Games Art BA Honours

Course summary

The Games Art BA will provide you with the creative skills and technical knowledge needed to design visual assets in game environments; you’ll design the characters, objects and backgrounds that make games come to life. This course will prepare you to become a confident games artist who can create visuals and user experience design applicable across a wide range of industries and emerging technologies. 

You’ll seek new approaches and audiences that have a global reach, consider the representation of characters in games and reflect on equality, diversity and inclusion in games. The course will explore established and emerging industries that use games for entertainment and for social enhancement (e.g. educational games).

To reflect the professional game development workplace, where skilled professionals from different disciplines work together, the Games Art BA has embedded collaboration with students on other courses such as Graphic Design BA, Illustration BA, Animation BA, and most importantly our sister course the Computer Games Development BSc. Through this inter-disciplinary collaboration, you’ll gain valuable experience of hands-on working with colleagues in different fields on the games pipeline.

Located at the University’s Harrow Campus, you’ll work in specialised facilities including our new Games Hub and Emerging Media Space, as well as in our design studios linked with illustration, design, film, animation and computer games development. Through projects, lectures and workshops you’ll be introduced to the framework, routes and roles of a games artist.

The course is designed to foster your confidence and independent thinking by identifying and developing your personal and professional game art and game design paths. You’ll be prepared for a career in game characters and assets design, creation and animation; game narrative design; game world layout; or game user experience design and implementation.

Top reasons to study with us

• Work experience before graduation – As part of the course, you'll have the option to work for a year in the industry, gaining valuable work experience and boosting your employability
• Outstanding facilities – You'll benefit from a brand-new Games Hub and Emerging Media Space, which will include our upgraded Motion Capture lab
• Study in London – the heart of the UK Game development industry. With the majority of games developers and publishers in the UK based here, you’ll have many opportunities to hear from industry guest speakers, and access internships, professional experience and graduate employment
• Collaborate with students from the Computer Games Development BSc – You’ll take part in industry projects and competitions such as game jams. You’ll engage with learning that is directly industry related, and will collaborate with game designers working on projects that question and challenge the current cultures and contexts for games

Course structure

The following subjects are indicative of what you will study on this course.

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Placement year
• Year 3