Computer Games Programming MSci/BSc (Hons) with foundation year

In this module, you will work collaboratively in a team to develop an engaging concept into a minimum viable product prototype for exhibition and promotion. You will explore concept development and prototyping in animation, games, film and digital media. You will refine ideas through prototypes, engage with audiences and build on your ability to communicate your creative practice.

You should learn to:

• articulate intentions through a range of creative outcomes in creative technologies
• record and reflect on project experiences and activities in the development of personal practice
• reflect interpersonal skills and capabilities when engaging with stakeholders, project negotiation and development.

Compulsory

Experiment, play and hack your way through exciting projects designed to help you develop skills in creative technologies across games, animation, digital media and more. This module explores experimental approaches to design and development, allowing you to understand creative play as a methodology. You will work in interdisciplinary teams to develop prototype projects using rapid prototyping.

You should learn to:

• apply problem-solving capabilities to define, develop and refine creative ideas
• recognise and respond creatively to real-world challenges within creative technologies
• engage with creative thinking techniques and experimental processes to develop personal understanding and practice.

Compulsory

Create engaging virtual worlds, tell epic stories and immerse your audiences in experiences using new and emerging technologies. This module expands your understanding of how games, film and animation engage audiences in interactive narratives and immersive experiences. You will respond to a creative brief, applying your discipline knowledge within the evolving context of the broader creative industries.

You should learn to:

• identify how cultural and contextual factors influence project opportunities and outcomes
• select and curate information to support the conceptualisation and refinement of audience-specific creative outcomes in creative technologies
• engage with emerging debates, information and observations to inform personal responses and directions.

Compulsory

Every hero needs a unique set of skills, and Skills Lab helps you develop your skill set across creative technologies. Explore areas like 2D and 3D design, creative concepts and programming. This module aims to position you as a creator, building your skills in the development of relevant creative artefacts such as games, animated film, and experimental and digital art installations. Refine processes and techniques relevant to your discipline to shape your own skills development.

You should learn to:

• develop ideas and practical solutions through specialist making techniques and processes in creative technologies
• respond to practical challenges and reflect on their relative value in the context of your developing professional/codes of practice
• reflect on and refine ongoing project work to embrace personal interests and recognise potential career aspirations.

Compulsory

Discover how artificial intelligence (AI) makes enemies smarter, allies more believable and NPCs feel alive. Learn the core AI techniques used in commercial game engines and how to design characters that are fun and challenging to play against.

Explore pathfinding, decision-making systems and state machines, before moving into advanced methods like fuzzy logic, Markov models and even machine learning. By the end of this module, you should know how to use AI to bring characters to life in a way that feels dynamic, efficient and realistic.

Compulsory

Modern players expect games to feel alive, with smooth movement, realistic interactions and stunning visuals. Discover how to draw objects on screen, animate them with motion and ensure they respond naturally when they collide.

Dive into the maths, algorithms and programming techniques used in today’s games, exploring the graphics pipeline, shaders, lighting, shading and colour, along with texturing and matrix transformations that shape how objects look and move. Study physics engines, motion in games, collision detection and collision response, giving you the tools to build believable, interactive worlds.

Understand how to bring graphics and physics together to create immersive, dynamic game experiences.

Compulsory

The games industry never stands still. With new tools, platforms and technologies constantly reshaping how games are made and played, developers need to be adaptable, collaborative and ready for change.

Explore how to integrate emerging technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and new input systems into your projects. At the same time, develop professional skills in teamwork, project management, agile development and software engineering practices, mirroring how real studios work. Look at industry ethics, software testing and quality assurance, while learning how to polish game projects to a professional standard.

Through hands-on projects, sharpen your technical expertise and employability, discovering how to showcase your skills, meet industry expectations and prepare to shape the future of interactive entertainment.

Compulsory

Extend your understanding of playful experimentation in game development by engaging in challenges with new and emerging technologies. This module encourages you to experiment with evolving technologies, apply iterative processes and develop creative outputs. Embrace change and challenge preconceptions in the games industry as you prepare to operate within an uncertain and evolving professional landscape.

You should learn to:

• organise and apply problem-solving approaches to define, develop and refine creative ideas and outcomes in games
• formulate discipline-relevant creative responses to real-world challenges
• challenge ideas through experimental processes to extend personal understanding and practice.

Compulsory

As gaming technology evolves, you’ll need to create realistic and visually impressive experiences that meet players’ high expectations. Explore advanced graphics concepts such as Physically Based Rendering (PBR) and procedural generation, applying them across the full digital content creation pipeline.

Develop skills in 3D modelling, designing props, environments and characters while following best practices for asset creation. Learn about rendering, understanding the differences between real-time in-engine workflows and pre-rendered approaches, and animation, bringing props and characters to life for dynamic gameplay.

Using game engines, import, combine, and optimise multiple asset types, applying PBR techniques to work with modern lighting and texturing systems. Explore procedural generation, learning how to automatically create assets and environments while evaluating their creative potential and limitations.

By the end of this module, you should have the skills to create and integrate advanced, optimised graphics that bring game worlds to life, meeting both technical challenges and the high expectations of modern players.

Compulsory

Developing games for online and distributed play comes with unique technical challenges. Learn how to build both server and client software using a leading commercial game engine, gaining hands-on experience in creating scalable network architectures that handle issues like latency, server load and limited bandwidth.

Explore game security and cybersecurity, learning how to protect sensitive player data and defend against hacks, cheats and exploits. This will help you design games that are secure, stable and resistant to unauthorised activity.

Examine topics such as networking foundations, including distributed simulations, server vs. client architectures, latency, interpolation and predictive techniques like deduced reckoning. Focus on game security, learning defensive programming, identifying vulnerabilities, and using predictive models for anti-cheat measures. Explore cybersecurity principles, including data governance, cryptography, hashing and tools to safeguard modern online games.

By the end of this module, you should have the skills to design and implement high-performing, secure networked games, preparing you for the technical realities of online game development in today’s industry.

Compulsory

The modern games industry is always changing, and developers need to adapt to new technologies and work across different platforms. Gain the technical and professional skills to meet these challenges, focusing on mobile game development and game engine extensions.

Learn how to design and optimise games for mobile platforms, tackling the constraints of low-powered devices, battery life and non-traditional interfaces. Explore the wider mobile ecosystem, including publishing, monetisation models, platform requirements and data privacy considerations.

Dive into game engine architecture, gaining experience in extending large codebases, integrating middleware and creating custom tools to streamline workflows. Through hands-on projects, build engine extensions, mobile applications and in-editor tools that reflect real industry practice.

By the end of this module, you should be able to create and optimise mobile games, extend game engines and design custom tools, giving you the skills needed for careers in game development, technical design, and software engineering.

Compulsory

The Individual Project is your chance to bring together everything you’ve learned during your degree in one substantial piece of work. You’ll have the opportunity to show your technical expertise, creativity and independence by tackling a real-world problem or area of interest within your discipline. 
  
Develop valuable skills in research, project planning and professional practice, while demonstrating your ability to design, implement and evaluate a complete solution. This project is also a great opportunity to create a portfolio piece that showcases your abilities to future employers or for further study. 

Compulsory

Learn how to create high-quality 3D visuals for games using advanced technical processes. Develop skills in shader programming, particle systems, and GPU-based effects to bring realistic and visually striking environments to life.

Explore the physics and mathematics behind visual effects, translating light, motion and mechanics into code, while learning to balance realism with artistic style to achieve compelling results. Gain an introduction to procedural and AI-driven techniques, giving you insight into how modern studios create complex worlds efficiently and the ethical debates surrounding these tools.

By the end of this module, you should be able to design and implement sophisticated graphics systems that push both performance and creativity in game development, covering topics such as physics-based effects, GPU shader programming, artistic visual design, procedural content generation and ethical considerations of AI-driven tools.

Compulsory

Go behind the scenes of game engines, exploring how their core systems, like animation, physics and rendering, work together. Learn how to design and implement these systems for performance, scalability and integration.

Through hands-on development, build your own game engine from the ground up using a low-level programming language. Work with modern APIs, apply advanced programming practices and manage large, complex codebases. Integrate third-party middleware, test performance, and optimise systems for efficiency.

By the end of this module, you should have the technical and practical expertise to understand, design and develop sophisticated game engines, giving you valuable skills for careers in game technology and software engineering.

Compulsory

Games aren’t just for entertainment, they can also teach, train and make a real difference in people’s lives. Gain an introduction to the field of serious games, where game design is used to create meaningful impact in areas like education, healthcare, training and social change.

Explore the theories, methods and technologies behind serious game design, learning how to create engaging and effective interactive experiences that go beyond fun. Through hands-on prototyping, user testing and critical reflection, gain the skills to design, build and evaluate serious games using commercial engines and emerging technologies such as VR and AR.

By the end of this module, you should know how to design serious games that are impactful and innovative, measure their success, and critically assess their role in solving real-world problems.

Compulsory

Modern studios want their games to reach as many players as possible, which means making titles that run smoothly across multiple consoles and platforms. Gain advanced technical knowledge and hands-on skills to design and optimise high-performance, cross-platform games.

Learn how modern game engines work at their core, explore how consoles handle CPU/GPU interactions and use tools like shaders to harness the power of parallel computing. Along the way, develop the ability to optimise performance, debug efficiently and deliver a consistent gameplay experience across different platforms.

By the end of this module, you should understand the architectures, tools and best practices used in professional console game development and be ready to apply them in real-world scenarios.

Compulsory