Game Design and Production

Developed for creative and technically minded people with a desire to become a key part of the games industry, this degree is designed to make you work-ready, teaching you game concept and asset creation, game prototyping, and production and leadership skills.

Abertay’s BA (Hons) in Game Design and Production is within its renowned School of Design and Informatics, one of the most prestigious schools for videogames education in the world. The course is accredited by TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games industry.

Learn key aspects of game making and development, such as level design, concept development and project management. You will also have the opportunity to work alongside artists and programmers in small development teams to collaborate on project briefs set by media and computer games companies.

Having launched the world's first computer games degree in 1997, Abertay has been instrumental in building the city of Dundee as a global hub for computing and gaming.

Abertay is ranked:
• Top university in the UK and throughout Europe for Video Games Education (Princeton Review 2015, 2016. 2017. 2018, 2019, 2020)
• UK University of the Year 2021 - Teaching Quality (The Times/ Sunday Times Good University Guide)
• UK Top 10 - Student Satisfaction & Teaching (Guardian Good University Guide 2021)
• UK Top 10 - Student Satisfaction (National Student Survey 2020)

Year 1 core modules (subject to change over time) - DES101 Developing Game Concepts; DES102 Game Art Production; DES105 Game Engines and Principles of Programming; DES103 Quality Assurance and User Experience; DES104 Game Studies and Criticism.

You will also be required to select one elective module. For detailed module information please check our website.

You will spend around 15 hours per week in lectures, tutorials and practical activities, with the remainder of your time spent in self-directed learning. Lectures, tutorials and practical activities increase your understanding of the subject and allow you to develop competencies in technological, theoretical and collaborative work. A large proportion of the course revolves around making games and building a portfolio that demonstrates your skills and specific area of creative practice.
During first and second year, your work will mostly be assessed through practical coursework, presentations and reflective essays. In later years, taught module assessment is by a mixture of exams, critical essays and coursework. Project modules are assessed through the submission of conceptual work, design solutions, interactive media products and project reports. The final year dissertation and project allows you to focus on a specific topic within design and production and develop a specialist area of expertise.