東倫敦大學(xué)

Course summary

This is your chance to convert your passion for playing games into knowledge about how to create and design them. And this extended course is perfect if you don’t have the standard entry requirements.

We prepare you for your degree during your Foundation year, bringing you up to speed with academic skills and a firm grounding in the subject. Then you can go on to do the full undergraduate degree.

You’ll get the most out of our course if you come with an interest in all kinds of games – board, card and pen-and-paper - not just digital ones. You’ll be amazed what you can learn from games like Munchkin or Dungeons and Dragons.

We run two games courses at UEL, subtly different but both sharing the same focus on designing games and game play.

“Frankly, there are no other courses similar,” says Senior Lecturer David Dorrington. “We’re not a computing course nor an arts course. We’re about designing experiences of play, designing emotional experiences, allowing students to develop a skill set so they can develop a game from scratch.”

Our course will equip you, like many of our successful graduates, for a role in the expanding games industry.

What you'll learn

Both of our three-year computer games courses share a common core of modules. The Computer Games Development course differs slightly, though, with its emphasis on the application of traditional software development and programming skills to game and gameplay design.

In your first year, you’ll look at the basic theoretical and practical aspects of games design and development. One day you could be deconstructing Asteroids or Pac-Man, the next creating your own board game. You’ll be learning about graphics and prototyping production techniques as well as games theory.

In your second year, you’ll concentrate on more detailed games design as well as studying games research methods. You’ll also get the chance to apply your developing knowledge by working for a live client.

You’ll gain valuable insights into all aspects of professional practice. It’s not just about designing games but about communicating your ideas properly, so you’ll take part in presentations and pitches.

In your final year, you’ll complete an individual research and dissertation project. A group of you will also conceptualise, design and develop an original game to give you a proper feel for how the games industry works.

Career

We believe our courses are ideal preparation for a career in the games industry - and we can point to a couple of BAFTAs to back it up.

After graduating with a computer games degree here, Ashraf Mohammad started working with Rocksteady as a games tester. He has gone on to work on the Batman series of games and was a member of the team who won the 'Best Gameplay' and 'Best Game' BAFTAs for Batman: Arkam Asylum.

He's just one in a long line of UEL graduates who have made a real impact in the industry. For instance, in the last five years, two have featured in Develop Magazine’s list of the industry’s top 30 most promising young talents.

One, Richard Hamer, is now a top designer for Sony Entertainment Europe. The other, Ryan Wiltshire, worked for leading companies and has now set up his own studio. Another graduate, Matt Glanville, is a highly respected designer who’s now working for Just Add Water on Oddworld.

Some students go on to work as designers, programmers, testers and producers in a wide range of companies while others have become games design teachers themselves or launched successful careers in other areas of digital media.