industries. Work from this period of study will make up and define your graduate portfolio.

You will begin the Pre-Production unit by developing a project proposal through which you will define the concept, scope, audience, and purpose of your Final Major Project, you will present this through a pitch to your tutors and peers. It is at this point that you consider whether this project is a solo, group and/or interdisciplinary project.

Alongside this proposal you will produce a detailed production schedule committing to project milestones (a significant milestone will be the conclusion of this unit before progression to ‘Final Major Project’).

Advanced Games Programming

This unit introduces advanced programming practices and theories that are common requirements within professional environments within both video game and software development. While focused on introducing the fundamental principles of computer science; algorithms, data structures and design patterns in conjunction to this, you’ll be required to take part in various technical tests designed to gauge your knowledge of programming languages and ability to problem solve.

Final Major Project: Critical and Conceptual Influences

The culmination of your studies, your Final Major Project is a period of sustained, individually negotiated research on a subject related to the contextual and/ or theoretical concerns of your discipline pathway, and towards the provision of a structured critical reflection on the intellectual underpinnings of your final major project.

The Critical and Conceptual Influences unit enables you to engage with a range of research skills, to develop an appropriate methodological approach appropriate to your chosen subject area that forms your final major project.

In devising and effecting a written response to such research and its influence on your practice (the body of work comprising of your final year portfolio), you will be expected to reflect upon and articulate a clear and sustained argument that conforms to academic conventions and demonstrates an understanding of the subject area through selected, managed, and detailed analysis and evaluation.