Video Game Development with a Foundation Year - BSc (Hons) drafted
| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
Why study a video games course at Birmingham City University
Interactive entertainment and video games development are key sectors for contemporary culture, economic growth and employment, whether that be locally, nationally or globally.
This three-year BSc (Hons) Video Game Development course with Foundation Year responds to this growing and innovative sector by developing skilled, team-orientated, reflexive graduate professionals ready to succeed in the sector. On the course you will learn the most important programming languages for game development, as well as industry-standard game development tools such as Unity and Unreal.
This course gives you a guaranteed video game development placement in our in-house studio, taking place over the summer term in the second year of the course.
This course is
open
toInternational
students.What's covered in this course?
Developing you as a professional developer
The course covers core programming languages and video game development tools, as well as contemporary agile software development techniques to make you a competent and adaptable programmer, capable of finding employment in the sector or preparing you for further academic study.
Your first position in the video game industry
Building upon your core language and software development skills, in the second year you will be tasked with a specific role within our in-house game development studio over the summer term. This work experience gives you the opportunity to apply the knowledge and professional practices you’ve learnt on the course in a safe and supportive environment. Typically for these projects you’ll be using industry standard game development tools such as Unity and Unreal.
The work students produce during these summer placements can act as excellent portfolio pieces, which demonstrate their ability as both a professional game developer and effective team member.
Putting you in control of your final project
Throughout the three years you will be provided with a structured programme of learning, in line with your chosen specialism of video game development. The course culminates with a project you define yourself which uses a specific programming language and technology you have learned on the course, such as JavaScript, C#, C++, Three.js, SFML, Unity and Unreal.
You have the choice of either proposing your own individual project or collaborating with other students to create another video game project for your portfolio.
Best of class facilities and staff
Teaching takes place in a modern production studio based in Birmingham city centre, where you’ll be provided with studio space to complete your projects and access to the software you’ll need for the duration of the course.
You will be taught by staff with significant experience in the video game development industry, having worked with game developers including Psygnosis, Rage Software, Codemasters, FreeStyleGames and EA Games.
Real experience
By the time you graduate you’ll have three years of tangible games development studio experience under your belt, ready to launch your dream career as a games developer.
Alternatively, you can choose to apply for one of our one-year Gamer Camp courses, to gain even more in-depth skills, and experience.
Why Choose Us?
Top 5 for Animation and Game Design (Guardian League Tables 2023).
Studying with us during the Covid-19 pandemic
The University has put in place
measures in response to Covid-19
to allow us to safely deliver our courses. Should the impact of the pandemic continue in future years, any additional or alternative arrangements put in place by the University will be in accordance with the latest government public health advice, health and safety legislation, and the terms and conditions of thestudent contract
.Program Outline
Foundation year
Year one
Year two
Foundation year
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
Video Game Design Foundations 20 credits
The purpose of this module is to give students the opportunity to gain an understanding of the basic foundations of game design to develop an analytical mindset. By learning the fundamentals of game design and utilising analytical frameworks, we will discuss looking at games layer by layer through various lenses to propose structured and cohesive systems that will provide an engaging user experience.
Video Game Programming Foundations 20 credits
The purpose of this module is to give students the opportunity to get to grips with an easy-to-use programming language and manage to handle input from the keyboard and output to the computer screen. This will allow students to gain an appreciation of how logic works within software to be able to deliver an interactive experience to the user.
Professional & Academic Skills 20 credits
The purpose of this module is to assist students in developing the academic skills needed to succeed in higher education.
Video Game Research & Prototyping 20 credits
The purpose of this module is to assist students in developing the research and prototyping skills needed to support their ambitions to be a game developer. This module also enables the development of communications skills which are key employability skills, how to present work effectively, how to draw on existing research to support ideas, how to organise and plan projects, and how to write reflectively about the experience.
Video Game Realisation 40 credits
The purpose of this module is to enable students to draw on their own creative strategies to facilitate the development of a project that is appropriate for progression onto their chosen BSc (Hons) or BA (Hons) course. This is achieved by utilising and building upon research and planning conducted towards the development of the vision of the video game. This is further enhanced by reflecting upon academic and professional skills progression, demonstrated over the course of the foundation.
Year one
During the first year, modules may include practical sessions, lectures and group debates, featuring input from both University staff and guest lecturers from industry, providing you with a wide range of practical knowledge and insight.
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits):
Computer Science and Web Technologies Primer 20 credits
The purpose of this module is to give you, the students, the opportunity to get to grips with the basic foundations of computer-science and understand program-flow such as conditions and loops. It will also allow you to gain an appreciation of what video games are and how they generally work, from a high-level perspective.
Object-Oriented Programming 40 credits
The purpose of this module is to give you the opportunity to learn the C# programming language, and to gain a deeper understanding of programming concepts such as object-orientation.
3D Graphics Primer 20 credits
The purpose of this module is to give you the opportunity to learn about some of the mathematics required to create games in a 3D world.
Theory and Practice using Physics Engines 40 credits
The purpose of this module is to give you the opportunity to learn about Physics and Physics engines required to create games in both 2D and 3D worlds.
Collaborative Project 60 credits
The module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration by enabling you to create an interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines. You will be tasked with completing a project over a short development / production period. This project may be set either by an academic or course industry-partner.
Year two
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits):
High Performance Programming Languages 20 credits
The purpose of this module is to give you the opportunity to learn about programming in the High Performance language C++.
Application of High Performance Libraries 40 credits
The purpose of this module is to give you the opportunity to learn about and apply a C++ Library to help with the development of a software artefact.
Development using High Performance Engines 20 credits
The purpose of this module is to give you experience in the field of using a 3D library to aid the development of a 3D software artefact using the High Performance language C++.
Professional Practice 40 credits
The module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration &/or your own professional practice. The module enables you to create either an interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines or your own self-defined project.
Major Project 60 credits
The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. It is important that we can support you appropriately, so you will be guided towards choosing a research topic which is relevant to your discipline and in which your lecturers have expertise. The outcome may take the form of a written dissertation or a practice-based portfolio.
Download course specification
Download now
The course is structured around teaching you new skills and allowing you the freedom to experiment and experience putting your new skills into practice through live projects.
Typically, this means modules are split into taught modules and studio-based project modules.
Taught Modules
In the taught modules the focus is on your personal development as a professional coder. You will take modules which focus on your individual development as computer programmers for interactive software, for example; Computer Science fundamentals, object oriented programming, maths for game development, physics, using existing software library & software development practices. It is during these languages you’ll learn the programming languages, JavaScript, C# and C++.
Guaranteed in-house placement (Project Modules)
The video game development course is all about providing you with crucial experience-based learning you'll need for your career. To this end during the summer term you will be required to attend an in-house work placement. It is during these modules you’ll be using development tools such as Unity & Unreal.
Assessment
This is a two year accelerated undergraduate degree course, with an additional foundation year, with professional game development studio experience embedded as part your learning journey. You'll be assessed in a variety of different ways, including practical project work – both group and individual – presentations, written reports and practical portfolios.
Assessment is embedded into the course, which will mean your learning experience isn't constantly interrupted by assessment. You are also assessed on your work within a project delivery team while you are based in our simulated in-house studio environment.
On the course, you'll be taught by established industry professionals with a wealth of expertise and enthusiasm, who are experienced at recognising and responding to the rapidly changing demands within the industry.
End of year showcase
The end of year summer showcase gives you the chance to showcase some of the work you’ve completed over the past academic year to high profile industry guests.
