BSc (Hons) Games Design with foundation year

Program Overview

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Course Details

The UK market for video games reached a record £7.16billion in 2021 (1). If you seek a career in a strong sector of the economy, then a career in games is an excellent choice. From PC, console and mobile games to serious games for education and training and the emerging virtual reality games market, software developers seek highly qualified games specialists.

The first year of our 4-year BSc (Hons) Games Design with foundation year degree offers an introductory study into games. The emphasis is on creativity, with specialisation on the route that you want to follow. Key topics include simple games production using industry recognised platforms and technologies. Our dedicated games team will work to help you develop your skills, preparing you for your degree. Our teaching aims to develop you to be able to work in the games industry.

The foundation year constitutes a “bridge” between further education and higher education. There is a greater emphasis on practical work, with dedicated support to help you to prepare for the more demanding academic tasks on the degree programme proper.

Once you've successfully completed the foundation year, you'll automatically progress onto the main degree programme where your studies will focus specifically on games design (though you'll have the chance to transfer streams to BA (Hons) Games Art or BSc (Hons) Games Programming on completion if you prefer^). Throughout the degree, you will undertake a broad study of games, emphasising the technical, design and innovation aspects rather than programming. Key topics include content production, games and level design, as well as platforms and technologies. Our dedicated games team will help you develop skills and knowledge in games analysis, usability and playability testing, games production and the business of computer games.

Team-based projects involving regular critique sessions are designed to help you develop the high level of teamwork and communication skills vital in the games industry. Our intensely practical, hands-on approach aims to encourage and support you to develop a high-quality portfolio of work ready to demonstrate your skills and creative air to potential employers.

(1) Ukie - https://ukie.org.uk/consumer-games-market-valuation-2021 accessed on 13 July 2022

^Subject to approval by the relevant programme leader

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Highlights

Our Computer Science courses are top in the UK for student satisfaction, according to The Complete University Guide 2022.

Interdisciplinary projects with students from our other games courses give you opportunities to learn the vocabulary, production pipelines and work cultures of these disciplines, along with valuable team working skills.

We frequently collaborate with games development companies on games usability testing and offer you the opportunity to test upcoming games before they go to market. Previous students have been credited for their work in some of these testing sessions.

Our game jams are great opportunities to build your social network and practice your team working, problem-solving and project management skills.

In your final year, you can focus your studies on the area of games design in which you wish to specialise, giving you the chance to create a suitable portfolio piece for your website.

During your final year, you’ll work with students from our other games courses to produce a complete game demo that will be available for industry employers to view at the end-of-year degree show.

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Key Features

University of Bolton games graduates have been enjoying careers in the games industry for longer than most. We were one of the first UK universities to offer games courses.

The course covers both 2D and 3D game environments, concepts and mechanics for traditional gaming (PC and console), mobile gaming (cloud, social and casual), and virtual reality gaming, along with game play analysis and testing.

Our dedicated games tutors have a vast range of industry experience and an extensive network of contacts in the games industry. Members of our team have worked in AAA studios, run their own studios, authored books and are actively conducting research.

Teamwork and collaboration are essential for games industry success, so we encourage you to work on games projects in interdisciplinary teams with students from our other games courses.

Industry experts from the leading games studios in the UK, along with Bolton graduates now successful in the sector, are regularly invited to give guest lectures on aspects of games development.

We’ll help and support you to develop a portfolio of work that demonstrates your skills in preparation to impress potential employers.

By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.

Program Outline

As a BSc (Hons) Games Design graduate, you'll have the ability to work independently, develop games, develop concepts, respond to briefs, and understand commercial markets. You'll possess skills in teamwork, communication, project management and problem-solving. You'll also have a portfolio of work that you created using industry-standard tools. This portfolio will allow you to demonstrate your skills, creative flair and passion for games development.

Moreover, elements of games design are emerging in fields such as business, education and healthcare. These areas offer enormous potential for ambitious games graduates who can communicate with non-gamers.

What can I do with this qualification?

There is a great deal of specialisation within games design, varying from broader design principles to more specific roles such as level design and game balance. As a result, graduates have several career options, including roles within games design, technical design, level design, narratives, game scripting, production management, and quality assurance and testing.

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Alternative career options

Not all graduates enter the gaming industry as game designers since their skills are transferrable to other creative roles in the film, music, and media industries. Another option is a multimedia artist or digital animator, working in computer game creation, but you won't be responsible for the overall design. If you are more interested in the technological side of game production, consider pursuing a career in software engineering. This career will allow you to turn a design team's ideas into a gamer's reality through coding and programming. Please note that you may need postgraduate study and/or work experience to enter these alternative careers.

Multimedia artist

Social media manager

Software engineer