Escape Studios
UCAS Code: I803 | Master in Science (with Honours) - MSci (Hon)
Entry requirements
A level
GCSE/National 4/National 5
Maths and English at Grade 4 or C.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
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About this course
This course has been created with our industry partners to be a highly focused digital games degree that encompasses not only theory but technical and artistic approaches. From core design practice through to game engines, UI (user interface) and UX (user experience), as well as narrative and development pipelines.
Taught by industry professionals, you will learn to design video games from concept to implementation, developing gameplay, environments and user experiences to produce engaging play experiences. You will have the transferable skills to work and support teams in both technical and artistic capacities, across different real-time and interactive production environments, such as virtual reality and other forms of interactive entertainment.
This course will provide rich and varied opportunities to work on collaborative projects, developing the soft and technical skills that video games companies look for in Games Designers.
**Why choose this course**
+ Ranked **1st in the world** for **Production Excellence** in **Immersive Media** by **The Rookies**
+ Based in London - home to some of the best video games and VFX studios in the world
+ Partnership with **Epic Games** - we were the first **Unreal Engine Authorized Training Center in the UK** and an **Unreal Engine Academic Partner**. Our certified tutors also run short courses for studios to train their staff in **Unreal Engine**
+ We’re a member of **TIGA** - the trade association for the UK video games industry, with the vision to make the UK the best place in the world to develop video games.
+ Work on industry-standard briefs, experience real-life scenarios and receive feedback on your work from external developers to learn about current development practice
+ Successful alumni - you’ll join our community of thousands of Escapees, many of whom have gone on to work at some of the world’s top studios including **Creative Assembly, Epic Games, Playground Games, Rare** and **Rockstar Games**
+ Study in a studio environment that mirrors current industry practice, using high-spec equipment and professional software such as Unreal Engine and Houdini
+ Professional input - industry partners have helped design this degree to make sure it is relevant to employers and up to date
+ All-round technical skills - learn software, skills and techniques for both games and visual effects and learn how the pipelines cross over.
Modules
First year (Level 4 - 120 credits)
Students on our BSc / MSci Character Creation, Games Design and Technical Art degrees study common modules in their first year. This will give you the all-round skills needed to become a professional, and a chance to choose a different specialism if you change your mind before your second year (subject to availability).
Art direction and visual language (15 credits)
Introduction to 3D graphics (15 credits)
Introduction to technical scripting (15 credits)
Worldbuilding (15 credits)
Introduction to games design (15 credits)
Character control (15 credits)
Real-time FX (15 credits)
Interactive - jam group project (15 credits)
Second year (Level 5 - 120 credits)
Conceptual games design (30 credits)
Applied games design (30 credits)
Specialism (15 credits)
Industry studio project (30 credits)
Third year (Level 6 - 120 credits)
Advanced specialism (30 credits)
Professional practice (30 credits)
Professional studio project (60 credits)
Fourth year - Integrated Masters students only (Level 7 - 120 credits)
If you’re doing the four-year MSci programme, in the final year you’ll develop entrepreneurship skills needed to manage your own studio as a real business. You will be asked to organise yourself to work as a digital studio, working on projects that are viable and to a commercial standard. The modules of this final year will cover the crucial aspects that will define your studio's success.
Creative technology research and development (30 credits)
Commercial studio project (60 credits)
Business of innovation (30 credits)
Assessment methods
Your work is assessed through practical assignments and retrospectives by a mix of tutor, peer, self-review and industry. In fact, industry professionals often review your project modules and share their personalised feedback with you.
Tuition fees
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What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
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Computer games and animation
Teaching and learning
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After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer games
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a relatively new subject area for this kind of data, so we don’t currently have very much information to display or analyse yet. Gaming is a growing industry, and if it continues to grow we should see the rather high unemployment rate coming down over the next few years. Much the most common jobs for graduates who do get work after six months are in programming roles - but as things stand, be aware that jobs in the field are very competitive and personal contacts - either through family, friends or via specialist employment agencies - are a crucial way into the industry so be prepared to talk as well as code!
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Computer games
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£24k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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