Games Design (top-up)
University of Northampton
UCAS Code: I621 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
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About this course
Games Design Top-Up BA (Hons) is structured to prepare students to become Game Designers with practical application taking precedence over theoretical work. You will be expected to already have a good working knowledge of Game Engines, Art packages and design theory.
You will join current third year Games Design BA students to work on a number of portfolio-based projects and a substantive personal project. You will be able to share your experiences with current students and collaborate on team projects.
What you’ll learn on Games Design (Top-Up)
We will give you creative skills, technical software skills and industry knowledge, which are all required by leading games developers. You will produce a personal portfolio of your work to reflect industry and professional practice needs, informed by historical and contemporary references, cultural and social contexts.
The life cycle of Game production
You will focus on the design side of the Game Art industry, but you will be exposed to the whole life cycle of game production from the initial ideas process to final release stage. You will work with programmers from the BA Games Programming and artists from the BA Games Art course so that you understand games development for specific markets in 2D and 3D formats.
Methods of Learning
We aim to make learning an engaging and enjoyable experience from our extensive online resources and face to face teaching. We will enrich your experiences of Game Design principles, help you to further develop analytical skills, and encourage you to evaluate and recommend solutions required to create engaging gaming experiences.
Games Design (Top-Up) – Teaching & Learning support
Teaching and learning occurs through a variety of methods, with practical’s, workshops and learning how to use new techniques and software. Learners will have around 12 hours contact time per week, with the expectation of matching this with their own time. Sessions can be longer or shortened depending on the activity e.g. attending industry events.
All of the module tutors use our virtual learning environment (NILE) to provide additional resources to facilitate your independent learning.
**By studying at the University of Northampton, you can be sure that:**
- You will experience student life at the University’s £330 million Waterside Campus. Come along to an Open Day and find out more.
- Our expert academics teach in small groups supported with one to one assistance. Our academics and students form a tight bond, providing individualised support and guidance whilst challenging students academically.
- We invest more money into your education than 90% of Universities in the UK*
- Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd.
All study trips subject to national and local Covid-19 guidelines and restrictions. See our situation updates page for more on the University’s response to Covid-19: northampton.ac.uk/about-us/situation-updates/
See Eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions: northampton.ac.uk/student-life/university-living-laptops-trips-and-internships/
✱ source: Guardian University League Table 2020
Modules
**Stage 3**
• Art Director Portfolio, Final Major Project (compulsory)
• Design Innovation (compulsory)
• Professional Practice in Games (compulsory)
• Group Project 3 (Games) (compulsory)
Module information is quoted for 2023 entry. Please note that modules run subject to student numbers and staff availability, any changes will be communicated to applicants accordingly.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Northampton
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below 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 and animation
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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 and animation
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 and animation
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£24k
£32k
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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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
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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