Game Design and Production
Entry requirements
A level
Entry into Year 2 with AAB to include two from Art, Computer Science, Maths, Music and Design Technology
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Entry into Year 2 with 34 Points to include 3 Higher subjects at grade 4 to include 2 subjects from Visual Art, Computer Science, Maths, Design Technology and Music
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Business Creative Media Production IT
Scottish Advanced Higher
Entry into Year 2 to include two from Graphic Communication, Art, Computer Science, Maths, Design & Manufacture and Music
Scottish HNC
Entry into Year 1 with an HNC in one of the following:- 3D Computer Animation - Graded Unit B Computer Arts & Design - Graded Unit B Computer Games Development - Graded Unit B Computing - Graded Unit B Next Gen Computing - Graded Unit M Cyber Security - Graded Unit B Creative Industries - Graded Unit B Digital Design & Development - Graded Unit B Digital Design & Development (Games/Games Development) - Graded Unit B Interactive Media - Graded Unit B
Scottish HND
Entry into Year 2 with an HND in one of the following:- 3D Computer Animation - Graded Unit B Computer Arts & Design - Graded Unit B Computer Games Development - Graded Unit B Digital Design & Development (Games) - Graded Unit B Entry into Year 1 with an HND in one of the following:- Computer Science - Graded Unit B Computing: Networking - Graded Unit B Computing: Software Development - Graded Unit B Computing: Technical Support - Graded Unit B Creative Industries - Graded Unit B Digital Design & Development - Graded Unit B Visual Communication Graphic Design - Graded Unit B
Scottish Higher
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
Developed for creative and technically minded people with a desire to become a key part of the games industry, this degree is designed to make you work-ready, teaching you game concept and asset creation, game prototyping, and production and leadership skills.
Abertay’s BA (Hons) in Game Design and Production is within its renowned School of Design and Informatics, one of the most prestigious schools for videogames education in the world. The course is accredited by TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games industry.
Learn key aspects of game making and development, such as level design, concept development and project management. You will also have the opportunity to work alongside artists and programmers in small development teams to collaborate on project briefs set by media and computer games companies.
Having launched the world's first computer games degree in 1997, Abertay has been instrumental in building the city of Dundee as a global hub for computing and gaming.
Abertay is ranked:
• Top university in the UK and throughout Europe for Video Games Education (Princeton Review 2015, 2016. 2017. 2018, 2019, 2020)
• UK University of the Year 2021 - Teaching Quality (The Times/ Sunday Times Good University Guide)
• UK Top 10 - Student Satisfaction & Teaching (Guardian Good University Guide 2021)
• UK Top 10 - Student Satisfaction (National Student Survey 2020)
Modules
Year 1 core modules (subject to change over time) - DES101 Developing Game Concepts; DES102 Game Art Production; DES105 Game Engines and Principles of Programming; DES103 Quality Assurance and User Experience; DES104 Game Studies and Criticism.
You will also be required to select one elective module. For detailed module information please check our website.
Assessment methods
You will spend around 15 hours per week in lectures, tutorials and practical activities, with the remainder of your time spent in self-directed learning. Lectures, tutorials and practical activities increase your understanding of the subject and allow you to develop competencies in technological, theoretical and collaborative work. A large proportion of the course revolves around making games and building a portfolio that demonstrates your skills and specific area of creative practice.
During first and second year, your work will mostly be assessed through practical coursework, presentations and reflective essays. In later years, taught module assessment is by a mixture of exams, critical essays and coursework. Project modules are assessed through the submission of conceptual work, design solutions, interactive media products and project reports. The final year dissertation and project allows you to focus on a specific topic within design and production and develop a specialist area of expertise.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Abertay Campus
School of Design and Informatics
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer games and animation
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer games and animation
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a relatively new subject area for this kind of data, so we don’t currently have very much information to display or analyse yet. Gaming is a growing industry, and if it continues to grow we should see the rather high unemployment rate coming down over the next few years. Much the most common jobs for graduates who do get work after six months are in programming roles - but as things stand, be aware that jobs in the field are very competitive and personal contacts - either through family, friends or via specialist employment agencies - are a crucial way into the industry so be prepared to talk as well as code!
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Computer games and animation
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£26k
£30k
£34k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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