BSc (Hons) Games, Design and Animation Bachelor's degree at West London

Explore how media and design have developed over the years through changes in technology and society.

Undertake the individual research for your major project work whilst learning industry-standard software.

Understand the principles and inter-connectedness of the creative sectors and acquire the essential skills for success.

You will work in groups to produce content showcased in the UWL's interactive magazine FOUND.

This module will enable you to read critically, present an argument and distinguish between the quality and suitability of materials. It will prepare you to use and evaluate a range of evidence sources throughout your degree.

An opportunity for you to reflect on the skills and qualities that you already have and to identify those that you need to acquire.

This module will explore the process of developing visual concepts, culminating in the creation of high-impact 3D models with the use of industry-standard software Maya.

This module studies how games utilise narrative, and how to utilise narrative design within a game idea: from building characters, to describing a game world, to implementing a branching storyline in a text-adventure game. This module also briefly explores the story of our own industry.

Game development is a complex endeavour, and this module seeks to bring about an understanding of the full game development pipeline by providing you with an open brief: to create a game asset. Taught content includes a wide-spanning overview of asset creation, but also a deeply specific study of Unity Engine and an in-depth look into C# programming, unlocking your ability to work on more complex projects in Level 5 and beyond.

Furthering upon the concepts explored in Visual Studies, this module expands skills in 3D modelling through use of industry-standard software Blender.

Unreal Engine is a major tool in the creation of modern games. In this module, you'll be introduced to this essential application and learn many of the basics, including blueprint design and many others.

Game design is the study of how games function: what makes them fun, and what sets them apart from each other. This module explores these topics through the creation of many simple physical games which explore key topics, and culminates in the creation of a completed card, board, or tabletop game.

Beginning with an exploration of abstraction models of facial design, and progressing through observational drawing and clay modelling, you will develop your understanding of proportion and human anatomical features. You will then use the industry-standard software ZBrush to model a character, exploring various problems and the tools to overcome them.

You will gain first-hand experience of building an animation in stages, from layout to blocking through to animation and refinement. At the end of the module, you will have created and documented the development of a piece of character animation that will show your ability to generate a considered and emotional performance.

Following the study of game design and programming in Level 4, Game Flow further expands upon these ideas: allowing you to build real game projects in complex and industry-standard software from the ground up for the very first time.

The study of UI and UX is essential for modern developers of all types, and this module jumps straight into design theory for applications, menus, and more using industry-standard software and approaches.

Building upon the framework of previous modules, Experimental Games allows you to break the rules. Through confidence in your abilities as designers, programmers, and artists, this module further solidifies the understanding of what a game is, and what it has not yet been.

This module investigates the ways in which fictional worlds and universes are constructed using concepts of media convergence, transmedia storytelling, intertextuality, adaption, genre and franchising to analyse the theory and practice of worldbuilding. By considering creators, audiences and the blurred boundaries between them, you will examine a variety of 'subcreations' or 'heterocosms' within their creative, industrial and cultural settings (e.g. Dune, Harry Potter, Assassin's Creed, Star War

The business of games can feel separated from daily development tasks: but in reality, it is closer than you could realise. This module explores key topics of entrepreneurship and business management, and simulates the creation of a games product in a theoretical newly-formed company managed by yourselves.

Game audio is core to the overall experience of gameplay. This module explores the subjects of audio in games, utilising many of the core theories and approaches for applying sound to our games.

For game and software development, project management is an essential tool for ensuring that projects succeed. This module simulates the project management process for a funded game project and explores many of the core theories that allow us to complete incredibly expensive and complex projects within scope, budget, and on schedule.

The games industry is plenty larger than just development. This module explores the wider opportunities in games; from designing games-as-a-service systems to professional media design, and more. This module also supports students in preparing them for the next steps in building a professional profile.

In the final year of your degree course, you will create your own project with a high degree of independence. You will be allocated a supervisor and then given the freedom to create a piece of work, which you feel really represents you as a student. You will be guided and supported, but this is your vision and your chance to show the world what you have achieved while you've been at UWL.