MSc Commercial Games Development

Content

You will study the following compulsory modules:

• Commercial Games Studio - In this module you will focus on the development of commercial entertainment software products in a real-world industry setting. It will involve working on commercial projects slated for release or stakeholder handover.
• Games Research and Development - Immerse yourself in this rapidly moving stream of innovation and learn how to deploy serious games design and technology across a range of contexts and emerging application areas. This module forms the basis of a portfolio providing an entry point to research and development within the Games industry and also to academic research and real-world application.
• Creative Technology Dissertation - You will work independently to plan and manage a complex creative technology research project over an extended period of time, and complete it by a given deadline.

The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved, we will inform you.

Learning and Teaching

The two taught modules will use collaborative game development techniques to help you develop both individual games development skills and advanced team working skills within your cross-disciplinary PlayWest dev-team.

Staff will be embedded in the activities acting as Technical Lead and Producer in PlayWest, leading teams and individuals under industry conditions.

You will use reflective video logs as effective industry and academic resources. Game jam learning will be used for producing prototypes, strengthening group dynamics and fostering continuing professional development and communities of practice.

For more details, see our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.

Study time

The MSc Commercial Games Development is offered as a full-time course over 12 months or a part-time course over 24 months.

For the full-time route, the two taught modules are spread across the first six to eight months, followed by a final 60-credit dissertation project.

For the part-time route, you will do the Games Research and Development module in the first year, and the Commercial Games Studio and dissertation in the second.

For the full-time route, you will be expected to attend two full contact days a week during the taught component of the course, one for each module. Similarly, for the part-time route, you will be expected to attend one full contact day a week for that year's module. In either case, the rest of the week is expected to be self-directed study time, with the recommendation that you work independently. If you are working on external client projects, you will have access to the Foundry collaboration space.

Assessment

We will use a variety of assessment tools appropriate to the modules.

For the Commercial Games Studio module, you will submit a game development portfolio of completed games and associated industry design and technical documentation with group and individual vivas.

For the Games Research and Development module, assessment will be through video development logs, prototypes, industry standard documentation and an academic report in the style of a research or technical paper.

For more detail, see our full glossary of assessment terms.