Games Design and Production
Games design and production is the creative and organisational discipline that brings together the many components of a video game into a coherent, engaging experience. Where games programming focuses on the technical systems that make games run, games design and production is concerned with how those systems are conceived, how game worlds are built and populated, how production processes are managed, and how the many disciplines involved in game development, including art, programming, audio, narrative, and QA, are coordinated to deliver a finished product. At the University of Salford, the BA Games Design and Production is a three-year full-time programme that prepares you for work across the broad landscape of game development.
As the current programme description notes, the games industry spans AAA studios, indie developers, advergaming, hyper-casual games, and serious games for training, education, and health, each with different production cultures and requirements. The degree develops your understanding of game design principles: how mechanics, systems, and level design create engaging player experiences. Production skills, including project management, version control, pipeline management, and the workflows used in professional studios, are developed alongside design thinking.
You will work with industry-standard tools used in game development, building practical skills in design and production that complement the conceptual knowledge the programme develops. Portfolio work is central to the curriculum, allowing you to demonstrate your capabilities to future employers in the way the industry actually evaluates talent.
Graduates of games design and production programmes work in studios of all sizes, in roles including game designer, level designer, producer, production coordinator, game analyst, and narrative designer. The broad range of game types covered in the degree means that graduates are competitive for roles in the full spectrum of the industry. The portfolio built during the programme is the primary currency for career entry, and the practical skills developed through production-focused projects are directly applicable in professional contexts.
Some graduates go on to postgraduate study in game design, game development, or interactive media. Others apply their design and production skills in adjacent industries including simulation, interactive media, and digital entertainment.