BA (Hons) Games Art and Technology
If you see yourself creating 2D game graphics, sculpting characters, vehicles, and terrains in 3D, setting and lighting game scenes and creating appealing game atmospheres and environments, this is the course for you.
BA (Hons) Games Art and Technology is a bespoke course that helps students to gain an intimate understanding of the art development process, exploring such domains as environment design, character design and technical art practice. The real fun bit: this is your chance to explore how to tell the stories that pop into your head in the most visual way possible.
It also reaches further than that and our carefully crafted curriculum is designed to prepare you for a successful career in art departments within the games industry. Students will gain a strong understanding of how 3D models are designed, built and deployed into games engines. Meaning that by the time you graduate, you will have a comprehensive grasp of the industry’s production methodologies and you will be well-prepared to make your mark in this dynamic field.
That’s not to mention the opportunity for cross-collaboration with your peers who are studying TV and film: you will explore these technologies together.
All of our Creative Technologies’ courses go beyond the classroom, offering students practical experiences and industry connections to help you seamlessly transition into the professional world because the success of our industry-focussed teaching lies in you finding your place in the industry once you have graduated.
Let your artistic talents flourish and have fun along the way as you pave your way to success with BIMM University’s BA (Hons) Games Art and Technology degree. Together, we’ll shape your future in the vibrant and ever-evolving world of games art.
Faculty
Dr. Enrique Perez is a game developer, researcher, artist, and consultant with over fifteen years of experience. They have worked on international projects in various fields, received multiple awards, and presented their work at festivals and theaters.
Enrique holds advanced degrees in Communication Science, Animation, New Media, and Game Design, and earned a Ph.D. in 2019. Currently, as Head of School: Creative Technology at BIMM University Berlin, Enrique focuses on creating a supportive and inclusive environment for the university community.
Course Specification
Mode of attendance: Full-time
Length of course: 3 years
Awarding institution: BIMM University (UK)
Campus delivery: MetStudios Berlin
Language of study: English
Final award: BA (Hons) Games Art and Technology
Credits: 180 ECTS credits (60 ECTS per year of study)// 360 FHEQ (UK) Level credits (120 FHEQ credits per year of study)
Minimum Requirements
All applicants must successfully complete an entrance interview with BIMM University Berlin (details provided on application).
Academic entry criteria meeting a minimum of 64 UCAS points, equivalent to:
- General Higher Education entrance certificate (Award of Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife/ Abitur, or a Fachgebundene Hochschulreife/ Fachhochschulreife) with an overall average grade of 3.0, including a minimum grade of 10 on the English component (Leistungsfach) on the Abiturprüfung.
- 2 A-levels at Grade C or above, or BTEC Level 3 equivalent, and normally three GCSEs at a minimum grade C/4, including English Language.
- Please reference the Entry Requirements webpage for additional international qualification equivalencies. For applicants with significant prior professional experience and aged 19-years or older, offers may be made under the BIMM University Recognition of Prior Practice Policy.
- Proof of English Language proficiency is required if English is not your first language. BIMM University Berlin requires equivalent to Level B2 CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
Course Fees
We’re dedicated to giving our students the best education possible – which means accessing our globally successful first-rate lecturers in premium locations at the heart of Germany’s creative scene.
Such cutting-edge facilities can be expensive, but we make sure all BIMM University Berlin courses are great value for money – representing a practical and affordable investment for your future career in the industry.
Year 1
All students take the following core modules in their first year of study.
A first Creative Industries module will provide you an overview of the games industry, its corners and edges, and especially its history. You will have fun playing lots of games from different decades by companies and teams of with diverse sizes and focuses. In a second module, you will play many more games and analyse the contributions that different game companies and game designers have done to the game industry as authors. You will also reflect on your own contribution and personal goals.
This module offers you an exploration to the intersection between foundational art principles and their practical implementation within game art through drawing and the development of other artistic skills such as painting and sculpting. You will deepen your understanding of lines, shapes, figures, proportions, volume, depth, perspective, colour theory, light and shadows. You will also begin to work with storyboards, mood boards, and other art methods.
Master the visual game development pipeline. Develop your own 2D game lore and prepare, pack and deploy your 2D art as homogeneous collections of game assets. Explore and work on different visual styles (pixel art, fantasy, punk, gothic) and start thinking about basic UX/UI principles for games, art direction and art bibles
Immerse yourself in the world of Unity and Unreal, as well as other game engine tools. Enhance your proficiency in these pivotal game development tools going through such topics as scene assembly, fundamental control mechanisms, editor capabilities, and the intricacies of asset management and project deployment. Build several game mods while learning game engine functionality.
Work on the core principles of 3-dimensional (3D) modelling, from its fundamental use of edges, vertices, and polygons to creating geometry, understanding mesh topology and the building of 3D assets for games. Gain the essential skills to create virtual worlds and 3D objects from 2D concepts.
Get your hands “dirty” building physical and digital version of different game concepts. Practice iterative design through different fun challenges. Learn the principles of agile development and work on the horizontal slice of a game.
Get your hands “dirty” building physical and digital version of different game concepts. Practice iterative design through different fun challenges. Learn the principles of agile development and work on the horizontal slice of a game.
Practice the creation of realistic and immersive virtual environments and foundational 3D game art by working with materials and lighting on 3D software. Learn how light interacts with different materials, the physics behind light reflection, refraction, and global illumination. Delve into the intricacies of how 3D objects unwrap and how to apply textures using UV mapping.
Year 2
All students take the following core modules in their second year of study, plus two optional modules
*Please note that the offering of optional modules in individual Film Schools, in any given academic year, will be subject to the availability of resources and sufficient student interest.
Immerse yourself in the creation of highly detailed 3D models software such as ZBrush or Mudbox. Sculpt, rig and animate characters and props showing personality traits, emotions and carefully crafted atmospheres. Play with different aesthetic styles prevalent in video games and implement your creations in game engines.
Explore advanced texturing and materials workflows. Learn about shaders. This module ensures you’re equipped with the tools and understanding needed to design and implement state-of-the-art materials and shaders, ranging from stylised texture mapping and lighting to the advanced realms of shader programming and shader tools in game engines.
Develop the skills to carry out individual research enquiries as a game professional. Learn to undertake research applicable to your own practice. Discover the techniques and methods to position yourself around a research topic in a practical way and gain the skills to communicate your arguments as it is relevant in the games industry.
Gain more experience around the practical processes of game development, simulating experiences you are likely to encounter in professional studios. Structured around four distinct game development projects whose outcomes are prototypes or fully fleshed games, the course introduces you to a variety of briefs and requirements from different sources, including direct input from the gaming industry, competitive environments, and academic collaborations.
Collaboration and professionalism are essential skills in the games industry. Learn how to build trust and support relationships for work. You will plan and create collaboratively a piece of work that links to your practice. Collaborating with others will help you develop new and innovative ideas and will boost your confidence as a creative practitioner whilst practising your communication, project management, reflection and feedback skills.
Learn and implement the techniques to produce engaging and intuitive interfaces for games and innovative control methods, bringing those systems to life through visual design and motion graphics.
Explore procedural content creation techniques, which can substantially increase the speed of production. Look into concepts of procedural content generation and rule-based system development using Houdini in conjunction with Unity or Unreal to create and design assets, allowing artists and designers to generate and populate levels. Also, experiment with AI and other generation tools.
Learn and practice creating and implementing sound effects, such as footsteps, gunshots, and ambient noise for your games productions. Provide a sense of realism and immersion through sound as part of your game worlds.
Explore game development for various hardware platforms: this might include handhelds, mobile or console. Create content for VR and AR applications exploring design and physiological challenges. Examine hardware requirements, restrictions and deployment processes.
Year 3
All students take the following core modules in their third (and final) year of study, plus one optional module.
*Please note that the offering of optional modules in individual Film Schools, in any given academic year, will be subject to the availability of resources and sufficient student interest.
Shape the story and player experience through environmental setups. Become the architect of well-crafted and compelling game environments. Learn the techniques used to convey atmospheres within game worlds, focusing on how game art professionals utilise environments to tell stories. Gain an understanding of how space, objects, and level design collaborate to create narratives that can be both explicit and implicit.
Explore the crucial initial phases of game development. Learn and practice comprehensive planning and leverage research-driven ideation to produce compelling game ideas. Learn to pinpoint your target market and tailor your game to their preferences. Hone your skills in pitching game concepts, choose the most suitable project management methodologies, and ensure the optimal project scope. A highlight of the course will be guiding you in crafting a vertical slice, a representation of your game’s core design and mechanics.
Bring your game concept or game assets to life, navigating the challenges of game development while also engaging in the negotiation process to determine the assessment criteria of your project. Deliver a project aiming for a professional level of project management and quality assurance, keeping a developer diary to record your journey.
Apply the skills and knowledge that you have gained during your studies at BIMM University and produce an extended piece of work exploring your creative practice. First, generate a project idea and then extend and develop this project through to completion.
The final step in preparing you for a career in the games industry. It encourages critical self-evaluation of your personal learning journey and industry engagements thus far, drawing on evidence from your entire student experience. Explore concepts and theories of personal and professional development to assess your readiness for work. You will have the opportunity to engage with specialised workshops, facilitated by industry experts and informed by our extensive industry connections, to provide valuable knowledge and help you develop the skills needed to launch your career. The culmination of this module is the creation of a portfolio or showreel that showcases your talent and effectively communicates your unique professional identity.
Learn and implement the techniques to produce engaging and intuitive interfaces for games and innovative control methods. Bringing those systems to life through visual design and motion graphics.
Explore procedural content creation techniques, which can substantially increase the speed of production. Look into concepts of procedural content generation and rule-based system development using Houdini in conjunction with Unity or Unreal to create and design assets allowing artists and designers to generate and populate levels. Also experiment with AI and other generation tools.
Learn and practice creating and implementing sound effects, such as footsteps, gunshots, and ambient noise for your games productions. Provide a sense of realism and immersion through sound as part of your game worlds.
Explore game development for various hardware platforms: this might include handhelds, mobile or console. Create content for VR and AR applications exploring design and physiological challenges. Examine hardware requirements, restrictions and deployment processes.
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Any questions?
For any questions regarding our courses or if you’d like more information on how to apply to BIMM University Berlin, please contact our Admissions Team on +49 (0)30 311 99 186 or email admissions@bimm-university.de.
