Video Games Art and Design BA | Royal Holloway, University of London

The course

This course offers a unique focus on the art and design of video games, with an emphasis on developing your creative and critical skills in story form. You will explore new areas of social and immersive gaming while gaining key business skills to forge successful careers in the creative industries.

This programme is run by the Department of Media Arts as part of our new Centre of Digital Creativity, fusing collaborations between arts and science students. You will have the opportunity to work in a lab environment alongside computer science and electronic engineering students, where you will develop your understanding of how hardware, art, design, software and narrative interact.

From Angry Birds to the Avengers, you will see how games are fused with other creative media disciplines to create franchises and hybrid forms that span multiple platforms and story experiences. You will develop your creative and critical skills beyond games to explore digital media production, including social media, animation, visual effects, interactive and experimental media forms.

You will collaborate with directors, animators, sound designers and interactive artists to bring your game ideas to life and develop skills in interactive art design and story form that enable you to work across games and the wider creative industries.

Course structure

Core Modules

Year 1

In this module you will develop an understanding of a variety of narrative strategies and structures in audio-visual media, in particular, film and television. You will look at narrative form, structure and cultural context, and examine the principles of narrative screenwriting. You will analyse a range of primary and secondary audio-visual and written sources, and create your own short original screenplay, applying relevant formal and presentation conventions.
In this module you will develop an understanding of interactive digital projects and reflect on them in the context of digital media culture, history and theory. You will develop the ability to work iteratively between coding and critical understanding of digital culture. Lectures and practical sessions will revolve around key concepts and practices to obtain a sound understanding of the basics of digital media culture and technology.
Interactive Design
Gameplay: Story, Form, Code

Year 2

In this module you will develop an understanding of the industrial and working practices of UK creative industries in a global context, with a particular focus on the immersive, interactive and creative technologies sectors. You will look at the role of business models, funding sources, financing, regulation and policy in the digital creative industries and consider how these shape creative decision making. You will analyse specific digital creative industry case studies and examine how business models, funding sources, financing, regulation, policy and industry practices impact production.
Game Art, Design and Story
Social and Mobile Games

Year 3

Advanced Game Art, Design and Story
Major Project
Interactive Product Management
Creative Entrepreneurship

Optional Modules

All modules are core

Teaching & assessment

Teaching on this programme is delivered through lectures, workshops, labs and one-to-one supervision.

You will be asked to develop game artwork, storyboards and scripts, prototypes and designs alongside a range of written and oral assessments, including social media, reports and essays.

You will have the opportunity to work in agile development labs with students from electronic engineering and computer science where you will rapidly develop your game ideas to prototype.

You will have access to our newly furnished video games and immersive labs, as well as a range of media production facilities, including motion capture, a TV studio, and editing and post-production suites.

Entry requirements

A Levels: ABB-BBB

Required: At least five GCSE passes at grades A* to C or 9-4, including Maths and English.

Where an applicant is taking the EPQ alongside A - levels, the EPQ will be taken into consideration and result in lower A-level grades being required. Socio - economic factors which may have impacted an applicant's education will be taken into consideration and alternative offers may be made to these applicants.

Other UK Qualifications

International & EU requirements

English language requirements

All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.

The scores we require

IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.

For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please visit here. For international students who do not meet the direct entry requirements, we offer an International Foundation Year, run by Study Group at the Royal Holloway International Study Centre. Upon successful completion, students can progress on to selected undergraduate degree programmes at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Your future career

Over 120 gaming companies are located within 30 minutes of Royal Holloway. The games sector employing over 12,000 people in the UK, and this course draws on significant industry leadership and experience that spans the Hollywood of gaming in nearby Guildford and Aldershot. You will develop a number of transferable skills which are highly prized by companies working in the creative-technology industries.

Fees & funding

Home and EU students tuition fee per year*: £9250

International students tuition fee per year**: £16900

Other essential costs***: TBC

How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, scholarships and bursaries.

*The tuition fee for UK and EU undergraduates is controlled by UK Government regulations, and for students starting a degree in the academic year 2018/19 is £9,250 for that year, and is shown for reference purposes only. The tuition fee for UK and EU undergraduates has not yet been confirmed for students starting a degree in the academic year 2019/20.

^**Fees for international students may increase year-on-year in line with the rate of inflation. The policy at Royal Holloway is that any increases in fees will not exceed 5% for continuing students. For further information see fees and funding and our terms and conditions.

^***These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree programme at Royal Holloway. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing etc., have not been included.