Computer Games Design at the University of South Wales is all about design and creative skills. Computer Games Design students study the key concepts of games design, from illustration, character design, 3D modelling to game mechanics and conceptual skills to pitching and project management, utilising a thorough design process throughout. We simulate industry practices that teach you how to be a designer within a team and realise your creative projects through prototyping, testing and development to finished playable games.
The University’s Computer Games Design course is one of the oldest and most established Games Design courses in the UK. It has an international reputation for its teaching, research, alumni and quality student experience. Here at the University, we have a belief in the significance of the independent games sector, so we are pioneering a new approach to computer games design. Our inventive Games programme focuses on the creative and artistic aspects of contemporary games production and we believe it’s up to you to challenge established notions of gaming and the gamer. We emphasise your ability to think, research and experiment in combination with traditional design principles.
Along with our staff team of internationally respected academics and practioners, the games course has proven links with game industry leaders, providing guest lecturers, artists, designers and journalists for you to learn from. This means that when you graduate from Games Design, you are fully prepared as a creative practitioner who can really make a difference. Our students can enter industry in a number of roles, from the traditional art positions such as concept artist, modeller, animator, to designers, level designers and many other roles within the computer games design industry.
We will challenge you from the very start of the course with a series of short individual and group projects. There is a wide-ranging support programme of lectures, talks, seminars, weekly drawing sessions and technical workshops. We offer advanced support, masterclasses and access to professional level equipment and software. These are complemented by our extensive and wide-ranging industry contacts. Throughout their time at the University, students will produce playable game prototypes, playtest and realise polished and playable games.
As your thinking develops and your skills improve we push you further by exploring the key ideas that are driving the industry. Longer, group-based, industry focused projects are vital as you develop your own ideas, visual language, technical skills and working methods, as well as meeting industry professionals and presenting your work to them.
In the final year we will expect you to deliver a large-scale professional production, supported by advanced workshops, seminars and tutorials. We will want to see you demonstrate your understanding of your work and its context, in your creative design and in your writing.
Enthusiasm for the industry is essential at every stage and throughout the course; professional industry practice will need to be mirrored in attitude and production.
A 
programme specification is available for this course.
Assessment
To ensure you have the skills to cope in the industry, we assess you through presentations, group work, development diaries, writing and designing your portfolio, providing feedback as you progress.
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Adam MartinAdam is a digital experimenter, focusing on interaction design and user experience. He lectures in Games and Interactive Design, specialising in mobile apps and tangible interfaces. Richard HurfordRichard has a background in Computing and Interaction Design having graduated from the University of Wales, Newport postgraduate programme in 2005 with an MA in Design (New Media & Technology). Corrado MorganaCorrado Morgana is an artist, electronic musician, curator and educator. He is currently programme leader for Computer Games Design at University of Wales Newport. |
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| Optional Items |
Costs |
| Art Materials (Typical Spend) |
£150 |
| Trips (Typical Spend) |
£150 per year |
| Development Computer and Peripherals (Typical Spend) |
£1000 |
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Students have the opportunity to attend GameCity in Nottingham, an international festival of videogames in october. This involves attending seminars, presentations, meeting games developers and journalistss and playing the latest innovative titles.
Our students have had major success at Dare to be Digital, Global Game Jam and in many competitions, with BAFTA nominations, BAFTA Cymru awards and Welsh Graduate Design awards. Our students have also received industry funding to develop their projects and release their games via Steam and Windows Mobile platforms. Our students have presented their work at industry events such as GameCity and Develop and have also been cited in Develop’s 30 under 30 game development rising stars.
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Newport Graduates Win Top Games AwardNewport graduates Jenny Peers and Andre da Silva were recently awarded a Best of Welsh Graduate Design Award for their Thread Bear 3D adventure computer game as part of Cardiff Design Festival.
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Teaching takes place in our first class studios equipped on high performance workstations with Maya, Unity, UDK, Gamemaker and Adobe Creative Suite Software. |
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Where next?
Graduates from the course find employment in the games industry, primarily in games design, but also developing concept art, animation and level design. Our graduates have also found success in contemporary advertising, motion graphics and illustration.
Computer Games Design Alumni have entered employment with industry notables such as Electronic Arts, Blitz, Rocksteady, Rare, Creative Assembly and Lionhead, amongst others. Many of our students have started their own companies and have won awards such as Bafta Cymru, Dare to be Digital and the Welsh Graduate Design Awards, releasing their games on Steam and mobile.