Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Games Development (Year 0)

at Norwich University of the Arts United Kingdom

Connecting your passions and unique perspective to the world of professional photography is at the heart of our BA (Hons) Photography course, recognised by the Association of Photographers. You will develop your own approach at NUA – not a standard house style

You will learn how to apply your creative vision to a range of industry briefs, from fashion to advertising and editorial photography.

Whatever your aspirations, your work will be unmistakable as you emerge as a professional practitioner with a distinctive portfolio.

Thinking beyond the frame

We will encourage you to think about client needs and expectations.

We want to see you produce stand-out work that could wow creative teams in whatever industry drives your interest.

But it will always be your vision.

You’ll also be part of a community of photographers – collaborating with other students and taking part in peer review and cross-year critiques to give and receive feedback

Designed for the future

Studying at NUA will give you access to a wide range of industry-level photographic and lighting equipment.

You will have access to tools to produce imaginative and original images to the highest standards.

There will be opportunities to work at the cutting edge of digital photography; exploring the possibilities of moving image and computer-generated images (CGI).

As you grow your expertise in critical aspects of communication design you’ll have the chance to explore areas including graphic design, graphic communication, illustration, information design, interactive communication, multimedia and typography.

Refine your communication design skills
From moving image and sound to questions of brand management and publishing, you’ll stretch your skills and ambition as a postgraduate student at NUA. As you develop your own voice and practice through experimentation, you’ll also have the chance to critically examine key design and communication issues such as sustainability, new technology, new audiences and markets, inclusivity and ethics.

Combine creative flair and technical skill on the MA Games Masters degree course at the UK’s Best Educational Institution (2017 TIGA Games Industry Awards).

As a postgraduate student at NUA you’ll collaborate with likeminded peers and be guided by subject specialist staff. You’ll enjoy interdisciplinary sessions with students from across our range of MA courses as you work towards your ambition of a career in the games industry or wider creative sector.

Refine your industry-ready skillset

Ensuring you graduate ready to meet the demands of a rapidly-evolving industry, this course will accelerate the development of your games design skillset.

Alongside broader research into the social, technical, economic and cultural context in which games are produced, you’ll specialise in one of three areas, following a clearly-defined path of study in Concept Art (and Sequential Narrative), Asset Production or Indie Development.

You have the opportunity to study architecture in an art school environment at NUA, developing professional skills in a creative community where improving the world around us through innovative and responsible design is our primary focus.

A distinctive combination of imagination and exploration, research and critical evaluation will be at the centre of your approach to the built environment.

You will acquire skills in technical aspects of spatial design using a variety of traditional and contemporary techniques, from drawing and model-making to 3D digital design.

Taking Year 0 at the beginning of your degree course will get your studies at Norwich University of the Arts off to a flying start. The extra year of study will help you explore creative ideas and begin to develop the practical skills, research techniques and ways of thinking that are essential to undergraduate success.

You will be making films from week one and set-ready by the time you graduate when you join our BA (Hons) Film and Moving Image Production degree, accredited by ScreenSkills.

We will encourage you to explore a variety of filmmaking mediums and platforms to become an accomplished and creative storyteller.

You’ll learn by doing as you become a flexible, multi-skilled collaborator with technical and craft skills highly-prized by industry.

You’ll explore how the production skills you use and creative choices you make can shape and change the story you are telling.

Our BA (Hons) Fashion course will encourage exploration in concept development, pattern cutting, and professional garment construction supported by technical skills and couture levels of craftsmanship.

Your technical expertise and understanding of materials and industry markets will grow by working on design competitions and briefs for high profile companies such as Burberry and ASOS.

Guest lectures, seminars and workshops with acclaimed practitioners, stylists and academics will give you insight into how the industry works.

We will help you to develop a professional portfolio to showcase your design identity and profile the quality of your manufactured garments to employers.

Fashion design skills
We’ll encourage you to innovate as well as to understand historic and contemporary trends in fashion.

You’ll develop essential technical skills to support your design thinking, including:

• Design development
• Planning
• Pattern cutting
• Garment construction
• Tailoring.

Taking Year 0 at the beginning of your degree course will get your studies at Norwich University of the Arts off to a flying start. The extra year of study will help you explore creative ideas and begin to develop the practical skills, research techniques and ways of thinking that are essential to undergraduate success.

Experiment and explore the broad context and future of textile design at NUA as you develop your professional skills and personal style through commercial and creative briefs.

Our BA (Hons) Textile Design degree course will encourage you to try a range of techniques, from traditional processes to 21^st century technology; including:

• Screen-printing
• Weaving
• Knit, stitch and material explorations
• Digital design and making with industry-standard equipment.

Our BSc (Hons) in User Experience Design is rooted in NUA’s traditional strength in graphic design, design thinking, and creative problem-solving.

The User Experience Design degree gives you the essential skills to become a successful UX designer – shaping how people engage with digital products and services.

Your learning will focus on applying user experience and digital design principles that are highly prized in today’s fast-changing design industry.

You will use industry-standard technologies and prototyping techniques to develop professional solutions for a range of contexts.

In each case, you will move from research to the creation of user journeys to the design of user experiences that work across multiple digital environments: from desktop to mobile.

Responding to one of the fasting growing sectors of the visual communications industry, this course will allow you to use design, problem solving, research and psychology to test and create better digital products and services.

You are curious about how design can influence human behaviour – guiding people’s actions and decisions.

You are eager to learn how to test your ideas and work through versions towards the most effective creative solution to whatever problem you’re trying to solve – whether you’re designing an app, website, or physical product.

You’ll learn research and analytical skills that will help you to understand how people react in the face of different design experiences online and in the physical world.

Taking Year 0 at the beginning of your degree course will get your studies at Norwich University of the Arts off to a flying start. The extra year of study will help you explore creative ideas and begin to develop the practical skills, research techniques and ways of thinking that are essential to undergraduate success.

You will explore the mechanics of playful interaction on our BSc (Hons) Games Development degree as you develop skills in prototyping and user testing.

You are a games designer, developer, or coder who wants to learn the end-to-end process of making games and prepare for a successful career in a dynamic and rapidly-evolving industry.

You will work with different technologies and platforms, including console, web, mobile, PC, augmented and virtual reality.

How you think, make decisions, and develop ideas will evolve as you learn to code games that give users an exceptional experience. And you will be part of the NUA Games community, interacting and collaborating with your peers on our sister course, BA Games Art and Design.

Workshops, technical demonstrations and live briefs will help prepare you for a career in the games industry.

NUA Games is a member of the Sony PlayStation First Academic Partnership Programme, and was ranked as the UK’s best educational institution in 2017. The Rookies, a global panel of games industry experts, ranked NUA in the world’s top 50 in 2020.

Games development – your way

You will be exposed to a variety of industry-standard platforms and technologies – including virtual, augmented, mixed and extended reality – but will always focus on your own personal and professional interest.

Applying computer science, and knowledge of emerging technologies to the creation of prototypes, you’ll create different types of game for different audiences, based on evidence gathered through research, observation and practical experimentation.

You’ll evolve how you think, make decisions, and develop ideas, to ultimately code games that give users an exceptional experience.

Our BA (Hons) course has a global reputation for producing graduates who are creative thinkers with accomplished technical skills and a strong grasp of the latest technology.

The course benefits from close links to some of the leading names in the design industry.

You’ll follow a proven path that has led to NUA graduates securing roles at some of the UK’s leading design studios, branding and advertising agencies.

Design ideas that work

Our course has a strong emphasis on commercial work and you’ll be challenged to generate high quality creative solutions, including:

• Visual identities
• Packaging
• Websites
• Cross-platform advertising campaigns.

Briefs are designed to inspire you to generate original, innovative and – crucially – effective design solutions.

You’ll learn how to question a brief using research techniques that will help you develop a thorough understanding of each client, their challenges and target market.