Master of Art Games Design

Games Design teaches you the key technical and creative skills needed to produce indie videogames for computer, mobile and console.

You’ll gain an in-depth knowledge of games-design tools (such as GameMaker Studio, Unreal Engine, and Ren'Py), design and development processes, aesthetics, and the relationships between industry, players and designers.

The foundation year will help you take your first step into higher education, broadening your industry knowledge and enabling you to progress to an undergraduate degree. It aims to help you develop a strong foundation of game design, alongside academic and transferable skills, to ensure you get the most out of your degree-level studies.

The course is taught in the Daphne Oram building, our exciting new Creative Arts facility, where you’ll have access to industry-standard software to produce a range of games.

During Year 1, you'll develop the skills essential to games design, including a rapid introduction to coding and scripting, and games design software.

The academic year is split into two semesters. Semester 1 focuses on introducing new ideas and concepts such as games design tools, game histories and employment skills for creative careers. It is in the first semester where you'll be introduced to Game Maker Studio, Adobe Creative Suite software, the fundamentals of coding and scripting, and other games design tools.

Semester 2 focuses on further developing the skills from the first semester, through making assets and prototypes and working on a student-led games design project. For this project, you'll follow a set brief which will detail the aims and objectives of the game produced, but you'll have the freedom to propose and create a game that you devise.

Students on BA (Hons) Games Design are given a gaming laptop to ensure that they have the tools to design games while on and off campus. This helps students to play and study games, and many of our students play multiplayer games with their peers. The laptop is yours to keep at the end of the course.

We accept a wide range of qualifications and take the time to consider your individual application. We take into account academic qualifications as well as your personal statement and the reference(s) provided.

The University has general minimum entry requirements which all students must meet before they register with us.

At the point of registration onto the first year of a degree, we require you to have achieved:

• a minimum of two A Levels or
• a BTEC National Diploma or
• a combination of BTEC and A Level qualifications equivalent to two A Levels, such as a BTEC subsidiary certificate and one A Level or
• an Access to Higher Education Diploma or
• an International or Welsh Baccalaureate or
• a Higher National Diploma/Higher National Certificate or
• a minimum of two Advanced Highers from Scotland or
• the Irish Leaving Certificate or
• the European Baccalaureate Diploma or
• an equivalent overseas qualification.

For specific course entry requirements, please check the individual course pages.

If you've taken some time out of studying you may not need to meet our general minimum entrance requirements.

If you're returning to education and are able to demonstrate your commitment to studying a degree we will consider your application and take into consideration experience and any qualifications you may have.

For more information, please contact our Course Enquiry Team, who will be happy to help and advise.