Games Design, BA (Hons)

Our BA (Hons) Games Design degree at UCA Farnham provides a comprehensive programme to help you shape and enhance player experiences while developing innovative game ideas. As a games designer, you'll focus on creating rules, systems, and mechanics that drive engaging gameplay. The course equips you with essential skills in prototyping using game engines, design documentation, research, and experience creation, fostering your creativity and turning concepts into reality. You'll receive guidance from lecturers with extensive experience in AAA studios, ensuring you're well-prepared for a career in the industry upon graduation.The programme is structured across three years: Year 1 covers foundational indie game design, technical basics, and theoretical concepts. Year 2 advances your planning, design, prototyping, and entrepreneurial skills, with options for study abroad. Year 3 explores industry economics, management, copyright, and legal issues, culminating in team-based prototype development and a practice-based dissertation. Related courses include BA (Hons) Comic & Concept Art, Games Animation, Games Arts, and BSc (Hons) Games Development.

Year 1 takes you through the fundamental indie game design processes and introduces technical foundations of design and programming as well as planning. Theoretical units give you a critical and conceptual understanding of your discipline. Year 2 builds on your planning, design and prototyping skills. Approaches to entrepreneurial practice introduced. Theoretical units continue. Study abroad is an option. Year 3 introduces the economics and management of the industry as well as copyright, patents and legal concerns. You will work as part of a team to produce a prototype game. You will write a practice-based dissertation.