Course Details
The market value of the UK games industry was approximately £5.35 billion in 2019, and 86% of people aged 16-69 say they have played computer or mobile games in the last year (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 BA (Hons) Games Art with foundation year degree offers an introduction to the study of 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 honours 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 art (though you'll have the chance to transfer streams to BSc (Hons) Games Design or BSc (Hons) Games Programming on completion if you prefer (2)). Throughout the degree, we'll take an intensely practical approach designed to mimic the working environment found in the games industry. We'll work together to develop your understanding of the creative and technical possibilities of games art. Our studio-based course will guide you from the basics of digital art, through character and environment modelling, texturing, lighting, level design and concept art, to the latest technologies in traditional and handheld game art.
We share your passion for games and offer a supportive atmosphere where you can show your work and respond to critiques, which may come from staff, your peers or guest experts from the industry. These sessions help you learn to develop your ideas and improve your presentation and communication skills, ready for a career in this ever-growing industry.
(1) Ukie - https://ukiepedia.ukie.org.uk/ accessed on 10 September 2020
(2) Subject to approval by the relevant programme leader
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 dedicated games labs feature high-specification hardware and industry-standard software, including Wacom Cintiq tablet displays, Pixologic Zbrush, Autodesk Maya, and Adobe Substance Painter and Designer.
- Our game jams are great opportunities to build your social network and practice your team working, problem-solving and project management skills.
- In our portfolio modules, you can focus your project on the area of games art you wish to specialise in, giving you the chance to create a large portfolio piece for your showreel.
- During your final year, you’ll work with students from our other games courses to produce a complete game demo. The finished demo will be available for industry employers to view at the end-of-year degree show.
Key Features
- Games graduates from the University of Bolton have been enjoying careers in the games industry for longer than most. We were one of the first UK universities to offer games courses.
- 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.
- Team working 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 and 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.
