Game Animation BA(Hons)

You'll learn what it takes to make a game, including asset creation, project management and pipelines, pitching ideas, and considering theories about what games are and how they engage players. Developing your skills in animation, you'll enhance cross-disciplinary groups as you pitch a game to tutors and build it together.

Modules

Development Principles

You'll immerse yourself in our studio culture and learn the basics of making games.

Theory 1: Reading Experiences

You'll study and write about games and VR in the same way as you might write about books on an English course, or films in Film Studies.

Multidisciplinary Development Practice

You'll pitch your first full game and build it as a team using Agile methodologies.

Game Animation 1

You'll explore the principles of animation and develop skills and workflows in 3D animation.

Game Animation 2

You'll develop skills in animating human performance and then integrate your work into a game engine.

With greater confidence in your skills, you'll mirror professional game development as you tackle a larger game project in a multi-skilled group. Over the course of the year, you'll research and experiment with various approaches and create innovative features. You'll investigate strategies to enhance the player experience and learn what drives industry trends and developments from visiting professionals. Throughout the year you'll continue developing your specialist game animation practice.

Modules

World Creation Project: Pre-Production

You'll devise the concept for a world and take it forward into a fuller game title.

World Creation Project: Production

During this module, you'll develop your world creation project into a pitchable game, showcased to the rest of the Academy.

Theory 2: Form & Player Experience

Aligning your production with game studies theory, you’ll write your manifesto as a games developer, discussing the ethical and industrial debates around game production.

Game Animation 3

You'll develop advanced rigging and animation skills, with an emphasis on facial rigging and motion capture.

Developing Specialist Game Art Practice

You'll extend your understanding of animation in game development by practicing and developing your own individual skills.

During the final year of your game animation course, you'll produce a complete and potentially publishable game as part of a team. By pitching it to industry professionals, you'll receive reliable and insightful feedback. You'll also research a topic relevant to your project and build an online portfolio with a clear centrepiece, sharpening your real-world insights and building valuable career contacts.

Modules

Professional Practice and enterprise

With your career in mind, you'll produce a professional online presence for your work and learn how to network and get a job in games.

Major Game Development Project: Pre-Production

The vast majority of your third year is spent making a game in a team, which may result in forming your own games company.

Preparing for the Future

You'll research and investigate topics important to your route and practice, exploring how the rapidly evolving games industry could change as you look towards entering it.

Major Game Development Project: Production

Completing your third-year game, you'll showcase it to the rest of the academy and pitch it to invited industry guests.

Why study an Integrated Foundation Year route?

If you’re taking on a new subject that you haven’t studied in depth before, have been out of education for a while or have a non-standard educational background then an Integrated Foundation Year degree may be the right choice for you. It is a four-year degree with an Integrated Foundation Year to start, which allows you to explore the primary elements of your subject before progressing on to the remaining three years of the BA(Hons) degree.

What you'll learn

If you choose this pathway, you'll study five core modules in your Foundation year. These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of your subject. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs.

Modules

Explore

You'll begin your foundation year by working collaboratively with others to explore themes of the future. You'll take risks, experiment through play and be supported to break through barriers.

Technique

You'll take subject-specific workshops and develop essential technical and practical skills in your area of study. You'll also enhance your analytical and organisational abilities.

Apply

You'll work with your peer group to think beyond discipline by addressing a societal or global issue. You'll then showcase your work to your peers and deliver and accompanying evaluation of your process.

Industry

You'll enhance your creative and practical skills in your subject specialism by responding to typical industry briefs, underpinned by focused research and experiments. You'll also gain industry insights through guest lectures and workshops.

Launch

You'll develop your unique identity in your specialism through the production of a self-initiated body of work. Your final project will be the bridge to your next year, fully supported by evaluative reviews and critical analysis of the work you have created.

After the Foundation year, you progress into Year One of the full three-year degree, equipped with a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, and develop a practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen subject.

The Integrated Foundation Year pathway for this course is new for entry year 2022 and subject to validation.