Games Arts BA (Hons)

You’ll be introduced to the fundamental concepts of visual design, gameplay, computer games design and computer games programming, exploring key 3D modelling techniques using Maya and games engine development in Unity.

Visual Design
You’ll develop approaches to concept art and the software skills needed to develop ideas into art assets for computer games, and learn how to approach problems creatively using a range of sources for inspiration and reference. Your outcomes will demonstrate your conceptual approach, a range of art skills and technical understanding.

3D Art Production
You will gain a solid grounding in 3D digital art principles, research and design processes, from traditional drawing skills to modelling in software. These skills underpin visual design for computer games. You will produce outcomes that demonstrate your technical skills and conceptual approach.

Gameplay and Interactivity
Through the fundamental concepts of gameplay, computer games design, and computer games scripting in C#, you’ll learn about games interaction, and demonstrate your technical and conceptual skills through exploration of gameplay mechanics.

Introduction to Video Game Studies: Image, Medium and Culture 
This unit introduces you to a range of key concepts central to developing an understanding of video games and the history of their theorisation. Exploring influential video game examples and relevant theoretical and critical writings, you will analyse the cultural and artistic contexts in which the medium has been theorised, produced and played. You will also become familiar with the technological developments and conceptual transformations, before and after the so called digital shift, establishing a firm understanding of the technical and intellectual changes that have influenced the development of the video game as a medium.

Games Art
Through this unit you will further build on the 2D and 3D skills and contextual knowledge you gained in Year one. Alongside this you will develop your understanding of professional aspects of AAA workflows and wider games industry, when starting to define your future role within it.

Games Production
You'll be introduced to games production practices by adopting professional roles and working together in teams. Divided into two halves, in the first half, you will work as part of a group to create a 3D environment based on a real world setting as chosen by your tutors. The second half of the unit concentrates on using your developing practical and conceptual skills to produce an outcome of high quality.

Gaming in Contemporary Culture
You’ll critically examine the position of computer games and gamers within culture and society, exploring gaming's relationship to gender, ethnicity, conflict and capital. You’ll also discuss ludology and its attendant concepts, including immersion, procedural rhetoric and cyber-individualism.

In your final year, you’ll create your portfolio for industry, submit your dissertation and will have the opportunity to exhibit your final work at the Graduation Show.

Final Major Project: Pre-Production
This extended period of study allows you to develop a significant body of work either individually or in a group that demonstrates your skills, interests and your aspiration for your future role within the games industry. Work from this stage will make up your graduate portfolio.

Final Major Project
In this unit you'll produce a fully resolved body of work, either individually or as part of a team. This unit represents the culmination of your study of Games Arts at UCA. Through it you will demonstrate your creativity, skill, knowledge and understanding of recognised games industry practices and pipelines producing outcomes to a professional standard.

Thesis
This unit consists of a substantial period of sustained, individually negotiated research on a subject that is likely to be related to the contextual and/ or theoretical concerns of your discipline or chosen area of practice, towards the provision of structured written argument.

Taking advantage of our proximity to the UK’s largest games hubs, our course connects directly with some of the best-known names in the industry, including:

• Supermassive Games
• EA
• Sony
• Creative Assembly
• Supergonk
• Two Point Studios
• Zappar
• Hangar 13
• Atom Republic
• Rebellion
• Miniclip

We also regularly welcome input from active industry practitioners, who can offer expert advice and guidance to students about the realities of working in the computer games market.

Many of our graduates have gone on to establish themselves in the games industry, with recent alumni landing roles such as Junior Character Artist at Guerrilla Games, Junior Games Designer at Creative Assembly, Lighting Artist at Splash Damage, Associate Designer at Hangar 13, Concept Artist on AAA BAFTA award-winning PlayStation 4 titles (Until Dawn, Hidden Agenda, The Dark Pictures: Man Of Medan, and Rush of Blood), Environment Artist at Bohemia Interactive, as well as entrepreneurial independent developers of games for iOS, Android and Steam projects from our dedicated Games Incubator Studio.

Skills taught on this course are highly transferable, making our graduates valuable assets in a number of industries, such as: 

• 2D and 3D Concept design
• Serious (Applied) Games
• Programming
• TV and Film Post Production VFX
• Pre-visualisation
• Interactive Technologies (VR, AR, MR).