Undergraduate BA/BSc (Hons) Game Development

Modules

411 Specialist Creative Practice 1

Build the foundations of games art and animation through practical, project-led Skills Labs. Explore visual research, digital art fundamentals, modelling and animation workflows. You’ll experiment with industry-relevant processes, receive feedback and begin developing the technical and creative habits needed to contribute to collaborative game projects.

CIF-405 Preparing for Collaborative Work

Prepare to collaborate on digital arts projects by developing communication, planning and problem-solving skills. Understand how games art and animation contributes to a multidisciplinary game team, and practise responding to briefs, sharing work and incorporating feedback.

DAIF-407 Digital Arts Futures

Studying alongside students from every music pathway, you’ll explore the people, organisations and processes that shape today’s music business, from recording and publishing to live events and emerging technologies. You’ll gain an understanding of how songwriters collaborate with industry professionals, whilst developing a broad awareness of the opportunities, challenges and career paths that define the modern music industry.

DAIF-412 Specialist Creative Practice 2

Extend your foundational practice through progressively more demanding workshops in 3D asset creation, character or environment art, rigging and engine integration. Apply your skills to short briefs and iterative projects, evaluate your decisions and build confidence working to the requirements of contemporary game development.

DAIF-413 Digital Arts Culture & Communities

Music shapes cultures, communities and influences the world around us. In this module, you’ll study alongside other pathways across music and explore how the music industry connects with society, identity and creative communities. Through discussion, research and shared perspectives, you’ll gain a broader understanding of the cultural impact of music whilst developing valuable research skills that will inform your own practice as a songwriter and help you create work that connects with music industry professionals and audiences.

Modules

411 Specialist Creative Practice 1

Build the practical skills that form the foundation of your future career as a game audio professional. This module is taught through hands-on Skills Labs where you will explore the core aspects of game audio production and implementation, and what factors and attributes contribute towards effective commercial audio production, as well as the fundamentals of audio processing, audio implementation tools and basic audio coding.

CIF-405 Preparing for Collaborative Work

During this module you’ll develop the skills needed to prepare you for working with peers across the game development degree to apply your audio production skills to a collaborative game developing project.

DAIF-407 Digital Arts Futures

Studying alongside students from every game discipline, you’ll explore the people, organisations and processes that shape today’s game industry, from sketching, producing, protoyping and publishing to emerging technologies. You’ll gain an understanding of how game developers collaborate among professionals, whilst developing a broad awareness of the opportunities, challenges and career paths that define the modern game industry.

DAIF-412 Specialist Creative Practice 2

As you build on the foundations established in Specialist Creative Practice 1 (DAIF 411), you’ll refine your technical approach, strengthen your creative decision-making and develop your audio production, music creation, edition and implementation skills, using DAWs such as Reaper and Middleware such as Wwise. You will also explore advanced sound design techniques and the importance of undesrtanding industry standard implementation processes. Through your practical Skills Labs, you’ll develop more advanced techniques that support your ongoing growth as a audio expert.

DAIF-413 Digital Arts Culture & Communities

Games shape cultures, communities and influences the world around us. In this module, you’ll study alongside other pathways across game development and explore how the game industry connects with society, identity and creative communities. Through discussion, research and shared perspectives, you’ll gain a broader understanding of the cultural impact of game development whilst developing valuable research skills that will inform your own practice as a developer and help you create work that connects with game industry professionals and audiences.

Modules

411 Specialist Creative Practice 1

Build the practical skills that form the foundation of your future career as a songwriter. This module is taught through hands-on Skills Labs where you will explore the core aspects of songwriting and what factors and attributes contribute towards effective commercial songwriting, as well as the fundamentals of contemporary popular music theory, ear training and critical listening.

CIF-405 Preparing for Collaborative Work

During this module you’ll develop the skills needed to prepare you for working with peers across the music degree to apply your songwriting skills to an interdisciplinary creative project.

DAIF-407 Digital Arts Futures

Studying alongside students from every music pathway, you’ll explore the people, organisations and processes that shape today’s music business, from recording and publishing to live events and emerging technologies. You’ll gain an understanding of how songwriters collaborate with industry professionals, whilst developing a broad awareness of the opportunities, challenges and career paths that define the modern music industry.

DAIF-412 Specialist Creative Practice 2

As you build on the foundations established in Specialist Creative Practice 1, you’ll refine your technical approach, strengthen your creative decision-making and develop your Digital Audio Workstation Composition and Arrangement skills, using DAWs such as Logic and Ableton. You will also explore the fundamentals of songwriting with others and the importance of co-writing within the music industry. Through your practical Skills Labs, you’ll develop more advanced techniques that support your ongoing growth as a songwriter.

DAIF-413 Digital Arts Culture & Communities

Music shapes cultures, communities and influences the world around us. In this module, you’ll study alongside other pathways across music and explore how the music industry connects with society, identity and creative communities. Through discussion, research and shared perspectives, you’ll gain a broader understanding of the cultural impact of music whilst developing valuable research skills that will inform your own practice as a songwriter and help you create work that connects with music industry professionals and audiences.

Modules

411 Specialist Creative Practice 1

Build on the practical skills developed in Specialist Creative Practice 1 as you explore more advanced game design principles, production workflows and player experience. Through hands-on Skills Labs, you’ll refine your design process, further develop your Unity prototype and use research, playtesting and iteration to create more engaging, polished and technically accomplished gameplay experiences.

CIF-405 Preparing for Collaborative Work

During this module, you’ll develop the skills needed to work collaboratively with peers across all Games disciplines, applying your specialist knowledge to an interdisciplinary creative project while gaining experience of professional teamwork and creative collaboration.

DAIF-407 Digital Arts Futures

Studying alongside students from across the Digital Arts disciplines, you’ll explore how creative technologies shape industries, disrupt markets and create new opportunities. From game engines in film and healthcare to AI, virtual production and emerging technologies, you’ll investigate why some innovations succeed while others fail, analyse the trends driving change, and develop the skills to spot future opportunities. You’ll finish the module by presenting an evidence-based industry pitch built around your own research and ideas.

DAIF-412 Specialist Creative Practice 2

As you build on the foundations established in Specialist Creative Practice 1, you’ll refine your technical approach, strengthen your creative decision-making and develop your game design, prototyping and level design skills using industry-standard tools. You will also explore more advanced design methodologies, iterative development and the importance of playtesting throughout the game development process. Through your practical Skills Labs, you’ll develop more advanced techniques that support your ongoing growth as a game designer.

DAIF-413 Digital Arts Culture & Communities

Games shape cultures, communities and the world around us. In this module, you’ll study alongside other Games disciplines and explore how games connect with society, identity and creative communities. Through discussion, research and shared perspectives, you’ll gain a broader understanding of the cultural impact of games while developing valuable research skills that will inform your own practice as a game designer and help you create meaningful experiences that resonate with players and the wider games industry.

Modules

411 Specialist Creative Practice 1

Build on the practical skills developed in Specialist Creative Practice 1 as you explore more advanced programming principles, software development workflows and gameplay systems. Through hands-on Skills Labs, you’ll refine your coding practice, further develop your game projects and apply debugging, testing and optimisation techniques to create robust, scalable and technically accomplished game systems.

CIF-405 Preparing for Collaborative Work

During this module, you’ll develop the skills needed to work collaboratively with peers across all Games disciplines, applying your specialist knowledge to an interdisciplinary creative project while gaining experience of professional teamwork and creative collaboration.

CIF-406 Engaging in Collaborative Projects

Following on from CIF-405, you’ll work collaboratively on a shared project brief with students from other disciplines. You’ll build upon your skills to support larger projects with the digital arts industy and contribute your games programming skills to fulfilling a creative brief.

DAIF-407 Digital Arts Futures

Studying alongside students from across the Digital Arts disciplines, you’ll explore how creative technologies shape industries, disrupt markets and create new opportunities. From game engines in film and healthcare to AI, virtual production and emerging technologies, you’ll investigate why some innovations succeed while others fail, analyse the trends driving change, and develop the skills to spot future opportunities. You’ll finish the module by presenting an evidence-based industry pitch built around your own research and ideas.

DAIF-412 Specialist Creative Practice 2

As you build on the foundations established in Specialist Creative Practice 1, you’ll refine your technical approach, strengthen your problem-solving skills and develop your programming expertise through increasingly complex interactive systems and gameplay mechanics. You’ll explore advanced programming principles, collaborative development practices and professional workflows, applying your skills to create robust, scalable game systems. Through your practical Skills Labs, you’ll develop more advanced techniques that support your ongoing growth as a games programmer.

DAIF-413 Digital Arts Culture & Communities

Games shape cultures, communities and the world around us. In this module, you’ll study alongside other Games disciplines and explore how games connect with society, identity and creative communities. Through discussion, research and shared perspectives, you’ll gain a broader understanding of the cultural impact of games while developing valuable research skills that will inform your own practice as a game programmer and help you create meaningful experiences that resonate with players and the wider games industry.

Modules

CIF-501 Specialist Collaborative Work

Apply your games art and animation expertise to a substantial collaborative game project. Respond to a defined brief with artists, designers, programmers and audio specialists, use iterative feedback and help deliver a coherent, playable outcome for a specified audience.

CIF-502 Professional Collaboration Work

Move from classroom collaboration towards professional delivery. Work across disciplines to complete a more complex game project, contributing games art and animation expertise while responding to milestones, quality expectations, production constraints and feedback from collaborators.

CIF-503 Specialist Route Skills

Deepen your specialist capabilities through Skills Labs covering 3D asset creation, character or environment art, rigging and engine integration. Apply industry-informed techniques to practical exercises, document your decision-making and refine a focused portfolio of work that demonstrates technical quality and creative judgement.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Advance your professional games art and animation skills by taking on challenging briefs and refining specialist workflows. Explore art direction, real-time workflows, technical art and production leadership, develop work to a consistent production standard and demonstrate how your decisions support a complete game project.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Advance your professional games art and animation skills by taking on challenging briefs and refining specialist workflows. Explore art direction, real-time workflows, technical art and production leadership, develop work to a consistent production standard and demonstrate how your decisions support a complete game project.

Modules

CIF-501 Specialist Collaborative Work

This module allows you to apply your audiio production skills within ambitious, cross-disciplinary creative projects. Working alongside students from across the games degree, you’ll respond to industry-inspired briefs, taking on the role of a sounde designer, music composer/editor to shape audio and music to a collaborative game project output. Along the way, you’ll be strengthening your project management, communication and creative problem-solving skills.

CIF-502 Professional Collaboration Work

You’ll take your collaborative experience into a professional context by delivering a major game project that reflects the realities of the game industry. Working with students across the course, you’ll apply your audio creation and music expertise to help realise ambitious creative work, managing technical and creative challenges and developing the confidence, adaptability and professional mindset needed to succeed as an audio professioal in today’s collaborative game industries.

CIF-503 Specialist Route Skills

Refine the skills needed to design audio and compose music that enhances the player’s experience. Your skills labs will take you through the differnt levels of sound design and music composition skills, and expands into the world of interactive audio, 3D spatial audio techniques, acoustic spaces and textures. Combining advanced technical practice with critical reflection, you’ll build the confidence, creativity and professional understanding required to deliver industry-ready audio systems.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your sound design, music creation and implementation expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced skills labs, you’ll further develop your skills in creating sounds and music to a brief, alongside delving into professional implementation skills. Through building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern game industry.

Modules

CIF-501 Specialist Collaborative Work

This module allows you to apply your songwriting skills within ambitious, cross-disciplinary creative projects. Working alongside students from across the music degree, you’ll respond to industry-inspired briefs, taking on the role of a songwriter to shape songs and compositions to collaborative outcomes. Along the way, you’ll be strengthening your project management, communication and creative problem-solving skills.

CIF-502 Professional Collaboration Work

You’ll take your collaborative experience into a professional context by delivering a major project that reflects the realities of the music industry. Working with students across the course, you’ll apply your songwriting expertise to help realise ambitious creative work, managing technical and creative challenges and developing the confidence, adaptability and professional mindset needed to succeed as a songwriter in today’s collaborative creative industries.

CIF-503 Specialist Route Skills

Refine the skills needed to compose and release professional songs. Your skills labs will take you through the fundamentals of communication, documentation, contracts and negotiation and introduce you to marketing strategies, brand partnerships and media relations, as well as supporting your songwriting skills through applied lyrical and topline development. Combining advanced technical practice with critical reflection, you’ll build the confidence, creativity and professional understanding required to deliver industry-ready songs.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your songwriting expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced skills labs, you’ll further develop your skills in writing to a brief, alongside delving into copyright, royalties, publishing and income streams. Through building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern music industry.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your songwriting expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced skills labs, you’ll further develop your skills in stagecraft, musicianship and performance, alongside delving into copyright, royalties, publishing and income streams. Through building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern music industry.

Modules

CIF-501 Specialist Collaborative Work

This module allows you to apply your game design skills within ambitious, cross-disciplinary creative projects. Working alongside students from across the games degree, you’ll respond to industry-inspired briefs, taking on the role of a game designer while collaborating with artists, programmers and audio specialists to deliver successful creative outcomes. Along the way, you’ll strengthen your project management, communication and creative problem-solving skills.

CIF-502 Professional Collaboration Work

You’ll take your collaborative experience into a professional context by delivering a major games project that reflects the realities of the games industry. Working with artists, programmers and audio specialists from across the Games degree, you’ll apply your game design expertise to help realise ambitious interactive experiences, managing creative and technical challenges while developing the confidence, adaptability and professional mindset needed to succeed as a game designer in today’s collaborative games industry.

CIF-503 Specialist Route Skills

Refine the skills needed to design and deliver professional games. Your Skills Labs will develop your understanding of communication, documentation, project planning and collaboration while introducing production workflows, pitching, branding and professional practice. Alongside advancing your game design skills through prototyping, iteration and playtesting, you’ll combine technical practice with critical reflection to build the confidence, creativity and professional understanding needed to develop industry-ready games.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your game design expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced Skills Labs, you’ll further develop your ability to design to a brief while exploring production workflows, pitching, industry practice and the commercial realities of game development. By building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern games industry.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your game design expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced Skills Labs, you’ll further develop your ability to design to a brief while exploring production workflows, pitching, industry practice and commercial game development. By building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern games industry.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your game design expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced Skills Labs, you’ll further develop your abilities in prototyping, iterative design and playtesting, alongside exploring production workflows, pitching, industry practice and commercial game development. By building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern games industry.

Modules

CIF-501 Specialist Collaborative Work

This module allows you to apply your programming skills within ambitious, cross-disciplinary creative projects. Working alongside students from across the Games degree, you’ll respond to industry-inspired briefs, taking on the role of a games programmer to develop gameplay systems, technical features and interactive experiences that contribute to collaborative outcomes. Along the way, you’ll strengthen your project management, communication and technical problem-solving skills.

CIF-502 Professional Collaboration Work

You’ll take your collaborative experience into a professional context by delivering a major games project that reflects the realities of the games industry. Working with students across the Games degree, you’ll apply your programming expertise to develop gameplay systems, technical features and interactive experiences, managing technical and creative challenges while developing the confidence, adaptability and professional mindset needed to succeed as a games programmer in today’s collaborative games industry.

CIF-503 Specialist Route Skills

Refine the skills needed to develop professional game software. Your Skills Labs will take you through the fundamentals of communication, documentation, collaborative development and technical planning, while supporting your programming skills through the creation of advanced gameplay systems and interactive features. Combining advanced technical practice with critical reflection, you’ll build the confidence, technical expertise and professional understanding required to develop industry-ready games.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your programming expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced Skills Labs, you’ll further develop your ability to program to a brief while exploring software architecture, optimisation, collaborative development and professional programming workflows. By building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern games industry.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your programming expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced Skills Labs, you’ll further develop your ability to program to a brief while exploring software architecture, optimisation, collaborative development and industry-standard workflows. By building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern games industry.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Building on your Specialist Route Skills, you’ll expand your programming expertise by applying your skills to a range of professional projects. Through advanced Skills Labs, you’ll further develop your skills in software architecture, gameplay systems and programming, alongside delving into optimisation, debugging, collaborative development and industry-standard workflows. Through building a portfolio of professional work, you’ll demonstrate the technical ability, adaptability and critical thinking needed to succeed across the modern games industry.

Modules

CIF-601 Critical Review Preparation

Prepare for independent research into games art and animation. Learn to formulate research questions, review relevant academic and industry evidence, evaluate methods and build a reasoned argument about a contemporary issue in game development.

CIF-601 Critical Review

Complete an independent critical investigation into an aspect of games art and animation that matters to your career. Combine appropriate research methods, critical analysis and reflection to generate a substantial, evidence-led piece of work.

CIF-602 Leading Professional Collaborative Project

Take a leading role in a major interdisciplinary game project. Manage the specialist demands of games art and animation, coordinate with collaborators, respond to production risks and deliver a polished portfolio of game-ready assets and animated sequences. Reflect critically on the quality and impact of the finished work.

CIF-603 Leadership & CPD

Build the professional confidence and leadership capabilities needed in games art and animation. Through advanced Skills Labs, explore art direction, real-time workflows, technical art and production leadership, evaluate your strengths and set a purposeful plan for ongoing professional development.

CIF-604 Independent Portfolio

Curate a professional games art and animation portfolio that showcases your strongest work and explains your contribution. Include selected outcomes, process evidence and reflections that communicate your specialist abilities to employers, collaborators or clients.

Modules

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Prepare for your dissertation by developing the research, analysis and critical thinking skills needed to investigate contemporary issues in game development and audio production. You’ll explore current debates, technologies and professional practice whilst learning how to evaluate sources, develop research questions and construct evidence-based arguments. This module will provide the foundation for independent research, helping you identify a topic that reflects your interests and future career ambitions.

CIF-504 Professional Route Skills

Undertake an independent research project exploring an area of game audio production that matters to you. Whether investigating emerging sound design trends and technologies, creative practice, writing workflows, or the wider social and cultural impact of music, you’ll critically evaluate contemporary issues using academic research and professional evidence. You’ll produce a substantial piece of work that demonstrates your ability to think critically, conduct independent research and contribute to conversations shaping the future of game audio.

CIF-601 Critical Review Preparation

Prepare for life beyond your studies by developing the advanced technical skills and professional mindset expected of game audio professionals. Through specialist Skills Labs, you’ll explore professional game audio aplications and portfolio work, focusing on the relevant fundamentals of games development industry practices for a game audio expert. You will explore the necessary skills required to develop sound design and music yourself, market your work as a creative professioanl, alongside advanced marketing strategies to support your work. As you refine your technical expertise, you’ll reflect on your strengths and develop your leadership skills.

CIF-601 Critical Review

Bring together everything you’ve learned throughout your degree in your final major collaborative project that showcases your skills as an audio professional. Taking a leading role within an interdisciplinary team, you’ll manage the creative and technical demands of delivering a professional standard body of work. Supported by specialised Skills Labs in the future of creative artistry and consumer and players psychology and how to reach differrent audiences with your portfolio of work.

CIF-603 Leadership & CPD

You’ll prepare to launch your career by creating a professional portfolio that showcases your skills, creativity and technical expertise as an game audio professional. In this module, you’ll curate your best work to develop a strong digital presence that reflects your creative identity.

Modules

CIF-601 Critical Review Preparation

Prepare for your dissertation by developing the research, analysis and critical thinking skills needed to investigate contemporary issues in music production and recording engineering. You’ll explore current debates, technologies and professional practice whilst learning how to evaluate sources, develop research questions and construct evidence-based arguments. This module will provide the foundation for independent research, helping you identify a topic that reflects your interests and future career ambitions.

CIF-601 Critical Review

Undertake an independent research project exploring an area of live production that matters to you. Whether investigating emerging songwriting trends and technologies, creative practice, writing workflows, or the wider social and cultural impact of music, you’ll critically evaluate contemporary issues using academic research and professional evidence. You’ll produce a substantial piece of work that demonstrates your ability to think critically, conduct independent research and contribute to conversations shaping the future of songwriting.

CIF-602 Leading Professional Collaborative Project

Bring together everything you’ve learned throughout your degree in your final major collaborative project that showcases your skills as a songwriter. Taking a leading role within an interdisciplinary team, you’ll manage the creative and technical demands of delivering a professional standard body of work. Supported by specialised Skills Labs in the future of creative artistry and consumer and audience psychology and how to reach differrent audiences with your portfolio of work.

CIF-603 Leadership & CPD

Prepare for life beyond your studies by developing the advanced technical skills and professional mindset expected of songwriters. Through specialist Skills Labs, you’ll explore music business and DIY Artistry, focusing on the relevant fundamentals of music business for a songwriter. You will explore the necessary skills required to release music & market yourself as a creative artist, alongside advanced marketing strategies to support the release of your music. As you refine your technical expertise, you’ll reflect on your strengths and develop your leadership skills.

CIF-604 Independent Portfolio

You’ll prepare to launch your career by creating a professional portfolio that showcases your skills, creativity and technical expertise as a songwriter. In this module, you’ll curate your best work to develop a strong digital presence that reflects your creative identity.

Modules

CIF-601 Critical Review Preparation

Prepare for your dissertation by developing the research, analysis and critical thinking skills needed to investigate contemporary issues in game design and the wider games industry. You’ll explore current debates, emerging technologies and professional practice while learning how to evaluate sources, develop research questions and construct evidence-based arguments. This module will provide the foundation for independent research, helping you identify a topic that reflects your interests and future career ambitions.

CIF-601 Critical Review

Undertake an independent research project exploring an area of game design that matters to you. Whether investigating emerging design trends and technologies, player experience, development workflows, or the wider social and cultural impact of games, you’ll critically evaluate contemporary issues using academic research and professional evidence. You’ll produce a substantial piece of work that demonstrates your ability to think critically, conduct independent research and contribute to conversations shaping the future of game design.

CIF-602 Leading Professional Collaborative Project

Bring together everything you’ve learned throughout your degree in your final major collaborative project, showcasing your skills as a game designer. Taking a leading role within an interdisciplinary team, you’ll manage the creative and technical demands of delivering a professional-standard game. Supported by specialised Skills Labs exploring the future of game design, player psychology and audience engagement, you’ll learn how to present your portfolio and communicate your work to different audiences.

CIF-603 Leadership & CPD

Prepare for life beyond your studies by developing the advanced technical skills and professional mindset expected of game designers. Through specialist Skills Labs, you’ll explore the games industry and professional practice, focusing on the knowledge needed to build a successful career in game design. You’ll develop the skills required to pitch, showcase and promote your work, alongside exploring portfolio development, personal branding and strategies for entering the games industry. As you refine your technical expertise, you’ll reflect on your strengths and develop your leadership skills.

CIF-604 Independent Portfolio

You’ll prepare to launch your career by creating a professional portfolio that showcases your skills, creativity and technical expertise as a Game Designer. In this module, you’ll curate your best work to develop a strong digital presence that reflects your creative identity and prepares you for opportunities across the games industry.

Modules

CIF-601 Critical Review Preparation

Prepare for your dissertation by developing the research, analysis and critical thinking skills needed to investigate contemporary issues in games programming and software development. You’ll explore current debates, technologies and professional practice whilst learning how to evaluate sources, develop research questions and construct evidence-based arguments. This module will provide the foundation for independent research, helping you identify a topic that reflects your interests and future career ambitions.

CIF-601 Critical Review

Undertake an independent research project exploring an area of games programming that matters to you. Whether investigating emerging programming trends and technologies, software development practices, programming workflows, or the wider technical and creative impact of games, you’ll critically evaluate contemporary issues using academic research and professional evidence. You’ll produce a substantial piece of work that demonstrates your ability to think critically, conduct independent research and contribute to conversations shaping the future of games programming.

CIF-602 Leading Professional Collaborative Project

Bring together everything you’ve learned throughout your degree in your final major collaborative project that showcases your skills as a games programmer. Taking a leading role within an interdisciplinary team, you’ll manage the technical and creative demands of delivering a professional-standard body of work. Supported by specialised Skills Labs in the future of software development, player psychology and how to present your portfolio to different audiences, you’ll prepare to launch your career in the games industry.

CIF-603 Leadership & CPD

Prepare for life beyond your studies by developing the advanced technical skills and professional mindset expected of games programmers. Through specialist Skills Labs, you’ll explore the games industry and professional programming practices, focusing on the relevant fundamentals of professional practice for a games programmer. You will explore the necessary skills required to present your work and promote yourself as a professional programmer, alongside strategies to support your career development within the games industry. As you refine your technical expertise, you’ll reflect on your strengths and develop your leadership skills.

CIF-604 Independent Portfolio

You’ll prepare to launch your career by creating a professional portfolio that showcases your skills, creativity and technical expertise as a Programmer. In this module, you’ll curate your best work to develop a strong digital presence that reflects your creative identity.

CIF-701 Professional Practice Frameworks

Develop the professional expertise expected of senior game designers. You’ll critically evaluate your own design practice, reflect on your professional experiences and benchmark your skills against recognised industry standards. This module helps you strengthen your professional profile and prepare for leadership roles within the evolving games industry.

CIF-702 Applied Research

Undertake an in-depth research project centred on an area of game design that aligns with your professional ambitions. Whether developing an advanced design portfolio, investigating emerging game design trends and technologies, or exploring innovative design practice, you’ll combine rigorous academic research with specialist practice to produce a substantial body of work that reflects your expertise and individual interests.

CIF-703 Ideas Into Action

Transform ambitious ideas into professionally realised games. From initial concept through to delivery, you’ll refine your design practice whilst building the organisational and entrepreneurial skills required to deliver projects in professional game development environments.

CIF-704 Making Connections

Success in the games industry is built on relationships as much as talent. This module helps you expand your professional network by connecting with industry professionals, studios, creative organisations and potential collaborators. You’ll develop the confidence to build meaningful professional relationships, identify new opportunities and position yourself within the wider games industry.

Advanced Music Production Skills Labs

Alongside your postgraduate studies, you’ll have access to advanced Skills Labs each term, giving you the opportunity to further develop your specialist game design expertise. These practical sessions allow you to explore emerging design methodologies, player-centred approaches and new technologies, ensuring your skills remain aligned with the latest developments in the games industry.