Program Overview

---

Games Development (Design) BA(Hons)

Overview

Creating fun isn’t easy, and a good designer can create entertainment from complex systems. Whether it’s single-player, multiplayer, competitive or co-operative, designers create memorable gameplay experiences.

Computer game designers are the fundamental backbones of computer game development – and on this course, you’ll cover complex aspects of games design and development.

You’ll analyse games to explore why a game is fun, and the motivations of the player. You’ll take a deeper look at the broader understanding of games development and explore what is possible within the medium of games.

Our three Games Development courses share a common first year; you’ll gain a thorough understanding in the basics of the game development process, including how to plan, design and create game ideas and concepts. As the course progresses and your understanding evolves, you’ll become more specialised in your chosen area, producing design documentation and prototypes, concepts, or scripting.

The top five job titles advertised in the UK for graduate roles associated with Games Development (Design) courses are Game Designer, Lead Games Designer, Gameplay Programmer, Gameplay Engineer and Game Developer.

Why study Games Development (Design) BA(Hons) at Huddersfield?

• Boost your CV and have fun by taking part in internal Games Jams, or externally organised events like the Global Game Jam, Grads in Games, and Game Republic.
• You’ll have the chance to take part in lots of internal Game Jams, and we encourage you to hone your skills by getting involved in external events from the Global Game Jam, Grads in Games and Game Republic, in which previous students have performed highly at.
• We know the reason you want to study games development is because you want a job in the games industry, we maintain active links with business and industry figures ensuring our course can provide you with the skills to open doors to careers with substantial earning potential, enabling you to shape the life you want in the future.

Entry requirements

To find out if you’re eligible to start this course in September 2025 and get more information on how to apply, please see our Clearing pages.

If you’re interested in studying this course in September 2026, please view the course information.

Course Detail

Year 1

• Core modules:
  • Concept Development 1
  • Games Team Project 1
  • 3D Games Asset Development
  • Your Game Development Journey
  • Games Prototyping 1
  • 3D Character Development

Year 2

• Core modules:
  • Games Design and Development 2
  • Team Project (Games)
  • Games Design and Innovation
  • Games Analysis and Design
• Option modules:
  • Visual Design for Games
  • Games Prototyping 2

Year 3 – optional placement year

This course offers an optional one-year work placement after Year 2.

Final year

• Core modules:
  • Individual Project
  • Team Project (Games)
  • Concept Development 3
• Option modules:
  • Advanced Computer Games Development
  • Advanced Visual Design for Games

Placements

This course offers you the chance to undertake an optional placement in Year 3. This opportunity helps you to build on the knowledge and skills developed on the course. You will be employed by the company for 12 months, but the actual number of weeks worked will be dependent on the annual leave entitlement you are given in line with the placement company’s policy.

Fees and Finance

• Tuition Fees - full-time: The maximum fees we will charge for UK based students on undergraduate courses in 2025/26 will be £9,535 per year for full-time students (subject to parliamentary approval).
• Additional costs: On this course, optional field trips may be offered to destinations in the UK, which you would need to pay for if you choose to attend.

Accreditations & Professional Links

This course is industry recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based industries and carries the ScreenSkills quality-mark for the purposes of indicating courses best suited to prepare students for a career in the screen industries.

Career Support

We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also work with you to focus on life after you have graduated to help you towards achieving your ambitions.

Further Study

Progression to a postgraduate course is dependent on successful completion of your undergraduate studies, there may also be minimum qualification requirements such as a first class, Upper second-class Honours (2.1) or a Lower second-class Honours (2:2) degree.

Research Excellence

Our researchers carry out work that makes a real difference to people's lives:

• We are in the top 50 UK universities for Research Power.
• Three quarters of all our research is world leading and internationally excellent.
• Over 60% of our research environment was classified as world leading and internationally excellent, especially in Music, Biological Sciences, Architecture and Built Environment, Social Work and Social Policy, History and Communication and Media Studies.

Student Support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey.

Your Career

Previous graduates from courses in this subject area have gone on to work in a variety of roles such as Technical Content Artist, Functional Tester, Lead Environment Artist, Senior Test Specialist and Senior Producer in organisations including Playstation, Rockstar Games, IBM, Codemasters and Jagex.

Additionally, you may gain skills that are transferable to other industries and may be able to pursue any career that requires a good honours degree. You could go on to further study and the University has many options available for postgraduate study (including postgraduate teacher training) and research which may interest you.

• 84% of graduates from this subject area were in work or further study 15 months after graduation (HESA Graduate Outcomes 21/22, UK domiciled graduates).