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Different course options

Study mode

Full time

Duration

1 year

Start date

23-SEP-24

Key information
DATA SOURCE : IDP Connect

Qualification type

MA - Master of Arts

Subject areas

Computer Games Design

Course type

Taught

Course Summary

Want to take your career to the next level? Raise your game with our Master’s in Games Development. Designed to build your understanding of advanced game development techniques, extend your knowledge of the games business, and enhance your transferable skills, this course is the ideal next step for ambitious games graduates.

Course Details

Games are serious business. The industry needs professionals with in-depth technical games knowledge and creative vision combined with business know-how and marketing expertise. The University of Bolton’s MA in Games Development offers you the chance to grow your skills and confidence in all these areas, gaining experience as a developer, and graduating with at least one credit on a published game to your name.

Designed around team-based development projects, the course involves you working with other students to form and run ‘indie’ style teams. Our highly-experienced games team will support and encourage you as you learn to plan, design, develop and publish games.

We will work to further extend your already substantial understanding of game development concepts and production methods, helping you master an arsenal of advanced tools and techniques to create compelling and inventive experiences.

Alongside these games-specific skills, we offer commercial and business knowledge for the creative sector; for instance, business planning, client negotiation, pitching for projects, responding to project briefs, intellectual property licencing and marketing campaign planning. Our academic team will provide critical support while helping you hone your project management and other transferable skills, ready to progress your career in the industry.

Key Features:

  • This course offers intensive practical experience in an environment designed to emulate conditions in the industry - you will be expected to spend approximately 30 hours per week in our development studio.
  • Our well-equipped, dedicated games studios feature high-specification hardware and industry-standard software, along with modern and vintage consoles.

Career Opportunities

You will gain extensive experience of designing and creating computer games, working in small teams and independently. You will develop clear and demonstrable skills in project management, team working, communication, leadership and negotiation, and utilise industry-standard tools and techniques including HTC Vive and the Apple iOS Developer Programme.

You will graduate with at least one personal credit on a published game. You will also be exposed to running an indie company, developing your entrepreneurial skills and business knowledge which will support you as an independent developer or to support your career in a larger games development studio. Moreover, the emerging field of ‘gamification’ – using game elements, design and principles in fields such as business, education and healthcare – offers enormous potential for games graduates with a flair for introducing fun into mundane tasks.

Modules

This module enables you to critically assess and respond to the implications of the various criteria that public bodies attach to grants or tax relief. A typical example would be the cultural test for video games tax relief that was introduced in the United Kingdom in 2014. The idea is that you will specify and develop a game prototype in a team. As part of the reflective process at the end of the project, you will be expected to be able to critique the implications and impacts of such policies, and explain your team's approach to meeting the appropriate criteria.

Tuition fees

UK fees
Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

£7,920

International fees
Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

£13,550

Entry requirements

You should have a Second Class UK Honours degree (2:2) or above, or an equivalent qualification, in an appropriate games-focused subject area that included significant game creation content.