Computer Games Design with Animation

Learn how to create animated characters and immersive environments to give players exciting gaming experiences.

Our BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design with Animation degree combines technical and artistic skills, making you highly sought after within the industry. We’ll cover the three main types of games animation – motion capture, hand-keyed animation and technical animation – and will give you the chance to specialise.

You’ll devise 3D character models, get them to move around using body mechanics, and equip them with props, vehicles and weapons. Whether creating a desert, street, castle or spaceship as a backdrop, you’ll also master game environments.

And to ensure your real-time animation models actually work in a games engine, you will study games design and aspects of programming too.

As the largest games department in the UK, we have lots of industry contacts, including Flix Interactive, Sumo Digital, Cloud Imperium Games and animation experts Carse and Waterman. It means you’ll graduate work-ready, with connections and an impressive portfolio.

You’ll be following in the footsteps of our award-winning games students, including those who’ve landed jobs with top studios.

The course has been developed to meet the needs of the booming games industry. But the animation skills you learn will also be relevant to other fields, such as film and virtual production.

Our staff bring a wealth of expertise as games professionals and academics. It means you’ll receive practical advice and guidance that’s both relevant and up-to-date.

You’ll have access to industry-standard facilities as well. These include our high-tech Vicon motion capture studio and a specialist games centre featuring the Unreal games engine. We also have a VR and mixed reality lab, with green screens and wall projections.

Other facilities include hundreds of PCs and games development possibilities with Sony, Vive, Oculus and more.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design with Animation

Year One Core: 3D Game Props: Pipeline and Production; Introduction to Asset Creation; Introduction to Games Animation; Introduction to Games Design; Mechanics Prototyping; Project Management for Games Desing
Year Two Core: Junior Collaborative Games Development
Year Two Optional: 3D Character Modelling for Games; Advanced Realtime Technologies; Art of Lighting; Cinematics for Games Designers; Game Engines and Animation Systems; Hand Keyed Animation; Hard Surface 3D Vehicle Production; Hard Surface 3D Weapon Production; Modular 3D Game Environments; Motion Capture and Animation; Prototyping 3D Asserts
Year Three Core: Games Development Project; Senior Collaborative Games Development; Emergent Games Technologies; Procedural Development and VFX
Year Three Optional: Advanced Modelling Showcase; Body Mechanics for Animators

Your course will provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of your subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark. Each module normally includes practice or ‘formative’ assessments, for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades you receive for them do not count towards your module mark. There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. This includes a range of coursework assessments, such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations, final year, independent project and written examinations. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark.