Games Design and Film and Television Studies BA

About the Course

This course is aimed at students who want to develop a comprehensive understanding of the factors which shape the games industry and the techniques and principles used in the design of games, while at the same time gaining a broader understanding of film, television and screen-based media. You will have the opportunity to design and analyse digital games as well as studying Film and TV Studies at a high level and exploring the ways in which film and television relate to history, culture and identity.

About the School of Arts at Brunel

The School of Arts at Brunel includes single and joint honours degree courses in English, Journalism, Music and Creative Music Technology, Film and Television Studies and Modern Drama. This is a vibrant, friendly and creative place to study. Research conducted by staff provides the basis for much of our teaching, ensuring that modules are connected to debates and issues that are current within these interdisciplinary areas.

Each programme develops basic skills within its discipline but allows you to explore your own particular interests through a range of optional modules.

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Aims

Taught by a team who specialise in research into the theoretical analysis of digital games or who are professionals in the games design industry, this new degree will introduce you to ideas and practices at the forefront of game studies and game design.

Your second subject will also provide ideas and concepts that you can use in your study and design of games. The primary aim of the Film and Television Studies course is to provide you with the conceptual and theoretical skills necessary to engage with film and television products, and to understand how they work at aesthetic, social-cultural and institutional levels.

Enquiries

Douglas Brown
Subject Leader, Games Design

School of Arts
Brunel University
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 3PH

Email:  douglas.brown@brunel.ac.uk

Related Courses

• Games Design and English BA
• Games Design and Creative Writing BA
• Games Design and Sonic Arts BA

Special Features

The Games Design programme is taught by a team who specialise in research into the theoretical analysis of digital games or who are professionals who have worked or who currently work as game designers in the industry. The composition of the teaching team will introduce you to ideas at the forefront of the discipline as well as providing a knowledge and understanding of professional practice.

Our annual Open House festival showcases new performance work by students and visiting artists. We also benefit from the activities of the Arts Centre, which organises tuition, performances and exhibitions across a range of arts.

The Film and Television Studies department hosts the annual Cine-Excess International Cult Film Conference and Festival in London’s West End, and has recently launched an acclaimed Cine-Excess DVD Label. Further details can be found at www.cine-excess.co.uk

The student radio station B1000 offers an additional extracurricular outlet for interested students.

Film and TV Studies at Brunel is also strongly committed to making links between teaching and research with modules taught by staff who have published authoritative work in the field.

Facts and Figures

The School of Arts at Brunel include single and joint honours degree courses in Music and Creative Music Technology, Film and Television Studies, Screenwriting, English and Modern Drama. Our staff are active in both research and practice, and provide expertise in a wide range of topics.

Our undergraduate programmes are designed to sharpen creative and analytical skills, develop confidence in working in teams and in problem-solving techniques. Each programme develops basic skills within its discipline but allows you to explore your own particular interests through a range of optional modules. Research conducted by staff  provides the basis for much of our teaching, ensuring that modules are connected to debates and issues that are current within these three interdisciplinary areas.

Our annual Open House festival showcases new performance work by students and visiting artists. We also benefit from the activities of the Arts Centre, which organises tuition, performances and exhibitions across a range of arts. The student radio station B1000 offers an additional extracurricular outlet for interested students.

With its rich mix of programmes, this is a vibrant, friendly and creative place to study.

Course Content

In each year of your degree, you will study theory modules aimed at developing your analytical understanding of the cultural and social significance of games and their historical contexts. Design modules will aid your ability to produce creative, realisable strategies in relation to set briefs. Application modules will provide you with a comprehensive knowledge of the communication skills currently used in the games industry, including presentation and prototyping skills. You will also study a selection of core and optional modules from your chosen second subject.

Games Design

At each level you take modules in:

• Theory, which develops your understanding of methods and approaches used in the analysis of games, their cultural and social significance, and historical contexts.
• Design, which will aid your development of creative strategies for generating game design ideas and game design projects. You undertake design projects, developing a practical understanding of creative game design.
• Application (industry relevant skills and contexts), which will provide you with a comprehensive knowledge of the skills used currently in the games industry.

Film and TV Studies

You explore a range of film and television forms and the social and industrial contexts in which they are produced and consumed. You will undertake practical modules in addition to theoretical studies, and have many opportunities to explore you own ideas and interests in a programme taught by staff who have published widely in their subjects.

Typical Modules

Level 1

• Theory 1: ‘Reading’ Games – methods for, and practice of, analysing the formal components of games
• Design 1: Introduction to Game Design – practical exercises, working to set briefs
• Application 1: Methods for, and practice of, communicating design concepts and ideas
• Academic Practice
• Film Style  

One module from:

• Film Practice and Theory
• Critical Methodologies
• Television Genres
  

Level 2

• Theory 2: Approaches to analysing games and players
• Design 2: Large game design projects, working to a brief  
• Application 2: Prototyping game designs and understanding the games industry
• EITHER New Hollywood Cinema OR Television Forms and Meanings

Three modules to be selected from the following:

• Science Fictions
• British Film and Television
• The Western
• New Hollywood Cinema
• European Cinema
• Hong Kong Cinema

Level 3

• Theory 3: Socio-Cultural Contexts – analysing the social and cultural implications of games
• EITHER Major Design Project
• OR Major Theoretical Project
• OR Medium Design Project AND Medium Theoretical Project
• Film and Television Studies Project
  

Two modules from the following:

• American Independent Cinema
• Quality American Television
• Gender and Sexuality
• Horror
• Media Freedom and Regulation
• Third Cinema
• Analysis of Work Experience

Teaching and Learning

Lectures, workshops, seminars, play sessions and tutorials will provide you with different ways of engaging with relevant materials. Use will be made of the programme’s online forum to aid in the development of knowledge and to solicit discussion.

Assessment

Practical work is assessed by a range of projects throughout the programme, some of which are carried out in groups. Throughout the programme, assessed practical exercises and projects require increasingly more complex knowledge of markets, parameters and techniques. Written essays which accompany projects require evaluation of your own work using a range of theoretical and critical tools. The project modules enable a more sustained engagement in which detailed knowledge and understanding is tested.

Employability

You will acquire core transferable skills of effective communication, leadership, self-management, initiative and personal responsibility.

Our undergraduate programmes are designed to sharpen creative and analytical skills and develop confidence in working in teams and in problem-solving techniques.

Careers

The course will prepare you for a career in the digital games industry or allow specialisation within the field of Digital Games in combination with Film and TV Studies.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £9,000 full-time; £6,750 part-time

International students: £12,000 full-time

We are introducing over 700 scholarships for 2013, meaning that one in five applicants who join Brunel next year will receive financial support from the University. See our fees and funding page for full details

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements for 2013 Entry

• GCE A-level BBB (General Studies/Critical Thinking accepted).
• Irish Leaving Certificate ABBBB.
• Scottish Advanced Highers BBB.
• Advanced Diploma Progression Diploma grade B in Creative and Media, including A-level grade B for Additional and Specialist Learning.
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DDM in a related subject.
• IBDP 32 points.
• Access Complete and pass a related subject Access course with 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2 with Merits in all units.

For all of the above, 5 GCSEs or equivalent at Grade C or above are also required, to include English and Maths (please note that these must have been gained by the time you submit your UCAS application).

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.