Course summary

Overview: Games development is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. During this course you will learn how to design and develop professional quality digital games, utilising the latest industry standard technology and techniques. Using the latest games development software including, Unreal Engine 5, GameMaker and 3ds Max, you will learn game design principles and put them into practice building your own working prototypes. These help to build a portfolio of working examples to demonstrate at interviews to aid progression into the industry or help to gain a university place. Course Units: Collaborative Project – This unit is designed to develop interdisciplinary collaboration and creative engagement following a Pearson-set theme. The unit focuses upon the students’ engagement with the wider community and provides a platform to explore collaborative working practices within creative media production. Students will have the opportunity to work in small groups, work with external partners or collaborate as an entire cohort to undertake creative media production work as part of a shared experience. Personal Professional Development – The aim of this unit is to support students in making the transition from study to employment or freelance work. In previous study (Unit 3: Professional Practice) students explored the broad areas of professional practice within creative media production and preparing for employment. Building upon this, students will now apply their skills and knowledge to the development of a strategy for their future career, whether in employment or self-employed. Advanced Game Development Studies – Through this unit, you will develop the skills necessary to work effectively as an individual games developer and as part of a team. In addition to the activities associated with the game design and development aspects, you will engage in the planning and project management aspects required to drive achievable games to market. Advanced Rendering & Visualisation – Throughout this unit, you will develop the process to create assets and apply the necessary techniques to get the look of a high-poly model. They will also perform the different processes to create textures and maps. You will further use the rendering engine to create images and insert different bitmaps, applying lighting techniques to visualise the models with a high level of detail. Mobile Gaming - The aim of this unit is to introduce you to the concepts, tools and techniques used to create mobile games and provide an opportunity to develop, assess and refine prototype gameplay elements of a mobile game, using industry-standard tools and techniques. Advanced 3D Modelling - Through this unit, you will develop a more detailed understanding of the way in which 3D models are developed and deployed. Building upon skills developed in related units, they will construct complex models, assets, and characters, applying materials and textures that will be required in later stages of the production pipeline. Environment & Level Design – Through this unit, you will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to design and develop levels for video games. Utilising digital assets, they will explore the aesthetic and technical requirements for levels and environments that enhance the user experience.