Masters Degrees (3Ds Max)

Channel your creativity and join a multi-skilled team to develop the next generation of video games. On our arts-based MA, you’ll join the vibrant games and technology community based here in Cambridge that includes Guerrilla, ARM, Frontier Developments, Jagex and Ninja Theory.

Your course will have a new home in Compass House, which will extend our campus along East Road. You’ll have the latest technology at your fingertips and be able to collaborate with other students on innovative projects to hone your skills.

See the website http://www.anglia.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/computer-games-development-art

If you have a degree in an art and design or computer games-related subject, our course will allow you to specialise in games art at Master's level.

Based in the inspiring environment of our new Compass House Games Centre, you’ll learn all about best practice in the games industry. We’ll encourage you to work in design production teams, tackling a series of creative and technical challenges with programmers and industry professionals. You'll develop your design skills and learn how to create and publish successful games across a range of platforms.

Cambridge accounts for nearly 20% of the UK computer games industry, so it's a great place to study as we enjoy excellent links with the major games developers in the area. What's more, our Computer Games Centre offers studio space to local indie developers, who'll share their knowledge and experience with you.

We're partners with the Global Science & Technology Forum, allowing our students access to cutting-edge research materials.

While you're studying, we'll encourage you to take on work placements and collaborate on live projects with the games industry. You’ll also have the chance to enter games events, such as Brains Eden, which Anglia Ruskin hosts every year.

This course runs in parallel with our MSc Computer Games Development (Computing), reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of games creation.

See the website http://www.anglia.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/computer-games-development-art

Careers

Our MA gives you the chance to specialise in the design and technical implementation of computer games, whether you already have a games-related degree, or you're a recent graduate of a non-games-related degree who's looking to move into this area. Our course is also suitable if you work in another creative industry and are looking to move into games design and creation.

The skills you'll learn on this course are relevant to other forms of games - including board games and educational games - allowing you to consider a number of career options.

Interactive computer games is a relatively new medium; as the industry grows, you’ll find more and more opportunities to use the computing and creative skills you'll hone while studying here.

Modules & assessment

Core modules:
Process and Practice as Research
Games Development 1
Games Development 2
Digital Arts - Experimental Practice
Master's Project: Art and Design

Assessment

You’ll show your progress through a combination of written and practical work, carried out individually and as part of a team.

What you'll study

Cambridge School of Art has been inspiring creativity since 1858 when it was opened by John Ruskin.

Engaging with current debates surrounding contemporary practice and with the state-of-the-art facilities, Cambridge School of Art houses light, bright studios, industry-standard film and photographic facilities, and 150-year-old printing presses alongside dedicated Apple Mac suites. Our digital art gallery, the Ruskin Gallery, exhibits both traditional shows and multimedia presentations, from national and international touring exhibitions and our own students.

We are the only university in Cambridge offering art and design courses at higher education level. A tight-knit community of artists, academics and over 900 students, we collaborate across our University, the creative industries, and other sectors. Cambridge is a centre for employment in the creative industries and there are rich opportunities for collaboration with the city’s entertainment, technological, scientific, arts and heritage industries.

Our graduates have a history of winning national and international awards and an excellent employment record. They include Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett and Dave Gilmour, Spitting Image creators Peter Fluck and Roger Law, and illustrator Ronald Searle, the creator of St Trinian's.

We’re part of the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, a hub of creative and cultural innovation whose groundbreaking research has real social impact.

Facilities

Based at the new Compass House Computer Games Centre, a three-minute walk from our main Cambridge campus, you’ll have 24-hour access to a hub space with group work naturally forming a part of your studies.

The centre includes a start-up lab for small games companies, supported by Games Eden, the Cambridge Computer Games industry network. This will give you excellent opportunities to work in an entrepreneurial games environment.

All students on our Computer Games courses – undergraduate and postgraduate – have access to industry-standard PCs running Maya, 3DS Max, ZBrush, Mudbox, Motion Builder, After Effects, Unity 3D, and UDK. You’ll be able to use motion capture equipment, 3D monitors, VR equipment, graphics tablets, a render farm, HD cameras and digital SLRs (for HDRI capture).

Links with industry

Cambridge is home to nearly 20% of the UK’s computer games industry, including Sony’s Guerrilla Studios, ARM, Jagex, Ninja Theory, Frontier, Geomerics and a host of smaller indie developers. Our Computer Games Art department is a member of TIGA, the Business & University Games Syndicate, and a partner of the Global Science & Technology Forum, giving you access to cutting-edge research materials.

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Take your computer game development skills to the next level. Study, plan, produce and test games in our specialist studios. Working alongside students from our Computer Games Development Art course, you’ll gain experience in multi-disciplinary working and create an advanced portfolio.

Your course will have a new home in Compass House, which will extend our campus along East Road. You’ll have the latest technology at your fingertips and be able to collaborate with other students on innovative projects to hone your skills.

The UK video games industry is worth £3.78 billion and there’s currently a recognised skills shortage of skilled games designers. If you have a first degree in computer science or a similar technical degree, our course will give you the skills to confidently create advanced level games.

Based in Cambridge, the heart of the UK’s games development industry, you’ll work in our Computer Game Development studio and hub, where you’ll create games both on your own and in teams, and gain the technical design skills to publish successfully across a range of platforms.

As well as furthering your development skills, you’ll also focus on games programming and tailor your research project so that you can concentrate on developing skills in an area that you’re passionate about.

We constantly focus on entrepreneurial opportunities, and sharing modules with our MA Computer Games Development (Art) means you’ll work with different strands of the games industry and meet and build your contacts ready for your career. Everything you design will also build into a valuable portfolio to help you secure your dream job when you graduate.

See the website http://www.anglia.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/computer-games-development-computing

Careers

It can take up to three years to create a game, all the way from initial concept to the finished product. One game can involve up to 200 professionals working as a team.

As a game developer, you could design the visual styling as well as how it plays. You could be involved with animating characters and objects, creating audio, programming, testing and producing.

Besides working in the leisure/entertainment sector, you could use your skills to develop ‘serious’ games. These are used in rehabilitation, education and training, defence, science, health, city planning and engineering.

You could also go into a career in marketing, teaching or general technology.

You’re also in the perfect position to continue your academic career and move up to our Computer Science PhD.

Modules & Assessment

Core modules:
• Games Programming
• Portfolio
• Games Development 1
• Games Development 2
• Research Methods
• Major Project

Assessment

We’ll ensure you’re on track through a combination of written and practical work, both as an individual and as team activities.

Where you'll study

The Faculty of Science & Technology is one of the largest of five faculties at Anglia Ruskin University. Whether you choose to study with us full- or part-time, on campus or at a distance, there’s an option whatever your level – from a foundation degree, to a BSc, MSc, PhD or professional doctorate.

Whichever course you pick, you’ll gain the theory and practical skills needed to progress with confidence. Join us and you could find yourself learning in the very latest laboratories or on field trips or work placements with well-known and respected companies. You may even have the opportunity to study abroad.

Everything we do in the faculty has a singular purpose: to provide a world-class environment to create, share and advance knowledge in science and technology fields. This is key to all of our futures.

Visit your faculty - http://www.anglia.ac.uk/science-and-technology

Where can I study?

Cambridge - Our campus is close to the centre of Cambridge, often described as the perfect student city.
http://www.anglia.ac.uk/student-life/life-on-campus/cambridge-campus

Specialist facilities

You’ll spend plenty of time in our Games Development Studio, which simulates a commercial working studio and features up-to-date hardware and software. We currently have a range of industry standard software including Unity 3D, Unreal Engine 4, Maya, 3ds Max, Microsoft Visual Studio and Photoshop, as well as GameMaker, 3DGameStudio, Adobe Flash and Action Script, Microsoft XNA Game Studio, GIMP, Blender, Fusion, and Audacity.

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MA Development Journalism is an interdisciplinary course offered jointly by LSBU’s School of Arts and Creative Industries and School of Law and Social Sciences. It brings together our established expertise in Development Studies with our industry-informed provision in journalism education.

Development issues such as migration, poverty, the environment, aid and governance are increasingly relevant in journalism, and this course develops a theoretical understanding of these issues alongside practical journalism skills.

The course also provides you with a solid grounding in key theories, concepts and debates around development and contemporary development journalism. It offers hands-on practical professional training in broadcast and podcast radio journalism, equipping you with skills in audio production, interview techniques, editing, mixing and ‘live’ studio operation.

The course also provides training in research methods, enabling you to become an effective researcher in the field of development journalism.

You'll have access to our new media facilities in Elephant Studios at LSBU. See website for more details:

http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/courses/course-finder/development-journalism-ma#course_tab_overview

Modules

Contemporary issues in development
Researching the media industries
Development journalism
Radio production for development journalism
Dissertation

Plus one optional module from:

International law and human rights
Human development in a globalised world
Forced migration and human rights
Forced migration and development

All modules are assessed by coursework.

Teaching and learning

Class contact time is typically ten hours per week plus tutorials and independent study. You'll have access to LSBU's Moodle Virtual Learning Environment, where you can access electronic versions of core texts and other resources.

Facilities

Keyworth Arts and Media Centre

Our Keyworth Arts and Media Centre has eight laboratories holding 123 Apple G5 Intel computers that run all the major software packages you'd expect to find in a professional environment, from Apple Final Cut Studio and Autodesk 3DS Max to Virtools and istopmotion.

Employability

A humanities Masters opens up careers in a number of professions such as teaching, social work, administration and higher level education. Graduates have forged exciting careers in research-related work, public relations, advertising, retail, management and media-related work.

Previous Development Studies students have entered careers in many fields working for international organisations such as the United Nations and its constituent organisations, the World Bank, the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organisation. Many students take up posts in their home countries within government, non-government and civil society organisations, or with non-governmental development organisations in the UK, in addition to teaching posts in universities and colleges specialising in development research and practice.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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The MA in Creative Technologies course is designed to give you the opportunity to research and develop the commercial, technical and conceptual skills needed to succeed as a professional in your chosen area of expertise within the global creative industries.

As a result, the course will further your knowledge while at the same time pushing the boundaries of the possibilities in creating products to an industry standard. You are encouraged to be innovative and imaginative in the use of technology when generating creative solutions. The course promotes a multidisciplinary culture and working environment and students are encouraged to look at collaboration and cross-fertilisation of ideas.

Course work is based on establishing your own focused question and then developing a project that aims at challenging conventions in the use of creative technologies. This project should be a ‘live’ project negotiated with a tutor and industry practitioner that reflects real-life, audience facing, creative technology challenges. You will produce your own project plan, identifying how you wish to use creative technologies in developing your own practice, ultimately impacting your potential career in the creative industries.

The MA in Creative Technologies will provide you with the opportunity to:

• Critically evaluate current debates at the forefront of the creative industries
• Undertake comprehensive research and enquiry to advance new knowledge in the field of creative technology
• Explore and evaluate the role of new and emerging creative technologies when challenging audience perspectives and in having cultural impact from a domestic and international perspective
• Critically reflect on professional and ethical standards within the creative industries relevant to manufacturing, production, IP and sustainability
• Self-direct your investigations into contemporary practices and apply these theories to your work
• Systematically design and propose original and imaginative content for the creative industry marketplace
• Exercise initiative and personal responsibility when working collaboratively on a range of complex projects
• Communicate your research clearly and effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences
• Visualise and disseminate experimental Creative Technology artefacts within your area of focus and critically reflect on user experience
• Demonstrate leadership and autonomy in tackling and solving problems when working on experimental creative technology artefacts
• Manage your professional development by appraising and defining personal objectives in line with your career aspirations

What you'll study

Creative Technology Research (60 Credit Points)

Creative Technology Production (60 Credit Points)

Creative Technology Realisation (60 Credit Points)

Facilities

On this course, you'll study at our brand new £9.1 million Digital Media Hub and have access to:

• Industry-standard workstation PC’s
• Specialist software including Unreal Engine 4, Autodesk Suite (3DS Max, Maya, Mudbox), Adobe Creative Suite, Quixel 2.0
• Wacom Cintiq 13HD Touch Tablets
• Foley recording room
• Audio production and recording equipment
• Games consoles

Industry Week

Linking the three modules is Confetti’s annual Industry Week. Taking place in March each year, it will form the basis for you to present your work to date as part of this event and gather important feedback from industry specialists in order to inform future work and development.

Our heavyweights have included the likes of award-winning filmmakers Nick Broomfield, Shane Meadows, Aardman Animations – the Oscar winning creators of Shaun the Sheep, TV’s Stacey Dooley, Rockstar Games, Playstation, as well as some of the most respected names in the music industry – from Radio 1’s Andy Rogers and Mistajam to Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis and Professor Green.

Teaching & Learning

The MA Creative Technologies places emphasis on the setting and completion of personal learning aims through the creation and realisation of a research project which has been informed by considered research, critical understanding and reflective learning. Confetti promotes a multidisciplinary culture and working environment and students are encouraged to engage in collaboration and cross fertilisation of ideas. Students on these courses will be from a BSc or BA route and both MSc and MA students will be taught together.

The course is supported by Confetti Media Group businesses and external industry partners and practitioners who will work with you to enhance your professional ambitions and learning experiences in areas including entrepreneurship, freelance working, funding, professional networking and collaboration.

As a postgraduate student you will be taught through seminars, group discussions, workshops and both group and individual tutorials with your supervisor and the wider course team. You will be taught by lecturers who are experts in the field of creative technologies and by guest industry practitioners.

The following teaching and learning methods are used within the course:

• Research Workshops – a series of tutor-led workshops that aim to introduce you to the research processes, industry practices, current debates, issues and theories associated with the creative industries.
• Group Tutorials – working with your tutor, industry contacts and your peers you will further explore and extend your understanding of the subject. Group tutorials will give you the opportunity to negotiate your research ideas, receive feedback on your work in progress and to support you in managing your project and meeting milestones effectively. You will be expected to record, reflect on and use this feedback and your own insights.
• Individual Tutorials – regular tutorials will allow you to discuss your development on the course alongside specific discussion with your project supervisor
• Professional Journals – throughout the course you will complete a reflective record of your learning and professional development of your research project which follows industry processes of research, development and production
• Technical Portfolios – in each module you will be supported in producing a portfolio of work demonstrating the development of your research project.
• Technology and IT Skills Workshops – you will work individually and in small groups to apply your subject knowledge provided to real life industry situations. These may take place in IT suites, TV studios, recording studios or workshop spaces

How to apply

To apply for one of our taught courses, please go to the Applicant Portal on our partners’ Nottingham Trent University website.

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The MSc in Creative Technologies enables you to explore the boundaries of creative technologies and gain a deeper understanding of these by researching into the technological and scientific capabilities of both hardware and software and the impact it has on the creation of industry-standard technology products. You will be expected to research the global issues related to the use of creative technologies and investigate current factors such as migration of content across different networks and platforms, emerging interactive technologies within Audio/Video (including VR) and the convergence of fields and disciplines within multiple creative industries.

Course work is based on establishing your own focused question and then developing a project that aims at challenging conventions in the use of creative technologies. This project should be a ‘live’ project negotiated with a tutor and industry practitioner that reflects real-life, audience facing, creative technology challenges. You will produce your own project plan, identifying how you wish to use creative technologies in developing your own practice, ultimately impacting your potential career in the creative industries.

The MSc in Creative Technologies will provide you with the opportunity to:

• Critically evaluate current debates at the forefront of the creative industries
• Undertake comprehensive research and enquiry to advance new knowledge in the field of creative technology
• Explore and evaluate the role of new and emerging creative technologies in relation to convergence, production and distribution from a domestic and international perspective
• Critically reflect on professional and ethical standards within the creative industries relevant to manufacturing, production, IP and sustainability
• Self-direct experiments with regards to scientific principles and apply findings to your work
• Systematically design and propose original and imaginative content for the creative industry marketplace
• Exercise initiative and personal responsibility when working collaboratively on a range of complex projects
• Communicate your research clearly and effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences
• Develop and realise innovative creative technology products within your area of focus and critically reflect on user experience.
• Demonstrate leadership and autonomy in tackling and solving problems when working on creative technology products
• Manage your professional development by appraising and defining personal objectives in line with your career aspirations

As a student on Confetti’s postgraduate courses, you’ll be based in the heart of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter. This will provide you with a unique learning experience where your studies will take place directly within a commercial, creative environment alongside professional creative businesses. This location will allow you to be immersed within the most beneficial environment to research your chosen area of focus in the field of Creative Technologies.

Your learning is then supported and evidenced in your ‘reflective journal’ for each module, which records, analyses and evaluates your ideas and considers ways in which your project might progress. This journal will allow you to link theory to your professional practice.

Through your work and engagement with peers and industry professionals from different cultures and backgrounds, you will gain first-hand experiences of diversity and build a sense of working in a community of industry professionals.

What you'll study

Creative Technology Research (60 Credit Points)

Creative Technology Development (60 Credit Points)

Creative Technology Production (60 Credit Points)

Facilities

On this course, you'll study at our brand new £9.1 million Digital Media Hub and have access to:

• Industry-standard workstation PC’s
• Specialist software including Unreal Engine 4, Autodesk Suite (3DS Max, Maya, Mudbox), Adobe Creative Suite, Quixel 2.0
• Wacom Cintiq 13HD Touch Tablets
• Foley recording room
• Audio production and recording equipment
• Games consoles

Industry Week

Linking the three modules is Confetti’s annual Industry Week. Taking place in March each year, it will form the basis for you to present your work to date as part of this event and gather important feedback from industry specialists in order to inform future work and development.

Our heavyweights have included the likes of award-winning filmmakers Nick Broomfield, Shane Meadows, Aardman Animations – the Oscar winning creators of Shaun the Sheep, TV’s Stacey Dooley, Rockstar Games, Playstation, as well as some of the most respected names in the music industry – from Radio 1’s Andy Rogers and Mistajam to Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis and Professor Green.

Teaching & Learning

he MSc Creative Technologies places emphasis on the setting and completion of personal learning aims through the creation and realisation of a research project which has been informed by considered research, critical understanding and reflective learning. Confetti promotes a multidisciplinary culture and working environment and students are encouraged to engage in collaboration and cross-fertilisation of ideas. Students on these courses will be from a BSc or BA route and both MSc and MA students will be taught together.

The course is supported by Confetti Media Group businesses and external industry partners and practitioners who will work with you to enhance your professional ambitions and learning experiences in areas including entrepreneurship, freelance working, funding, professional networking and collaboration.

As a postgraduate student you will be taught through seminars, group discussions, workshops and both group and individual tutorials with your supervisor and the wider course team. You will be taught by lecturers who are experts in the field of creative technologies and by guest industry practitioners.

The following teaching and learning methods are used within the course:

• Research Workshops
• Group Tutorials
• Individual Tutorials
• Professional Journals
• Technical Portfolios
• Technology and IT Skills Workshops

How to apply

To apply for one of our taught courses, please go to the Applicant Portal on our partners’ Nottingham Trent University website.

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Course Duration

Full-time (Sep): 12 months

Course Summary

MSc Video Game Enterprise and Production is a year-long Masters-level course for the next generation of games industry entrepreneurs and producers. We give people who want to work in games an in-depth experience of the full game development process combined with all the hard-edged business skills they need to run a small games business or manage a studio production. Employers of our graduates include Rockstar North, Traveller’s Tales, Creative Assembly and Exient.

You'll get specialist skills training, mentoring and support from leading game developers, artists, producers and business owners, with experience at such big-name developers as Eurocom, Electronic Arts and Freestyle Games, while Programme Director Zuby Ahmed founded his own company, SmashMouth Games. The course is delivered in a series of ‘boot camps’ followed by one-to-one support, studio based game development and project delivery.

Employment Oppportunity

Successful students will be prepared for roles in production and design; more specifically as project managers, scrum masters and assistant producers within the games industry. They will also be able to work in product development, as product owners, as designers/scripters or in game and business analytics, and will also be confident and able to set up their own video games business.

Previous graduates now work in roles including mission scripter at Rockstar North, associate producer at Rockstar London, assistant producer at Exient and assistant producer at Traveller’s Tales.

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