Games Design Level 3

A1 - Skills Development - this module involves learing the key skills needed to be a games designer including 3D modelling, 3D/2D animation, 2D sprite design and concept art. The learners work on mini briefs that all add towards their skills building portfolio in preparation for their final first year project.

A2 - Creative Project - the learners are able to choose the skills and techniques that they have enjoyed the most and had the most success with in order to produce a final piece for the first year final major project.

B1 - Personal Progression - this module focuses on preparing the learners for their future progression. They explore the different options available to them and set targets to achieve their goals. Additional skills and techniques are included in this module such as branding, logo design, interview techniques and video production.

B2 - Creative Industry Response - throughout the second year of the course the learners explore different ways of making games producing prototypes and demos before starting their final major project where they are able to create the games of their choice. This is the time for the learners to shine by combining all of their skills to create final game to showcase at the end of year showcase event.

4 GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English & maths. If you do not have grade 4 or above in both subjects, the minimum for the other subject is grade 3 or a full Level 2 at Pass grade or above with maths & English grades equivalent to those stated above. Students with grade 3 in either English or maths will be expected to re-take that subject in Year 1.

Demonstrate creative flair at your interview and have experience in art & graphics. It is also an advantage if you have experience/knowledge of using Adobe Photoshop, 3D Design or Adobe Flash animation. You will be invited to attend a ‘taster’ session to find out more about the course.

After the course, you can study at college or university at a higher level in Games Design, or use the skills and experience you have gained to progress further in your career in the games or multimedia industries.

Enquiry

The games industry is continuing to grow at an astonishing rate and is now the highest grossing entertainment sector. The local region now has an abundance of high profile games companies such as Rockstar North, Red Kite Games and Rebellion all based in Yorkshire. Not only this but there are a number of well established university courses in the local area that supply new creative talent to the games industry. Our Games Design Practice course teaches individuals a range of design disciplines inorder to help them to specialise and prepare for future progression in to the games industry. It also teaches a number of transferable skills that could be applied to social media work, graphic design, animation, illustration and project management alongside the core skills required for employment and freelance work.

Students in this course have been on trips and visits including visiting the National Science and Media Museum to experince retro games, York to reseach the architecture and see the National Railway Museum, and the Royal Armouries in Leeds to provide reference material for concept drawings. We also run trips to local universities for taster days and take part in activities run by Bradford based Impact Gamers. In recent years we have visited EGX in London which is the largest gaming showcase in the Uk.

Games Design Practice Level 3 is a fantastic course for exploring a range of creative skills as it allows the flexibilty to tailor your skill set as you progress through the course. You will explore different techniques including 3D modelling, 3D animation, 2D animation, concept art as well as 3D and 2D games design. This is done through a range of design projects linked to each skill, with the final project in each year allowing the freedom to specialise in whichever method suits you. You will use games industry standard design software such as Autodesk 3DS Max, Blender, Unreal Engine 5. You will also learn Adobe software incluiding Photoshop, Illustrator, Animate and Premiere Pro. There are no exams and all of the assessment is carried out using coursework and project based assignments. As well as the creative design modules there is a module based on the learners exploring and planning their own personal progression to helps to ensure that they are well prepared for future aspirations.

A large number of students progress on to university courses having great success. Some have started to explore the world of freelance work before they have even finished the course.

The end of year showcase was the perfect way to finish the year and was a very proud moment for all of the team. The learners from the creative courses (Games Design, Art and Media) organised the showcase event which included playable games, graphic design, photography, short films and artwork. It was a delight to see employers, family, friends and prosepective student attend and the overwhelmingly positive feedback received was a real creidt to the hardwork put in by the students.