Games design has deep behavioural, and psychological underpinnings, which will be covered here. You will obtain a solid understanding of topics such as knowledge, intelligence and memory, behavioural economics, social mechanics, conditioning, habit forming, and reinforcement. You will be introduced to systems design and the structural forms associated with sustainable fun, progression and replayability concerning a cross-section of genres and experiential goals.
You must have a sufficient understanding of the technical aspects of game development so that you can produce your prototypes, explore mechanics and create fully-fledged games. Continue learning how to develop fun and enhance your abilities in gameplay scripting as you iterate on a range of 2D and 3D games.
Explore the cutting edge of game development by engaging with the vast research published within the field. Learn how research can be used as an additional tool to enhance your games. For example, design a game using VR and Neuralfeedback, which allows you to use brain activity to influence the game. Use eye-tracking technology to understand player behaviour or even as a mechanic itself. Use state-of-the-art user experience techniques to create innovative mechanics and intuitive interfaces. As part of this module, this is an opportunity to compete in an annual game design competition internationally recognised and seen by several industry members.
Having developed games in a team, it is now your turn to manage a small group as you oversee the development of games, from original concepts and documentation to testing and polishing.
Enhance your game development skills and build on the creative process. Throughout the module, you will complete a series of games and engage with professional critiques of games made by your peers. This process is designed to challenge your boundaries and as a method to recognise your creative identity. This module is designed to identify your creative voice explicitly and pulls together skills learned throughout the degree so far.
Level design is the method through which we develop physical spaces for our players to experience; as designers, we want these spaces to not only provide a set of practical challenges for the player but they should also engender feelings and emotions. This module looks at various techniques that can be applied across single and multiplayer levels for first or third-person games in both single and multiplayer forms.
Study the many elements of a game engine, then design and develop your 2D game engine.
This module explains the basic features and concepts of GUI Programming and the creation of tools, applications/plugins, etc., with various uses within a game’s development environment.
Learn a range of AI techniques commonly used in the games industry, including; pathfinding, finite state machines and behaviour trees.
The module introduces students to the fundamental algorithms, theory, principles, methods and techniques of 2D and 3D computer graphics. The mathematical underpinnings are covered in further detail from the level 4 Math for Software Development module. You will develop skills in implementing and developing computer graphic applications with C++ and standard graphics libraries (such as OpenGL) within a games programming context. The shader pipeline is also introduced, with you producing shader programs for your graphics applications.