Games Art BA (Hons)

Explore the captivating and fascinating history of game playing and associated game theory, and delve into the present-day impact of electronic gaming on commercial, ethical, and societal factors. Research and interrogate the wider social, ethical and global context of games production and consumption.

Learn about, and put into practice, the principles of screen art that will serve as the foundation for your course. Throughout this module, you'll sharpen your skills and begin the journey of exploring perspective drawing, digital drawing and painting. You'll do this with a focus on the core elements of art theory such as line, shape, colour, form, texture, space, movement, and rhythm.

Refine your digital art skills as you build your knowledge of anatomical figure drawing, digital drawing and painting through projects focusing on concept art, UI design and board game design.

Gain the skills and knowledge needed to create digital models and designs. You will learn about polygonal modelling, surfacing, and lighting techniques. In addition, workshops on life drawing will strengthen your understanding of the human form, combined with research into traditional visual art forms like painting.

Building on the knowledge you developed in Introducing 2D Digital Art, you will further apply your understanding of 2D practices to choose from a range of briefs where you will progress your skills. These might include character and environment art, tabletop game art, 2D sprite-based game or puzzle game art.

Based on the 3D skills you developed in Year One, you will progress your abilities and widen your knowledge of digital modelling and lookdev. You will be introduced to digital sculpting and programs such as Substance Painter. Additional workshops in anatomical drawing and clay modelling will reinforce your understanding of 3D form enhanced by active production research into natural, architectural, prop, and costume detail.

Through active participation with team-based problem solving, you will work together in mixed teams on a project where you will use your creative ideas to generate solutions to the challenge or brief. Your project will allow you to explore how creativity can make an impact in society, as you choose a theme of sustainability, social justice, enterprise and innovation or community. This collaborative learning experience will expose you to a range of new processes and approaches that will develop your creative thinking.

The aim of this module is to bring together like-minded game development students from Games Art and Games Design. Together, you'll work on projects to bring game ideas to life. Each project will be unique and challenge your collaborative skills and technical abilities, including one set by an industry partner.

Explore the creative potential of storyboarding in this optional module. Learn how to plan visual narratives for film, TV, and media using filmic language, script breakdown, and pre-production techniques. Taught in mixed-course groups, the module supports collaboration and personalisation. You'll develop storyboards from concept to final visuals, gaining practical skills and industry insight.

Explore character creation through both traditional and experimental methods in this optional module. You'll examine what makes characters compelling and develop original concepts for storytelling across media. With the chance to personalise your learning and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll present your work in visual and/or written form, building creative and transferable skills.

Explore frame-by-frame filmmaking through process-led animation in this optional module. Develop your creative and analytical skills using experimental techniques like pixilation and morphing. With opportunities to personalise your learning and collaborate across disciplines. You'll produce an innovative moving image piece, either individually or in a group and gain insight into animation's wider artistic and cultural contexts.

On this module you will learn key performance techniques associated with acting, dance and puppetry, incorporating Laban theory of movement and applying motion capture to a digital avatar for a range disciplines.

This optional module introduces the principles of tabletop game design, including board and card games. You'll analyse existing games, develop and test your own concept, and produce a working prototype with final artwork. It offers the chance to personalise your learning and collaborate with students from other courses, while building creative, communication and problem-solving skills.

‘Interactive narrative’ is a form of digital storytelling that blends visuals, text, and user choices, where decisions impact the story’s direction and outcome. You will complete the entire interactive narrative workflow, from pre-visualisation and production to distribution. Your project could be an interactive game, storyboard or book, fashion story, dialogue-based training simulation, or more.

You will analyse existing interactive narratives through play, identifying what makes them meaningful and engaging through group activities and discussion. This will inform your own written and visual concepts, which you will pitch during a formative assessment, developing your project management, time management, and communication skills.

Based on feedback and peer-testing, you will refine your concept into a creative, functional prototype. For your final summative assessment, you will create a screen-based interactive experience with visuals and sound assets in a simple game engine.

You will have the option to use a combination of traditional and digital tools, including open-source applications and industry-standard software. This approach will empower you to continue these practices beyond graduation, promoting a lifelong learning mindset.

This module provides a detailed exploration of Virtual Production, a cutting-edge filmmaking technique that integrates live-action footage with digital environments in real-time. Students will explore a range of advanced technologies such as CGI, augmented reality, motion capture, and LED walls in order to shoot content using immersive and realistic virtual sets. The module will introduce students to the workflow of Virtual Production, from pre-visualisation and real-time engine integration to in-camera visual effects and performance capture.

This Year 2 optional module introduces fantasy prop design for industries like film, TV, theatre, and games. You'll learn 3D CAD and traditional making techniques to create imaginative, functional props. The module covers concept development, digital modelling, prototyping, and final production, culminating in a tangible artefact and a portfolio developing both creative and technical skills for industry application.

We have an option for all of our students to undertake a placement year and allow you to decide whether this is right for you once you have completed years 1 and 2 of your course. This time spent working in industry provides our students with crucial work experience, which is highly prized and much sought after by employers upon graduation. If you are successful in securing a placement you will have the chance to gain an additional Certificate or Diploma in Professional Practice, dependent on duration.

The additional placement year incurs a fee. For international students considering the transfer to the 4-yr SW route it's important to seek advice from the International Student Support team and the Home Office regarding any potential visa implications and costs. For UK students, advice should also be sought regarding SLC eligibility, if applicable.

* If you choose to take the sandwich route option, you will need to apply for this course by using the full-time UCAS code.

If you're studying on our sandwich route you can also opt to study abroad for a full academic year, or for a semester, during Year Three. This is an optional and additional period of study that complements your degree at NTU as an alternative to taking a work placement.

This is an exciting opportunity to experience a different national culture, teaching and learning styles and subjects in an international environment. The destination university must be a year abroad / exchange partner of NTU or member of a formally recognised scheme such as the International Student Exchange Programme (ISEP).

Our NTU Global and student mobility team will support you in finding the right opportunity from one of the many international partners available around the world.

Successful completion of a period of international study will earn you a standalone award an International Study Certificate (minimum six weeks) or the International Study Diploma (minimum 36 weeks).

Assess your previous learning and specialised direction to focus your final year effort towards building your graduate profile. Throughout the module, you will identify and evidence the required professional knowledge and skills aligning with your future goals in your final showcase and reflect upon the progression of your creative and technical processes and outcomes.

Building on the collaborative skills you have developed in Year Two, you'll have the opportunity to work with other screen arts students to fully develop a group project with a negotiated outcome or with an industry partner. You'll explore audio and visual storytelling as a group, working as a multi-disciplinary team to effectively respond to a brief.

Define yourself as a games designer through personal projects. Develop your projects and reflect upon their degree of success either as individual self-directed project/s or as a primary creative on other students' projects. You'll be challenged to display your mastery of industry-standard digital tools to create stunning visual aesthetics and your ability to critically evaluate technological research to shape your game design and decision-making.