Game Design MA
| Location | Penryn Campus |
|---|---|
| Course Duration | 1 year |
| Attendance | Full-time |
Course overview
We’ll cover specialist areas in storytelling and design to reveal new horizons of gaming. With help from ex-industry mentors, you’ll gain the tools you need for a career in games and media. Collaborating with other talented game-lovers, you’ll bring your own ideas to life in AAA, indie or board games.
You will:
- Take advantage of our guest speaker series, featuring professionals from across the games industry, from studio heads to level designers, design leads and producers
- Access industry-standard facilities, including dedicated space in a well-resourced game development studio, with augmented reality and mixed reality technology, a selection of new VR headsets, and 3D printers
- Become a specialist in game design, working as part of a team to develop your own game
- Learn iterative design principles and how to implement research, user testing and feedback
- Create game design and scripting elements for live game developments
Course details
Pitching and prototyping your ideas, you'll become a specialist in game design and the broader games industry context. And by the second study block you’ll be doing it for real, developing a game in a team and following it up with a major project in the final term. This could be solo, group-based or a research piece.
Modules
Development Synergies
Prototyping for Games
Modules
Group Game Development Project
Experimental Game Design
Modules
Major Project
The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the course leader.
From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details.
How you'll learn
There’s no formal essay writing on this course – you’ll be learning the real-life skills needed to produce a co-created full game project and a professional portfolio for grading. And with regular feedback and support from your mentors, you’ll develop your game design skills in a way that boosts your progress.
You'll learn through:
- Workshops
- Playtesting ideas
- Lectures
- Seminars
- Crit sessions
- Tutorials
- Guest speakers
- Mentoring
How you'll be assessed
Game Design is a practise-focused course, so you’ll only be assessed on your coursework.
Staff
You'll be taught by an expert teaching team, which includes leading game and narrative designers as well as programmers and game-focused senior academics. Our industry experts have worked across the globe on titles such as Arcana and Deadhaus Sonata.
Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every member shown here.
Dr Jeff Howard
Senior Lecturer (Games)
Dr. Jeff Howard is Senior Lecturer in the Games Academy at Falmouth University in Cornwall, whe...
Terry Greer
Senior Lecturer in Game Design
After starting out life as a zoo keeper at London Zoo, Terry has worked for over thirty years in the...
Brian McDonald
Senior Lecturer Digital Games
Brian McDonald is a senior lecturer on the BA(Hons) Game Development and BSc(Hons) Computing fo...
Che Wilbraham
Lecturer: Games
As a self-taught, independent game developer, Ché’s background is in the arts. He sees himself as...
Jeremy West
Associate Lecturer, Game Development BA(Hons)
A graduate from Falmouth's Games Academy, Jeremy has spent the last six years both studying and maki...
Facilities
- Dedicated space in a well-resourced game development studio, open late during term time.
- Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality technology.
- 3D printers.
- Industry-standard hardware and software.
- VR/AR lab and cutting-edge hardware (Hololens, Hololens 2 and Oculus Quest 2).
Fees, costs & funding
Tuition fees
£8,500 per year - full-time UK (£250 acceptance fee payable. This is deducted from tuition fees.)
£16,950 - full-time EU/international (acceptance fee up to £1,000 payable, dependent on nationality. This is deducted from tuition fees)
£8,950 per year - full-time UK (£250 acceptance fee payable. This is deducted from tuition fees.)
£17,460 - full-time EU/international (acceptance fee up to £1,000 payable, dependent on nationality. This is deducted from tuition fees)
Find out more about our Graduate Loyalty Discount for Falmouth Alumni, which offers a reduction in course tuition fees.
Typical course costs
To complete your coursework, you’ll require a laptop at an expense of around £1,300.
If you need to bring other equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.
The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs
Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.
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