BA (Hons) Computer Arts

Year 2 Core Modules

You must study and pass all five core modules​

Brief description

Develop ability and awareness within the field of 3D art asset creation. Learn to identify and use appropriate 3D techniques to create artefacts for Games, Illustration, Animation, Digital Media and 3D Prints. 

Indicative content:

• Polygon Modelling: Core Polygon modelling techniques for the creation of digital or analogue artefacts.
• Digital Sculpting: Core Sculpting techniques. Core NURBS modelling techniques for the creation of digital or analogue artefacts.
• Textures and materials: The use of textures and materials for specific processes and goals.
• Lighting and Camera implementation: Explanation of the properties of light and lighting/camera set-up.
• Virtual Environments: Creation of 3D environments, displaying an awareness of form, function and design.
• Implementation: Implementation and application of 3D processes within the development and realisation of creativity, conceptualisation and imagination.
• Technologies: The new and evolving technologies in this discipline, and the manner in which they affect practice.
• Interpretation: Demonstrate visual analysis skills as they flow into visual interpretation.

Brief description

Learn to identify and form a critical argument by gaining a set of academic tools to analyse and evaluate issues, trends and work which sits within your area of practice.

Indicative content:

• Historical Traditions of Creative Practice: Through a series of presentations, analyse historical snapshots to discuss the traditions of fields of practice, identifying key practitioners of the time and key works.
• Creative Work in Context: The study of creative works and the ways in which the environmental, political, social and economic context within which it was created can be seen to influence the final form and its reception.
• Art Media History and Current Practices: For a specific area of interest, build connections  between historical practices and current trends in art and media production.
• Forming Critical Arguments: Analyse academic writing around the field of practice to form a case study to enhance understanding of critical argument creation.
• Literature and Critical Arguments: Explore related literature and its role in supporting academic critique.
• Dissemination Practices: Explore traditions and new forms of academic practice to inform research and also the final form of your coursework.

Brief description

The artistic and and technical processes in the field of concept art and production for entertainment such as computer games, film, comics, animation. Explore your field through visual research, observational and digital concept design skills, and industry standard applications to aid your creative process. Produce a portfolio of evidence which exhibits a firm grasp of two dimensional digital production methods through conceptual and practical skills development.

Indicative content:

• Visual Research: Targeted visual research methods appropriate to concept design, building reliable resources via image gathering, scrapbooks, blogs or sketchbooks, online/offline resources.
• Observational Drawing: Drawing from life, expanding beyond reality, concepts grounded in real world scenarios, proving fantastical ideas.
• Concept Incubation: Idea generation, photo collage, sketching, concept development, mood-boarding, thumbnailing, iteration, variation.
• Defining the Domain of Practice: Explore key figures and current trends; historical grounding for genre, cliche, archetype and representation. Evaluate examples of entertainment design for creature, character, vehicle, industrial, product, environment, graphic design. 
• Concept Development: Design drawing, digital painting, 3D layout and sculpting for 2D design, digitising real world sources. 
• Workflows, Process and Pipeline: Identify and assess design problems, identify creative software solutions, employ an effective design pipeline framework. 
• Artefact Creation: Layout design considerations of concept images to effectively present completed work such as for print, pitching, clients, presentation. 

Brief description

The processes and purposes of designing and developing a piece of interactive entertainment and the challenges involved in team based design.

Module content:

• Historical Overview: How games have been designed, prominent genres, styles and techniques.
• Concept and Communication: Conceptualising and communicating ideas, scoping requirements, giving and receiving critique.
• Design Process: Establishing a process, proposing solutions, iteration and documentation.
• Core Design: Working up the concept, graphics, features, setting, story, objectives, levels.
• The Development Team: Roles and responsibilities, scheduling and milestones, inclusive and supportive working.
• Rules and Mechanics: Implementing choices, interactivity, strategies, motivation and reward, balancing gameplay.
• Look and Feel: Establishing a style, ambience, colour and mood, sound effects, and music.
• Cultural and Commercial Awareness: Designing for an audience, markets, genres and platforms.

Brief description

The relationship between written story, performance and visual storytelling in animated sequences. Explore narrative and acting theory in relation to the creation of an animated performance and test these ideas through the creation of and interation upon animated sequence(s). 

Module content:

• Narrative Context: Explore and apply narrative concepts and processes relating to story development for an animated character performance.
• Animation Context: Explore and develop an animated character performance in a narrative context.
• Observational Context: Develop and apply skills for observation from life to an animated performance.
• Pre-Production: Develop appropriate pre-production documentation to support the development of a character performance in a narrative context, such as story beats, storyboards and animatics.
• Believable Movement: Express believable motion, weight, balance and expressive potential through drawing, planning thumbnails and in 3D animated performances.
• Performance-Animator as Actor: Explore the thinking character through observational drawing and performance. Develop technical and conceptual abilities to apply these concepts in the creation of 3D animated performances.
• Non-Verbal Communication: Explore the use and varying degrees of exaggeration of body language, gesture, and facial expression as communicative devices within an animated performance.
• Dialogue: Explore the development, utilisation and refinement of effective and convincing dialogue in an animated performance.
• Acting for Camera: Demonstrate the dramatic use of the visual frame within which the performance occurs. Apply directorial camera techniques demonstrating understanding of film language and cinematography to visually support the performance.
• Presentation: Iterate upon, finalise and compile animated performance(s) to best showcase contextual understanding and practical skills development.

Year 2 Option Modules - Term 2

If you are a Direct Entrant (new student) to this year of study and have not previously taken module ABE101, then you MUST take ABE201 as part of your Microcredential selection. If you have previously taken ABE101 then you are NOT permitted to take ABE201.

Instructions: Please choose a total of TWENTY credits of optional modules in Term 2. This can include microcredential (ABE) modules.

Brief description

Throughout the microcredential you will become familiar with university systems (including the virtual learning environment), consider what attributes make a successful student and develop key successful student habits.

Indicative content

• Navigating Abertay Systems: Be introduced to and understand how to engage with Abertay systems and tools such as MyLearningSpace, MS Teams, OASIS, MyAbertay etc.
• Expectations of University and You: Explore your own and the universities expectations of you and of the university; Consider the code of conduct; independent learning; blended learning; how university is structured; health and safety; and the Abertay attributes.
• Understanding and Searching Information: How scholarly information is generated and disseminated, key characteristics of different information types. Planning, using, and refining appropriate search strategies; online search tools; using a range of web and database search functionality. 
• Successful Student Behaviours: Develop strategies to key successful student behaviours including Defeating Procrastination, Time Management, Notetaking and preparing for classes, Growth Mindset, Accessing student support and opportunities.
• Referencing: Understand what is meant by academic integrity, plagiarism, and the need for appropriate referencing; creating reference lists and in-text citations; use of referencing tools to manage information.
• Sounding Academic: Explore what lecturers mean by “academic style” and “the right language”; Understand what is meant by and how to learn the rules of academic writing characteristics. Consider how this differs between college and university; Learn how to paraphrase. Explore how assessments, marking and feedback works at university.
• Evaluating Information: Using appropriate quality criteria to critically evaluate information from any source to determine authority and bias.

Brief description

This microcredential provides you with the space and time to develop your skills in designing, planning, delivering, and showcasing an artefact responding to the societal issue. The microcredential is flexible and you will have a choice of what and how you create your response.

Indicative content

• The Big Issue: You will be introduced to the big society issue that will be the focus of your artefact response. Learning materials available will help you consider your response to the challenge.
• Developing Ideas: You will think creatively as to how you will respond to the big issue. You will consider your intended artefact aims, outcomes and target audience. 
• Responding to the Challenge: Resources and guidance will be available as you respond to the challenge and create your artefact.
• Preparing for the Showcase: Guidance will be available on how best to showcase your artefact for the assessment. You will develop your presentation skills to support you in showcasing the artefact. 
• Showcase Event: You will attend a showcase event and present your artefact.

Brief description

You will discuss a range of anti-racist approaches and how they apply within the context of professional communications. You will examine case studies and scenarios to identify the nature of bias in society explore ways to be anti-racist especially in professional communications.

Indicative content

• Racial Bias in Society: Using case studies and scenarios to discuss various forms of racism in society, you will explore the need for anti-racist practice in professional communications. 
• Classification of Anti-Racist Practice: This section compares different anti-racists approaches applied across several contexts. You will discuss the challenges and benefits of each approach. You will identify barriers to implementation of anti-racist practice.
• Discuss Anti-Racist Approaches for Successful Professional Communications: You will be introduced to various communications frameworks (e.g. the humanity-centric framework) and will explore scenarios for the application of these frameworks in a range of professional contexts.
• Embedding Anti-Racism in Digital and Social Media Communications: How can you discuss matters of race and anti-racism on digital and social media while maintaining a professional persona. We will examine cases for best practices and explore ways to avoid bigoted language in digital communications. 

Brief description

In this module you will study two ways of analysing language: (i) a basic introduction to conversation analysis and discourse analysis as applied to ordinary talk/texting, and (ii) and introduction text mining, based on identifying patterns and developing insights from text-based data available on the Internet (e.g., social media data, online texts, online reviews etc).

Indicative content

• Conversation Analysis and Talk and Text as Action: A brief overview of the CA focus on language as action; an examination of how people talk in terms of questions, answers, invitations, excuses, justifications etc.; an examination of texting, emojis, misunderstandings.
• Text Mining: Introduction to text mining and its uses in a social sciences and business context; Online data sources; The text mining process: data collection, pre-processing and analysis; effectively communicating and visualising insights from textual data.

Brief description

By the end of this microcredential, you will be able to evaluate and select machine learning algorithms and AWS services to be appropriately applied to different business problems.

Indicative content

• Introduction to Machine Learning: What is ML? ML process, business problem solved with ML, ML tools, Amazon SageMaker, ML challenges, supervised learning (regression, classification), unsupervised learning (clustering, dimensionality reduction), reinforcement learning, etc.
• Implementing a ML pipeline using Amazon Sage Maker: Formulating ML problems, collecting and securing data, extracting, transferring and loading data, evaluating your data, finding corelation, feature engineering, data cleaning, dealing with outliers, training, deployment, performance evaluation, hyperparameters and model tuning.
• Forecasting: Time series analysis, Amazon Forecast, Implementing a forecast model, Stock Predictions.
• Computer Vision: Facial Recognition, Image and Video Analysis, Dataset Preparation.
• Natural Language Processing: Amazon Comprehend, Polly, Translate, and Lex, Creating a chatbot, Alexa, etc.

Brief description

This online module will support you to get familiar with sustainability and introduce you to tools that can help you to understand and reduce your climate impact. By increasing your sustainability self-awareness, you will be able to make a positive difference in your own life, and in the organisations and communities around you.

Indicative content

• What is sustainability and how is it linked to Climate Change?: We define sustainability, enhancing understanding of the links between society, economy, and environment. Climate change is explained and linked to sustainability. We provide clear accessible information about the reliable science of climate change. We describe the need efforts towards limiting human-induced global warming (limiting cumulative CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions). 
• Global Sustainability: We introduce the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. 
• Personal Sustainability: The WWF environmental footprint tool is a great way to start your personal sustainability journey. The planet is in crisis - from climate change to the pollution in our oceans and devastation of our forests. It's up to all of us to fix it. Take your first step with our environmental footprint calculator. 
• Community Sustainability and Climate Resilience: Community climate resilience comes in many forms. In this topic we introduce ideas which can provide multiple benefits of people, planet, and prosperity. We showcase inspiring examples whereby working with natural processes (Biophilic design, blue and green infrastructure) we can connect people with nature to improve their well-being and quality of life, whilst simultaneously tackling climate change and storing carbon.
• Global Solutions: What is the world doing about it? What impact do Global Climate and Biodiversity agreements (COP26 etc) really have? What’s happening here? Where are the challenges and the good news stories? We showcase positive initiatives focussed on progress.

Brief description

By the end of the module, you will know more about key aspects of nutrition and health and be better equipped to identify and tackle the barriers that prevent you from eating well.

Indicative content

• Healthy eating on a budget: This topic will show you that healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive! You will be given basic nutritional knowledge, as well as skills and practical tips to be able to eat a healthy diet on a budget. You will then be able to develop your own menu and share it with your peers, so you learn from us as well as from each other.
• Prebiotics, probiotics and health: You will learn about the importance of our microbiota on health, and how what we eat can modulate it. You will be provided with cooking tips and will be able to develop your own fermented foods for better gut health.
• Fat or sugar, which is worse?: You may have heard that fats are bad for our health, or perhaps you have heard it is all about the sugars? You will learn about the role of both sugars and fats in our diet; what makes them good or bad for health and the science behind it. You will be given the tools to assess your own sugar and fat intake as well as tips to implement the changes you need to eat better. 
• The British diet vs Mediterranean diet: What is a Mediterranean diet and what are its real benefits? Is it just a diet or a pattern? Can we get the same benefits as those living in Mediterranean countries? In this topic, you will explore how feasible it is for us to adopt the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle, considering the seasonality of ingredients as well as sustainability. 
• What drives our food choices?: How healthy do you think your diet is? Do you find it easy to eat well? With this topic you will become more aware of our obesogenic environment, of how the food industry talks to us, and how the media report nutritional claims. You will learn to look more closely and more critically at your environment, so you can make healthier decisions.

Brief description

This microcredential will help you to refine your current writing skills through the analysis and discussion of a range of texts and exercises, enabling you to then apply these techniques to assignments for your other modules.

Indicative content

• Speaking the language: How to develop your academic and professional vocabulary: understanding the genre; understanding your reader’s expectations.
• Meeting expectations: Why different assignments have different requirements: decoding instructions; selecting appropriate writing techniques.
• Tightening up the nuts and bolts: How to improve your writing accuracy: reviewing key grammar and punctuation issues; improving your editing and proofreading.
• Standing on the shoulders of giants: How to borrow from the greats: reviewing the principles of citing sources; using writing techniques to incorporate research into writing.

Brief description

This module will help you develop a better understanding of the difference between media reporting and scientific evaluation. It will equip you with the skills to look beyond sensational stories related to human behaviour and dig deeper into a topic area to validate the evidence.

Indicative content

• Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences: Is Extrasensory Perception Real? Is there really evidence that we can predict the future?
• Myths about the Brain: Can repressed memories be recovered in therapy? How easily are false memories created? What are the implications for the justice system? 
• Myths about our Mind and Body: Is the key to success in everyday life simply a case of posing like a powerful superhero? 
• Myths about Language: Does being bilingual make you smarter and keep your brain younger? Are bilingual people less likely to get dementia as a result of this lifelong brain training?

Brief description

Through this microcredential you will gain an insight into what the world of work may look like in the (near) future. This includes developing a knowledge of how the economy and labour market evolves and why individual skills-sets and employability are so important and intrinsically linked to this process.

Indicative content

• The future of work: What will the future of work look like? What is used to predict how the world or work will change? Can the future of the economy and of work be accurately predicted? 
• Key factors that influence change: Identifying some of the key factors that influence how the world of work and our economy evolves and changes.
• The key role of skills and personal employability: The emergence and decline of skills: skills are fundamental to the economy (and graduate employers). What skills will be most in demand and/or be most valuable to our economy in future and why? Understand the importance of skills to the economy (and to graduate employers) at both the macro and micro level. Know what specific new skills are emerging and becoming more valuable and sought after, (as others are in decline) for our modern economy and graduate labour market. 
• Labour market information - what is it for?: Labour market Information is hugely important to our understanding of our economy at any given time: and also, in looking at the present and past to help predict future growth, opportunities, shortages and skills gaps. Recognise the importance of key Labour Market Information (LMI). Have the ability to source and use key Labour Market Information (LMI). Understand how to use accurate Labour Market Information as a tool to help their own personal development and future career planning. 
• What now?: Some help and steer – suggestions to you may wish to use your new knowledge and insight to help with your own career aspirations, planning and personal/professional development while at university.

Brief description

Some businesses have the sole focus of making money whereas others exist to also make a difference. Social enterprises are becoming more popular, and recognisable, and are making an impact across the world. From supporting the homeless, to giving waste products a second life, social enterprises are fighting for various causes. 

Indicative content

• What is a social enterprise and how does it function?: What the definition of a social enterprise is with examples from different sectors.
• How do social enterprises identify problems to tackle?: How social enterprises decide on what they will tackle and how they will do it. 
• How do you gather evidence that there is a problem requiring a solution?: Way in which you can gather evidence and data to validate the idea for a social enterprise. Determining needs and wants within a category. 
• How to identify skills and knowledge gaps: Understanding the skillsets within a founding team to fulfil the tasks required to start a social enterprise. 
• How to understand the problem you are trying to solve: Knowing the problem, you are trying to solve and how this effects the target customers the social enterprise is aimed at. Looking at the issues in a customer-focussed way. 
• How to develop a social impact plan: What is involved in a social impact plan and how to put one together. 

Brief description

This module will introduce you to the study of AI and Society. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a set of technologies and concepts and can be understood as using computers and software to denote problem-solving capacities and knowledge acquisition (intelligence) which otherwise we believe only belongs to natural beings such as humans.

Indicative content

• Introduction to the core concepts: A brief introduction to the concepts of “artificial”, “intelligence” and “society”. 
• Introduction to the problem of AI and Society: A discussion of where the problem of the impact of AI on Society comes from, presentation of some of the original debates and examples.
• Contemporary debates: A discussion of the contemporary debates about the impact of AI on Society, with examples.

Brief description

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how has it shaped our past and present? These are questions we will explore on a guided tour of AI from the past to the present and the future. You will develop a better understanding of what AI is and isn’t.

Indicative content

• Historical AI: Tracing the historical development of “traditional” AI systems including aircraft autopilots, expert systems, and accounting/financial software.
• Current AI: Covering the contemporary generation of AI technologies in areas such as speech recognition (e.g., Alexa, Siri) and recommendation systems (e.g., Amazon, YouTube). Examples will be drawn from Health, Sport, Games, Engineering, Business, Law and Computing. 
• Future AI: Exploring the limitations of today’s AI when it comes to general intelligence and contextual adaptation. Examples will be drawn from Health, Sport, Games, Engineering, Business, Law and Computing.
• My AI: How AI will impact your future, and how you can use AI to help you achieve your career goals.  Reflection on how AI may inform your subject area going forward.

Brief description

This microcredential is aimed at you, if you have an interest in technology but are not experts. The microcredential will develop your digital safety and how to stay safe online.

Indicative content

• Threat Landscape: Cyberattacks and online threats. System vulnerabilities. Social Engineering. Rights and computer laws.
• Authentication: Password security. Biometrics. MFA and Password managers. Good practices for authentication.
• Secure Communication: Web browser security. Certificates and trust. Effective encryption. Secure communication methods.
• Personal Information Privacy: Information leakage. Personal information privacy and open-source intelligence. Device encryption and security. Security mindfulness.
• Malware: Types of malware. Identifying malicious software. Malware propagation techniques. Malware removal and preventative measures.

Brief description

This microcredential will help you to develop and build your own confidence in applying numeracy skills in real world situations.

Indicative content

• What is my GPA and how likely am I to get a First? (BASIC NUMERACY): Calculation and manipulation of data using Percentages, Indices (Powers), Roots, Probability, and simple equations. 
• The power of prediction (GRAPHS): Straight line graphs, Gradients, Equations of a straight line, Intercepts. Drawing graphs - Linear equations, Distances between points. Simultaneous linear equations.  
• Love a good puzzle (ALGEBRA): Changing subject of formulae. Factorisation - common factors, Difference of two squares, Trinomials. Solving simultaneous equations by Substitution and Elimination.
• Advanced power of prediction (FUNCTIONS): Introduction to functions – Linear and Quadratic and solving quadratic equations. Factorising Quadratic equations.
• Love a good triangle (TRIGONOMETRY): Trignometric functions - Sine, cosine and tangent. Trignometric formulae.

Brief description

In this microcredential, you will learn more about how digital media production professionals in the UK and China are working together to reduce barriers and identify new opportunities for collaboration and growth.

Indicative content

• History and future of videogames in China: Focussing on the videogame sector as a case study of Chinese digital creative industries, how has the videogames market and industry developed in China, how is the Chinese videogames economy currently constituted, and what does the future hold?
• Consumer trends and audience preferences: What is popular with audiences in China? What can we note about preferences in terms of narrative content, aesthetics, play styles etc. when compared with other markets?
• Policy and regulation: What unique regulations or limitations are imposed on digital media within China, and what similarities are there with other national and transnational regulations? How is creative content development and publishing shaped by policy in China? What social and ethical challenges are presented by regulation, in China as well as in the UK?
• Transnational working and co-production: How is digital creative content conceived, developed, and released by professionals working across borders? What are the challenges for small and independent creative studios, compared with multi-nationals with studios based in and outside China?
• Publishing in China: How do digital media content like videogames make it to market in China? What processes and requirements must creative businesses be aware of, and how do developers find, connect to, and work with Chinese publishers? How to consumers in China access content, including on grey markets?
• Challenges and success: Hear from UK and Chinese professionals on the China market, co-operation, the hurdles they cleared, and how they found success.

Brief description

Increasingly, the role of creativity in supporting and maintaining wellbeing is being researched and celebrated. This module will introduce you to the current theory in this area, as well as a range of creative resources shown to be helpful for both self-care and the support of others.

Indicative content

• Why does creativity matter?: An introduction to why creativity matters when it comes to mental health.
• Your brain on words: The place of stories in their various forms as a resource for wellbeing.
• Engaging the senses: The potential of tools such as music and art for self-care.

Year 3 Core Modules

You must study and pass all three core modules

Brief description

Enhance your ability to set theoretical and critical frameworks to underpin specialist writing within your domain of practice.

Indicative content:

• Contextual Analysis: Identify and critically analyse existing contextual materials in relation to the chosen area of research practice.
• Critical Frameworks: Explore critical and theoretical frameworks in relation to subject specialisation. Learn and evaluate the appropriateness of techniques to your own area of interest.
• Deconstruction as an Analysis Technique: Identify and deconstruct existing artwork(s) interpreting the decisions made by the artist in relation to the context within which the work was made.
• Identifying the Research Question: Explore these techniques in relation to your own project, to uncover possible research questions.
• Positioning: Identify what other practitioners are doing in your chosen field and explain how your work is positioned/relates to theirs. What does your work add to the field?
• Professional Feedback: Develop professional modes of working with peers by providing constructive and critical feedback on research and creative work.
• Critical Reflection: Identify and apply reflective processes to the dissemination of the findings of the exploration.

Brief description

Design and undertake a creative project to enhance your understanding of your chosen specialisation. Use the project to hone the fundamental artistic, design and technical skills which underpin your specialisation. Lead (with module tutor support) the project planning, scope and project expectations that precede a finalised portfolio of work.

Indicative content:

• Production Methods: Analysis of key production methods and pipelines utilised by the creative sector.
• Professional Contexts: Introduction to the vital components of obtaining professional recognition and gainful employment.
• Project Planning: Insight and implementation of planning for project development and delivery.
• Reflective Practice: Form essential reflective discussions of the self by recognising and logging practice and processes used past and present.
• Project Expectation Management: Review and evaluate project objectives at different stages to manage expectations for project delivery.
• Specialist Practice: Evaluate the methods and techniques of relevant professionals in creative fields synonymous to the project. Extract valuable information and implement in project development.

Brief description

Work together on an interactive media project as part of a multidisciplinary team. Contribute to your team by taking on a professional role suited to your area of study. Expect to: communicate with clients and relevant stakeholders; participate in pitching and presentations; research and test technical pipelines; create project documentation and planning materials; and contribute to the iterative design and development of a final interactive prototype.

Indicative content:

• Team Organisation and Management: Attend and participate in team meetings, keep meeting minutes, and assign roles and responsibilities; Identify and overcome team problems, understand conflicts and approaches to conflict resolution, and engage with team building.
• Communication and Professionalism: Demonstrate the ability to communicate within the team, with tutors, with clients/mentors, and with other stakeholders in a professional and respectful manner.
• Development Methodologies: Understand and apply appropriate development methodologies framed by the requirements of a project and balance of a team, e.g. agile, scrum, lean, spiral, feature-driven, waterfall/traditional.
• Research and Concept Development: Research similar products and competitors; Research and interpret the product marketplace, considering platform, user profiles, costs, regional differences etc; Conduct visual and audio research; Iteratively develop design concepts in response to a given brief.
• Technologies and Pipelines: Research software and hardware technologies; Develop a technical plan for game development; Research, develop, test and document production pipelines.
• Style and Branding: Develop a brand for the team and the project; Research, develop, document, and communicate a defined visual and audio style; Produce marketing and promotional materials.
• Pitching and Presentation: Use appropriate software, hardware, game engines, and other tools to deliver a working digital prototype; Engage with regular user testing to inform design iteration, demonstrating an appreciation of user experience.
• Prototype Development, Testing, and Iteration: Use appropriate software, hardware, game engines, and other tools to deliver a working digital prototype; Engage with regular user testing to inform design iteration, demonstrating an appreciation of user experience.
• Release Management: Manage the software development process using source control, defect tracking, and build processes.
• Project Delivery: Consider the methods for delivering products to the market, including market cycles, digital distribution, and the publisher-developer relationship; Deliver a complete prototype with accompanying press kit.

Year 3 Option Module Pairs

You must study and pass one pair of option modules of your choosing

Cinematic Animation

Brief description

Advanced art practices and time based animated sequences in relation to target audience. Apply specialist animation techniques in a two or three dimensional animation sequence.

Module content:

• Developing Story Worlds: Conceive, refine and visually develop environments, characters and narratives for animated scenarios.
• Visualising Narratives: Apply appropriate animation pre-production techniques, including storyboarding, to visualise and iterate upon narrative..
• Adding Time to Stories: Experiment with the addition of time and, where appropriate, audio to storyboards to create animatic versions which explore clarity of action, narrative and character for an animated sequence.
• Verbal vs. Non-verbal Storytelling: Study 3D digital form creation and pipeline workflows and tools reflective of industry practice.
• Sound in Animation: Analyse and practically explore the use of sound as a narrative device in animated sequences.
• Advanced Animation Techniques: Analyse theories relating to expression, including facial expression, body language and gesture. Interpret the relationship between these elements and verbal communication within animation examples.
• Experimental Animation: Movement and Expression: Critically evaluate experimental animations which utilise movement, colour, and sound to express themes and ideas to a viewer. Interpret meaning and explore the application of such techniques in own work.

Technical Art Applications

Brief description

Gain the technical and practical skills to design, produce and articulate digital characters and/or vehicles through evaluating creative and technical art problems across a range of disciplines.

Indicitave content:

• Life and Observational Drawing: Explore anatomy and/or construction, movement and articulation in the organic and where appropriate, non-organic form and understand its application to three dimensional asset construction.
• Anatomical and Construction Studies: Review anatomy and construction of both real and fantasy character, creature and/or vehicle designs to inform creative process and practical outcomes.
• Design Processes and Artist Workflow: Research professional workflows and practices to inform and underpin the creative design and development process of artefacts for the project brief.
• 3D Modelling for Articulation: Interpret and apply appropriate modelling techniques to facilitate movement required by the chosen design.
• Digital Skeletal Structures and the Needs of the Animator: Research and develop a skeletal structure which will facilitate an appropriate range of motion to suit the design of the character/creature/vehicle and to meet the needs of the animator.
• Develop an understanding of control hierarchies and apply these to create a user friendly control system. Understand the use of scripting to automate and support repetitive tasks in 3D software.
• IK versus FK for Animation Purposes: Explore the application of kinematics systems and their impact upon the usability of a rig.
• Automation and Driven Joint Articulation Techniques: Examine the potential for automation within the rig to enhance usability. Apply appropriate techniques to meet the needs of the chosen design.
• Vertex Driven Articulation Techniques: Examine the potential for vertex driven animation within the rig to enhance usability. Apply appropriate techniques to meet the needs of the chosen design.
• Weight Painting and Deformation: Undertake weight painting and explore deformation techniques to create convincing deformation of geometry to meet the needs of the chosen design.

Visual Development

Brief description

The visual development cycle of digital art productions for entertainment, marketing, or publishing. Based on your chosen areas of specialisation, develop a diet of research and practice that is industrially and commercially contextualised, alongside progressing your technical and creative skills. Demonstrate your ability to expand on the expectations and themes in a creative brief and effective visual communication to clients and audiences.

Indicitave content:

• Visual Research: Conduct extensive research into existing characters, fashions, cultures, landscapes and other resources, developing ideas for use of form, shape, colour, and overall visual style.
• Concept Development: Demonstrate an appreciation of art and design contexts and the use of art and design within games, movies, advertising and other media; iteratively develop ideas and drawings for an original art.
• Painting and Drawing: Use digital drawing and painting packages to develop environment and character concepts to produce production art.
• Presentation: Produce character and concept art to a finished level consistent with professional practice. Be prepared to present the work in a critical setting.

Information Design

Brief description

Develop your knowledge and understanding of information design. Gain a practical foundation and theoretical overview of the visualisation process, and practice of designing and presenting information that fosters efficient and effective understanding.

Indicitave content:

• Visual Research: Investigation to inform an understanding of information design conventions and procedures.
• Analysis: Analyse the basic principles of the information design processes to acknowledge the challenge of media traditions and conventions through digital media artefacts, interactive media experiences and concepts to enhance audience understanding and engagement.
• Application, Creativity and Concept Development: Use analysis findings, creative processes and design thinking to develop a solution to the personal information design project.
• Craftsmanship and Presentation: Produce and present a final information design solution appropriate to the needs of that solution.

Game Audio Implementation

Brief description

Introduction to the real-time adaptive processes and structures that drive interactive sound effects and music in games. Investigate the different approaches that tools offer for real-time control of sound and music, and the processes through which pre-recorded sound assets are edited, tagged, implemented, and scripted to respond to player input.

Indicative content:

• Technology: Compare and contrast middleware solutions, exploring functionality and options. Work with game engines, using scripting for event management and parameter control.
• Interfacing: Explore the different ways that sound and music can be triggered and/or driven by game events, and the different ways that sound and music can either lead or react to player input.
• Spatial audio: Discuss how spatial placement and reverberation help to create and characterise a sense of believable game space, and how this can be achieved within different sections and/or environments within the game.
• Implementation: Explore the full implementation cycle of sound assets, and look at what’s involved in getting multiple layers of sound to function correctly in response to player input in a game.
• Sound file management: Understanding differences in file formats and data encoding, and the artefacts that can be introduced can mean the difference between a soundtrack that behaves as it should, and hours of troubleshooting.
• Profiling and troubleshooting: Explore the options available for measuring the performance of a games audio implementation. Investigate some of the common problems that affect game audio, and what solutions and/or workarounds exist.
• Analysis: Analysing the use of sound and music in a computer game requires a particular set of analytical tools and an appreciation of context. Explore these notions and develop a framework for analysing interactive game-based audio.
• Case studies and exemplars: Review and discuss case study examples that demonstrate how sound and music have been used in videogames across a range of different formats and platforms and at different periods in history.

Sound and Music for Games

Brief description

Introduction to the theory and practice of sound and music for games. Drawing on examples from film and animation as well as games, explore how sound design for screen media has developed over time, and how the demands of interactivity pose game sound designers a unique set of challenges. Explore the production approaches and workflows that underpin interactive audio design and the tools and technologies that enable its implementation in a game environment.

Indicative content:

• Introduction: An overview of the history of sound and music in video games, from early 8-bit soundtracks generated by Programmable Sound Generators, through streaming Red-Book audio on CD to the latest multi-channel sample-based adaptive soundtracks.
• Background: Modern soundtracks combine ideas from gaming, but also draw heavily on film soundtracks. We will examine the similarities and differences between the two, drawing conclusions on the roles and functions that sound and music play in a computer game.
• Recording practice: Recording and production theory and practice, including microphone design, application and technique; digital recording theory and practice, and sound editing.
• Adaptive sound: The particular characteristics of adaptive sound design for interactive media, and how nuance and adaptability factors into the design and production process.
• Application: The technologies and middleware systems that support dynamic audio effects for stereo, binaural and surround gaming systems and how they affect the production process.
• Technical constraints: The file formats and data compression techniques available and the pros and cons of each. How they impact on the end user experience.
• Professional planning: Take a professional approach to project planning and management. Design an audio design document which details the conceptual use of sound in a game, its specific implementation and mechanics, and a complete sound asset list that details all of the sound elements to be used.
• Professional practice: Investigate how sound production practice aligns with professional collaboration and development pipelines. Includes version control, file naming conventions and metadata, particularly with regard to automated processes for implementation and regionalisation, and identifying and protecting intellectual property.
• Case studies and exemplars: Review and discuss case study examples that demonstrate how sound and music have been used in games across a range of different formats and platforms and at different periods in history.

Environment Art Production

Brief description

Engage with the creative and technical processes involved in the design and production of game environment art. Critique player engagement and perception of these spaces, considering visual style, layout and environmental storytelling. Gain experience in the conceptualisation, planning, modelling, texturing and construction of game environments which is particularly beneficial to those with an interest in progressing into game art roles.

Indicitave content:

• Visual research and concept design: Research real-world/fictional spaces and visual styles. Develop planning materials and concept designs in support of an environment art project.
• ​Level design and player interaction: Apply knowledge from level design theory and user interaction and UX design to your understanding of environment, art, layout and navigation. 
• Spatial design: Consider architectural theories and principles when developing concepts for a virtual environment.
• Environmental storytelling: Investigate how game worlds, spaces, and immersive environments create atmosphere and tell stories through layout, props, lighting, and textures.
• 3D modelling: ​Design, build and unwrap 3D models appropriate for application in game engines. Consider sculpting and its application in game environment production.
• Materials and maps: Paint texture maps and create complex materials for application to surfaces. Consider PBR.
• Modular kits: Build and implement kits for modular environment design.
• Optimisation and environment pipelines: Understand and apply optimisation of environment art assets within a game pipeline.
• Lighting: Apply static and dynamic lighting within your scenes. Understand light bakes and additional post-processing effects.
• Game engines: Apply all of the above in-engine to demonstrate the ability to assemble environment art for presentation as part of a game product. Create builds and flythroughs to showcase your work.

Character Art Production

Brief description

Develop your knowledge and understanding of videogame character design, and focus on developing your technical and creative skills for character art production. Advance your proficiency with art production tools and pipelines commonly used in the games and entertainment industries for the visualisation of 3D characters.

Indicitave content:

• Visual Research: Conduct extensive research into existing characters, fashions, cultures, and other resources, developing ideas for use of form, shape, colour, and overall visual style.
• Concept Development: Demonstrate an appreciation of game character design literature and the use of characters within games. Iteratively develop ideas and drawings for an original game character.
• Sculpting: Use digital sculpting packages to develop character concepts and produce high-poly assets.
• 3D Modelling: Use 3D modelling packages, tools, and techniques to build polygon-models.
• UVs and Retopologisation: Rebuild meshes to develop new mesh layouts, edge flow, polygon density with a view to creating cleaner and more efficient models for games. Work with UV layouts for characters.
• Painting: Use 2D/3D painting packages to produce textures for game characters.
• Materials: Build advanced materials for characters, considering different types of materials used within a character asset (e.g. skin, hair, cloth, leather, metal etc.); consider use of PBR.
• Presentation: Produce character video turnarounds and captured images of character assets implemented in-engine; present work in a manner consistent with professional practice.

Year 4 Core Modules

You must study and pass all four core modules

Brief description

Formulate a contextual, theoretical, and practical foundation in a self-selected area of professional practice and research. Evaluate existing research, texts and projects with a view to developing a project proposal and develop a portfolio of practical work pertinent to your own professional practice and selected Honours Project topic.

Indicative content:​

• Development of research questions: Develop and present a clearly-articulated aim and research questions that reflect the shape and focus of the project.
• Information gathering and analysis: Identify, gather, and analyse relevant information that critically explores the key questions.
• Exploring ideas: Establish a core set of pre-production artefacts and documentation to support the development of your project ideas. By cataloguing this initial developmental process, you will demonstrate an explicit exploration of ideas and thematic research.
• Critical evaluation: Reference methods and conceptual/theoretical frameworks that can be used to develop, analyse, and evaluate your work. Consider the different aspects of creative and/or development work in your subject domain and how these can be assessed.
• Pitching ideas: Take part in a number of sessions in order to expose your ideas to others in such a way that they understand the concept and can make judgements about how your piece will work in context.
• Criticism and refinement: Defend your work from questioning and criticism by others. Act on feedback and work through a series of successive refinements in order to develop and strengthen your ideas.
• Ethics and professional practice: Consider social, ethical, and professional issues. Carry out a risk assessment for your project.
• Contextual review: Develop a piece of formal written work that will address the research questions set within an appropriate academic context.
• Proposal: Develop a research proposal that addresses the research questions and that outlines a clearly presented project plan.
• Design and communication: Demonstrate evidence of iteration, refinement, and development of creative and technical work, and communicate the outcomes of your practice using appropriate documentation.

Brief description

Engage critically with the creative industries. Expect to discuss the global marketplace for creative media, the development of business ideas, and the demonstrable knowledge, expertise, and planning expected by employers and investors. Consider which creative industries align with your personal ambitions, and develop an understanding of how best to prepare a strategy for employability, freelance work or start-up. 

Indicative content:​

• The Creative Industries: Overview of a range of creative sectors, identifying sources of information. Discussion of professional structures, including: publishers and distributors, content developers, software tool developers and other suppliers, service and support suppliers, industry organisations, pressure groups, and government regulations.
• Understanding the Marketplace: Review of the main market information, economic impact, comparative market sizes, and growth.
• Creative Industries Development Lifecycles: Critical evaluation of the various phases of development and understanding how the business perspective impacts upon the creative process.
• People, Roles and Professional Expectations: Understanding how artistic, design, and development roles interact with each other and with production, support, and management roles.
• Legal and Financial Understanding: Discussion of the legal and financial considerations, including intellectual property rights, other computer related laws, funding the business, developing an exit strategy, dealing with publishers, and the impacts of casual copying and piracy.
• Ethics: Discussion of individual and company ethics, including responsibilities, authority and power, discrimination, and marginalisation. Discussion of social and cultural ethics, including issues of representation, nationalism, stereotyping, gender, violence, sexual content, and racism.
• Entrepreneurship: Defining and clarifying the business plans and goals, setting measurable targets, writing the business plan as a marketing and management tool, and the start-up process.
• Personal Branding and Preparing for Employment: Developing a personal brand including: web presence, social media usage, and the creation of an appropriate portfolio. Developing an appropriate CV, writing cover letters, and understanding the interview process.
• Career Routes and Development: Understanding careers and career development, including working with others, individual management, and company management.
• Self-Employment in the Creative Industries: The opportunities and challenges that face freelance workers within various creative sectors.

Brief description

Undertake an extensive creative research project where you fuse theory and practice to create a large scale portfolio of work sensitive to critical theories, concepts and practices within your specialist area of enquiry.

Indicative content:​

• Project philosophy: Demonstrate the ability to devise and complete a programme of self-study in consultation with the staff.
• Relationship to other honours project modules: This module will have its own discrete assessment criteria and deliverables as set out in a learning contract and agreed by project tutors, but will be an expression of the theme(s) addressed by the research aim.
• Conceptualisation: Conceptualise ideas through the creation, gathering, manipulation and analysis of appropriate source material.
• Methodology: Adopt appropriate artistic and production methodologies as informed by context and practice and conventions appropriate to the discipline.
• Development: Demonstrate logical and coherent development of ideas in all aspect of the project.
• Supervision: Regular progress meetings with project supervisor; Controlled access to consultancy expertise in area of project.
• Discussion: The project should be the subject of discussion and debate throughout, concerning topics such as project aims, methods, project development completion and argument.
• Deliverables: The output material should reflect the full process from inception to completion and will be appropriate to the project in hand.
• Presentation: The project should culminate in a professional well developed presentation that demonstrates a full and considered answer to the research question.

Brief description

Approach research as an active process of inquiry to produce a dissertation which appropriately communicates the research process and findings.

Indicative content:​

• Research Proposal: Evaluate the aims, objectives and methods of the chosen research topic.
• Analytical Development: Reflect upon and extend analysis of contextual sources and where necessary, identify and integrate further contextual information.
• Research Context: Explore structures for contextual review and research dissemination.
• Synthesis and Evaluation: Synthesise research arguments in relation to the project outcomes. Build a persuasive argument and anticipate critical reservations and respond appropriately.
• Testing and Evaluation: Develop strategies to interrogate claims within project methods, development and outcomes objectively and/or persuasively in relation to research context.
• Dissertation: Develop written work that critically discusses the research project. Communicate research aims, intent, vision, themes, processes, methodology and discuss critically the process and findings.
• Autonomy and Academic Rigour: Develop an informed and defensible academic position and/or argument in relation to subject specialist knowledge.
• Communication and Presentation: Write the dissertation in a style appropriate for a formal written thesis and format and present it professionally.