BSc (Hons) Games Design with foundation year

• 48 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications
• Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
• You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
• We’re happy to consider your application if you have non-traditional entry qualifications, provided you can demonstrate relevant experience or a suitable portfolio of work that is deemed a reasonable substitute for the above qualifications.
• You'll be required to attend an interview and provide a portfolio of appropriate work.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
• If English is your second language and you feel you need extra help with your language skills, you have the option of studying specialist language modules during the foundation year. Please contact the English for Academic Purposes team for further information and advice.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

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.

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

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2022-2023 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2022-2023 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2022-2023 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

Overall, the course is very practical in nature, with group work and team-based projects that encourage you to work alongside our more technical and artistic students (from the Games Programming and Games Art courses), forming an important part of your training. These experiences are designed to help you learn the industry pipelines and terminology used by these specialisms and the team working, project management, problem-solving, organisation, and communication skills essential in the games and interactive entertainment industry.

You can also expect lectures, demonstrations, practical lab sessions, critique sessions (peer and assessed), reflective learning through journals and logs for various activities, as well as online sessions and support. Guided independent study and self-directed learning are equally essential to your success; for instance, library research and background reading, preparing for practical activities and working on projects.

We also encourage and support you to create your portfolio. This provides evidence of your creativity and skills in games design ready to show potential employers and is considered vital for securing your first job in the industry.

In terms of formal assessment, you can expect written reports, assignments, projects, case study analyses, in-class tests, demonstrations, presentations, and others. These contribute to your final module mark and allow you to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes. We also use other forms of assessment to help you learn, especially critique sessions. These provide feedback and inform your development, though these do not count towards your final module mark.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• Introduction to Digital Art
• Introduction to 2D Game Construction
• Introduction to 3D Game Construction
• Foundation Project
• Fundamentals of 3D
• Level Design
• Introduction to Games Design
• Scripting
• Intermediate Scripting
• Narratives
• Intermediate Level Design
• UI/UX Design
• Advanced Games Scripting
• Advanced Level Design
• Group Portfolio Project
• Major Project

Assessment methods

Learning activities

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.