Postgraduate Taught Degrees

MSc Games Development

Duration:: 1 years
Attendance:: Full Time
Award:: Degree of Master of Science
School of Study:: Computing Sciences
Brochure:: Faculty of Science Postgraduate Brochure (PDF)

Overview
Why Choose Us
Course Profile
Requirements
Fees and Funding
Apply

Why take this course?

Computer games companies have dictated the advancement of computer graphics hardware and software over the last decade. The MSc in Games Development will give you an in-depth knowledge of Computer Graphics foundations, advanced programming techniques for the games industry and how to use state of the art software and technology as part of computer games development and CGI (computer generated imagery). This MSc is an excellent platform to a career in the games and entertainment industries. However, it can also serve as an entry for a PhD Degree in Computer Graphics or in related topics such as Computer Vision, Medical Imaging and Human Computer Interaction.

This course is designed for students with a degree in computing* who wish to gain specialist knowledge in advanced Computer Graphics, Virtual Environments and Computer Games Development. Applicants should have some experience in programming (C/C++ or JAVA) whilst graphics programming experience (OpenGL, DirectX, XNA) is a bonus though not essential.

This programme has full Chartered IT Professional (CITP) accreditation (Further Learning Element) as well as leading to Chartered Engineer (CEng) status from the (BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT)

*or a good degree in engineering, mathematics or physics with additional programming experience.

Contact time

Students have on average 15 hours of contact time per week with teaching staff through lectures, laboratory sessions and seminars, though this may vary depending on module choices. Additionally, students should allocate at least 25 hours per week for study, coursework assignments and projects.

Teaching and Assessment

Course modules cover a wide range of topics including games architecture, games engines, games physics, GPUs and shader languages, character animation, motion capture, collision detection and response, specialist input/output devices (e.g. haptic/force feedback, stereoscopic displays, HMDs, motion tracking), virtual environments, advanced rendering, movie animation and special effects. Development platforms taught include OpenGL with C/C++, XNA (Game Studio) with C# (Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7) and Apple iOS development. 3D Studio Max and Maya are also used for geometry creation and character animation. Coursework exercises and projects are incremental hence leading to a number of final products, including 2D/3D games and animation videos for student’s future portfolios.

Additionally, the course offers two different streams:

Stream 1 - Games Programming: This stream is aimed at students mainly wishing to strengthen their programming skills to prepare them for programming jobs in the games industry.

Stream 2 – Games Modeling: In the past, the games industry merely recruited either programmers or artists. However, during the last couple of years, games companies also have started to recruit employees with ‘hybrid’ skills, i.e. those who have a solid grounding in computing science and some programming skills, but also have decent modeling and/or artistic skills. It is the aim of this stream to hone your skills in each of these two areas. Seminars provided from a games artist's perspective include character animation, texture and face modeling and stop motion.

Video shot of a 3D game developed by the MSc in Games Development students as part of a group exercise. The game incorporates motion captured animation of NPC's.

Some project work may be done with collaborating games companies
A sample selection of recent project/dissertation titles:

Virtual humans for crowd simulations
Virtual human and avatar technology
Controlling vehicle animation
Parallel Algorithms: CPU versus GPU
Motion capturing for 3D game animation
Motion capturing of dance movements to create the ‘dancing avatar’
Game-playing for linked image retention in education
iPhone/iPad apps development

Career opportunities

The School has an excellent record in both post-BSc and post-MSc placements and most of our recent graduates have found jobs in the entertainment and games development industries, some of which we are in active collaboration with.


AMD	Blitz Games Studios	Fx home

After graduation, I opened a game and multimedia company which, four years on, counts over 60 employees. All the work I am currently doing is related to my studies, especially in the field of Computer Graphics at UEA. Recently, I became a part-time news media arts lecturer in three universities.

Yuxi Zhong, former student.

Before attending UEA I never thought I had the capacity of becoming a video game developer. However, the Game Development course has made me think otherwise. It was both demanding and exciting, it has made me understand the core mechanics of game engines and computer graphics. My academic year at UEA has made me gain self-confidence which allowed to obtain a job in the gaming industry.

Olivier Legat, former student.

I am glad I worked hard and made the most of my Masters course. It is the best place for someone who wishes to gain a lot of knowledge and greatly improve their technical skills. I found the lecturers in the computer graphics department to be very knowledgeable and encouraging. Definitely a good place for studying computer graphics.

Harish Mandalika, former student.

Studying at UEA was an unforgettable experience for me, especially when it comes to the MSc in Games Development. The course opened new career opportunities for me through its module diversity and large variety in the technologies studied. Moreover, thanks to my lecturers I took part in the games development competition Search For A Star, where I came second in the UK, certainly helping me in pursuing a job in the industry. The result of this one year journey was to get in touch with some magnificent studios around the country and finally get myself a position as a graphics programmer for Neon Play Ltd, one of the best mobile game studios in the UK.

Pantelis Lekakis, former student.

Course Organiser:Dr. Stephen Laycock

95% of research activity is classified as internationally leading, excellent or recognised in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
Teaching of the highest quality; rated “Commendable” in the most recent Teaching Quality Assessment.
Our Masters programmes are accredited by the BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT to full Chartered IT Professional (CITP Further Learning Element) as well as leading to Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.
The School maintains close links with industry and many of our student assignments relate to real world problems.
The School of Computing Sciences leads the university in utilizing its internationally recognized research commercially, through SYS Consulting, its Consulting company and through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
Our students also use their technical and entrepreneurial skills to play influential roles in the creation of companies such as Travel Republic, Evoke systems, Fyfo and Shoretech systems.

Come and Visit Us

Our Open Days will give you the opportunity to experience the University of East Anglia's unique campus atmosphere.

Year 1

Compulsory Study (120 credits)

Students must study the following modules for 120 credits:

Name	Code	Credits
COMPUTER GAMES DEVELOPMENT	CMPSME27	20
This module covers 2D Animation and 3D Computer Animation, Special Effects, Virtual Reality (VR) Systems including Virtual Environments, VR hardware, Augmented Reality and Applications, Physical Modelling of Animation, Dynamics Simulations, Motion Capturing, Character Animation, Games Development, and Shader languages. Coursework includes the use of 3D StudioMax and software development on C/C++ with OpenGL platforms to develop a 3D computer game. More...
COMPUTER GAMES LABORATORY	CMPSME22	20
This module is lab based and draws heavily on the CMPSME27 module (which is a prerequisite). It aims to make the student familiar with Virtual Reality (VR) hardware and related technologies, the Virtual Environment (VE), and Games and Entertainment platforms. Laboratory tasks should include a maximum of two of the following topics: Computer Animation, Collaborative/Networked Virtual Environments, Haptic/Force Feedback systems, Motion Capturing, Augmented Reality (AR), Stereoscopic Displays, Entertainment and Games Development using advanced programming techniques such as Shaders; Xbox development, and Medical Simulation and Visualisation. More...
DISSERTATION	CMPSMP6X	60
Reserved for postgraduates in the School of Computing Sciences, this module provides the student with a piece of individual work, with substantial research and practical elements. The subject of the dissertation will be determined by agreement between the student and his or her supervisor. The work may be undertaken as part of a large collaborative or group project. More...
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES	CMPSMP2Y	20
A module that provides students with the training of some transferable skills, an overview of research methods used in computing sciences, and introduces individual students to background material preparatory to their dissertation project which they would not otherwise study systematically to the required depth. The learning objectives for this module are to enable students to approach the dissertation with the intellectual and practical skills necessary to successfully complete a masters dissertation in Computer Science. More...

Option A Study (60 credits)

Students will select 60 credits from the following modules:

Name	Code	Credits
ADVANCED PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES	CMPSMC31	20
This module aims to extend your programming skills to new limits. Aside improving your skills by looking at advanced techniques such as multithreading, memory management, dynamic link libraries, exception handling and parallel programming using recent techniques such as the OpenCL and CUDA API's, the module will also cover popular concepts such as extreme programming and agile software development. More...
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ALGORITHMICS	CMPSMA24	20
This module introduces the student to core techniques in Artificial Intelligence and some topics in algorithmics. Topics to be covered include state space, search techniques, algorithmic paradigms, NP-completeness, metaheuristics, logic and knowledge representation and expert systems. More...
AUDIO AND VISUAL PROCESSING	CMPSMI05	20
This module examines computer processing of audio and visual signals. The theoretical basis of analysis and processing of digital signals is explored in depth. This is then applied to the design of systems to achieve certain effects on signals representing audio and visual data. This also enables us to understand how one of the most significant technologies of recent times, the mobile telephone, is able to transmit speech at a low data-rate (speech coding). Other application areas to be covered include speech recognition and synthesis, image coding and audio-visual processing, including audio-visual synthesis (talking heads) and recognition (speech-recognition augmented by lip-reading). This module assumes that students have studied sound/image/signal processing to at least level 2 at undergraduate level. More...
COMPUTER NETWORKS	CMPSMD22	20
This unit analyses the fundamental concepts in data transmission and computer network design, implementation and management. Protocols for local and wide-area networks are studied in detail from a performance evaluation perspective. More...
COMPUTER VISION (FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY)	CMPSMI16	20
This module covers the various stages in processing the image recorded at the sensor level in a camera so that the output is an attractive photographic image. The first half of the course will cover topics including demosaicking, denoising, white point correction, dynamic range compression and image rendering. The second half will look at higher level functions such as finding faces in images, content recognition (including face recognition) and facial coding in images. The last topic is particularly interesting in the context of mobile phone applications. More...
DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING	CMPSMC34	20
Single computer systems have limited processing power and are vulnerable to failure. Using distributed computing, processing speeds exceeding the limits of any single computer, and systems that continue to be available when individual computers fail can be realised. Achieving these features requires use of adequate algorithms, software architectures and networking techniques. This is the subject of this module. More...
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS	CMPSMD01	20
Embedded processors are at the core of a huge range of products e.g. mobile telephones, cameras, passenger cars, washing machines, DVD players, medical equipment, etc. The embedded market is currently estimated to be worth around 100x the ‘desktop’ market and is projected to grow exponentially over the next decode. This module considers the design and development of real-time embedded system applications for commercial off the shelf (COTS) processors running real time operating systems (RTOS) such as ARM-RT, uCLinux etc. More...
HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION	CMPSMM23	20
An introduction to Human Computer Interaction including user interfaces on conventional computers and small footprint devices (e.g. PDAs and smart mobile phones). Human-Computer interactions are approached from a variety of perspectives: cognitive, ethnographic, socio-technical and systems theoretic. The module covers aspects of cognitive psychology and ethnographic methods necessary to understand and evaluate HCI. It brings together established practice and newer perspectives in order to fully understand what is meant by the usability and accessibility of modern interactive systems. More...
INTERNET & MULTIMEDIA TECHNIQUES	CMPSMB13	20
This module surveys the current and emerging technologies of the Internet and its impact on society, particularly e-commerce. The practical part of the module concentrates on the design and integration of web sites, using a range of tools and techniques in current use. More...

Disclaimer

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules and regular (five-yearly) review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff or sabbatical leave. Where this is the case, the University will endeavour to inform students.

Entry Requirements

Degree Subject:: Computer Science or a related subject.
Degree Classification:: Good first degree (minimum 2.1 or equivalent).

Students for whom English is a Foreign language

We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:

IELTS: 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in all components)
TOEFL: Internet-based score of 88 (minimum 18 in listening, 21 speaking, 19 writing and 20 reading)
PTE (Pearson): 62 (minimum 55 in all components)
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.

Other tests such as TOEIC and the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English are also accepted by the university. Please check with the Admissions Office for further details including the scores or grades required.

INTO UEA and INTO UEA London run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk (INTO UEA Norwich) or pseuealondon@into.uk.com (INTO UEA London).

Fees and Funding

Tuition Fees 2013/14

UK/EU £5,000
International £12,500

Funding

International applicants applying to this course can be considered for one Faculty of Science half fees scholarship or one £2000 scholarship. The deadline is 1st April 2013.

Faculty of Science Scholarships
Students wishing to apply should submit an essay answering the following question in 1000 words: 'Has rasterization hampered the development of realistic computer graphics'? Essays should be emailed to the Admissions Office. Please ensure you include your full name, the course you have applied to, and your applicant number in your email.

For more information please contact the Computing Sciences Postgraduate Admissions Office (cmp.pgt.admiss@uea.ac.uk)

Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.

You can apply online, or by downloading the application form.

Further Information

To request further information & to be kept up to date with news & events please use our online enquiry form.

If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:

Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk

International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.