Game Design MA

Program Overview

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Game Design MA

Course Overview

Are you passionate about games and keen to make them better? On this industry-focused MA course you'll consider what makes a game engaging and meaningful, taking your skills to the next level as you work alongside programmers and artists in a studio environment to create distinctive work.

You'll explore specialist areas in design to discover new horizons in gaming, collaborating with other talented game-lovers to bring your own ideas to life in indie, AAA or tabletop games. With help from expert practitioners with links to both industry and academia, you'll learn iterative design principles and how to implement research, user testing and feedback – gaining the tools you need for a career in games and media.

Key Details

• Location: Penryn Campus
• Course duration: 1 year
• Attendance: Full-time

Course Details

Study Block One

• Development Practice
  • You’ll deepen your knowledge of game development practices by working in interdisciplinary teams, employing specialist skills to devise small-scale artefacts. You’ll also carry out a personal reflective case study that will help to enrich and expand your practice.
  • (30 credits)
• Prototyping for Games
  • You’ll follow a rapid-prototyping model of game development to create a series of playable game prototypes using different tools and approaches. You will then share your work with the class and receive feedback from your peers and academic staff, which will help to inform future prototypes.
  • (30 credits)

Study Block Two

• Experimental Game Design
  • In this module, you’ll adapt your existing skills to experiment with concepts and ideas that extend game design into new, experimental, or original areas of practice.
  • You will undertake research and experimentation to create your own innovative game design project. Working in a chosen medium, you’ll select a new aspect of game design to explore; this could be on a range of topics, such as character design, world building, new game mechanics, custom-made interfaces or conceptual game design.
  • (30 credits)
• Game Development Project
  • Working in multidisciplinary teams, with peers from across the Games Academy, you’ll design a game based on an original concept. You will then implement, play-test, and refine a working prototype of your game. This process will help to enrich your knowledge of rules and parameters in structuring your game and its gameplay.
  • By the end of the module, the prototype that you produce should be at a stage where it could be pitched to a commercial publisher or pitched online to raise funds through a crowdfunding platform.
  • (30 credits)

Study Block Three

• Major Project
  • Working either in teams or individually, you’ll devise, develop and execute a major research and development project under the guidance of a supervisor. You can choose to build upon the material you’ve previously produced in other modules or develop a new concept.
  • The work produced for this module is expected to be fully realised, polished and of a publishable quality.
  • (60 credits)

How You'll Learn & Be Assessed

How You'll Learn

• Through regular practical workshops, support sessions from our course team and project supervision throughout, you’ll develop your game design skills to give you a competitive edge in the industry. Working in teams that mirror a real studio environment, you’ll learn to produce a fully-realised game development project and professional portfolio, as well as to conduct cutting-edge research and development independently. You'll learn through:
  • Demonstrations
  • Studio practice
  • Project supervision
  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Practical workshops
  • Crit sessions
  • Tutorials
  • Guest speakers
  • Mentoring

How You'll Be Assessed

• Assessment for the Game Design MA is 100% coursework. Learning is situated in an environment that mirrors the industry, helping to prepare you for what it’s like in a small game studio.
• Assessments are composed of practical activities underpinned by critical analyses of the workflows and practices applied in the module to further support your learning.
• Module leaders and supervisors will be available to guide and support you through your assessments to enhance your relevant technical and academic skill sets.

Facilities

• Modern i7 machines.
• Industry-standard hardware and software used in the games industry, including Adobe and Autodesk suites.
• Access to VR/AR lab and cutting-edge hardware, including Hololens, Hololens 2 and Meta Quest 3 & 2.
• Dedicated space in a well-resourced game development studio, open late during term time.

Staff

• You'll be taught by an expert teaching team who specialise in gameplay programming, design, worldbuilding, software engineering and research. Our industry experts have worked across the globe on titles such as Arcana and Deadhaus Sonata.

Careers

• Potential career options include game or level designers, app developers, product and software designers or producers. Our graduates have progressed to teaching and lecturing roles and founded their own game development studios.

Entry Requirements

• We welcome applicants with varied qualifications, but typically you’ll need an undergraduate degree. Our typical applicants hold an undergraduate degree of 2:2 or above, or equivalent experience.
• We’ll also welcome your application if you have formal or 'certified' learning (such as training courses not run by universities or colleges) and learning from work experience or self-study. This is called Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) and should have been gained within the last five years and be equivalent to the learning outcomes of our minimum entry qualifications.

Language Requirements

• If English isn’t your first language, you'll need to demonstrate English language skills that are sufficiently developed for successful completion of your studies. We accept a range of recognised English language qualifications that are equivalent to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic minimum score of 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

Fees, Costs & Funding

Tuition Fees

• £9,200 per year - full-time UK (£250 acceptance fee payable. This is deducted from tuition fees.)
• £17,950 - full-time EU/international (£500-£2,500 acceptance fee payable depending upon your status. This is deducted from tuition fees)

Typical Course Costs

• To complete your coursework, you'll require a laptop. Read about the latest laptop specifications we recommend.
• £150 approximately for recommended reading.
• £30-£150 for a headset with a microphone.
• £25-£100 for a webcam.
• Internet access with at least 5Mbps speed to enable livestreaming of content.

Postgraduate Funding

• There are loans, awards, graduate discounts and alternative funding sources for postgraduate studies. Read about them on our Postgraduate Funding page.

Program Outline

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Degree Overview:

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Overview:

This master's course in Game Design focuses on pitching and prototyping your ideas, specializing in game design and the broader games industry context. From the first day, you will be actively developing a game in a team using industry-standard software, followed by a major project in the final term. This project can be solo, group-based, or a research piece.

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Objectives:

• Deepen your knowledge of game design practices.
• Develop your skills to create original games.
• Gain the tools necessary for a career in games and media.
• Work with experienced practitioners with links to both industry and academia.

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Outline:

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Study Block One:

• Modules:
• Development Practice
• Prototyping for Games

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Study Block Two:

• Modules:
• Experimental Game Design
• Game Development Project

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Study Block Three:

• Modules:
• Major Project

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Assessment:

• 100% coursework-based assessment.
• Assessments are composed of practical activities underpinned by critical analyses of workflows and practices applied in the module.

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Teaching:

• Taught by an expert team specializing in gameplay programming, design, world building, software engineering and research.
• Industry experts with experience on titles like Arcana and Deadhaus Sonata.
• Learning environment mirrors the games industry, preparing students for a career in small game studios.
• Regular practical workshops, support sessions, and project supervision.
• Focus on developing fully-realized game development projects and professional portfolios.

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Careers:

• Potential career options include game or level designers, app developers, product and software designers, and producers.
• Graduates have progressed to teaching and lecturing roles and founded their own game development studios.

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Other:

• Access to industry-standard hardware and software used in the games industry, including Adobe and Autodesk suites.
• VR/AR lab with cutting-edge hardware like Hololens, Hololens 2, and Oculus Quest 2.
• Dedicated space in a well-resourced game development studio, open late during term time.
• Flexible application process, including games/systems developed, world building ideas, design work in other media.

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Tuition fees 2024-25 £9,200 per year - full-time UK (£250 acceptance fee payable. This is deducted from tuition fees.) £17,950 - full-time EU/international (£500-£2,500 acceptance fee payable depending upon your status. This is deducted from tuition fees) Tuition fees for September 2025 will be confirmed in summer 2024. Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible. The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs