If you love to talk about games, design them and most importantly play games for hours on end, there is no doubt that these are the perfect study programmes for you.
Caleb O'Brien, Junior Character Artist at Firesprite Games and former Games Design student
Whether it’s the characters, the stories, the gameplay or the graphics that you love most, you will analyse the classics and look at the development of the new generation of games before planning and building your own. As well as joining national game jams, our students also get the chance to visit huge game conventions. We have lots of guests joining us throughout the year for interactive workshops on animations, gameplay and VFX, including some of our former students who are now working in the industry.
Picking the right course is the first step in your games design career! At The Sheffield College, we offer full time study programmes starting at level 1 all the way up to level 3. This means that there are no barriers to you achieving your career goals; you can choose the right level of study for you.
A huge part of the work you will do on any of our creative courses is practical, hands-on experience! We know that getting out of the classroom and into a studio is one of the best ways to help you pick up new skills and embed the theory you've been learning.
Day to day you'll be learning in our fully equipped games design studios. You'll work on projects that allow you to create and explore your own ideas, whether that's producing game concepts, associated artwork, developing game environments in 3D or actually creating playable games, all of the work you'll be doing will centre on developing your practical skills.
This foundation degree has been specially designed for students who wish to pursue a career within the computer games industry, while also developing skills related to other creative sectors. The course is mainly based around the artistic elements of games design, covering concept art, illustration, storyboarding, level design, digital sculpting, 3D computer modelling, texturing, light, rigging and animation.
The course provides and insight into the professional practice of games design through practical demonstration, research and theory-based study. Students are encouraged to explore a variety of sources and subjects that influence their development as well as experiencing a range of teaching methods such as formal lectures, team teaching, practical demonstrations and tutorials that further enhance their learning experience.
One of the best elements of studying one of our games design courses are the huge number of opportunities that come with them! We invest a lot into getting our games designs students as much real-world interactions and experience so that you're ready to hit the ground running when it comes to getting a job.
Our games design students will often venture off campus to visit local businesses, speaking to industry employers and getting the low down on what it takes to succeed in the industry. For example, this year our Level 3 Games Design students have taken part in a masterclass with Framestore (a leading media company in the industry!), learning to hone their 3D modelling and lighting skills to professional standards.
We encourage students to take part in trips to broaden their experiences - this year games design students have visited the BBC's creative hub, Media City, in Salford; and the Yorkshire Games Festival at Bradford's Science & Media Museum.
Our facilities are one of the things that really make us stand out - we've invested millions in our Hillsborough Campus to ensure that our creative media students are learning in a top-class, industry standard environment.
Our Games Design students have access to our industry standard computer suites, equipped with the latest editing and games design software; perfect for developing your skills.
At the end of the day, we all know that a qualification is just the first step on the road to landing your dream job and kick-starting your career, and we're determined to help you get to where you want to be. A qualification in games design can lead to a variety of opportunities within the industry.
Whether you want to create the next Fortnite, or design the next iconic video games character, career prospects in this area are on the up, with over 4,000 job roles in this field predicted to be available in Sheffield by 2024!
Choosing a career path when you've only just left school can seem like a daunting prospect, but our Careers Advice Team are on hand to offer you the best impartial careers guidance going.
They can help you to figure out the kind of jobs that you might enjoy based on your interests, skills and hobbies; or if you already have a pretty good idea of what you'd like to do in the future they can give you some pointers on how to go further and land your dream job. You can talk to them whether you're still deciding on a course or even if you're about to make the jump from education into full-time work.
One of the best ways to find out about a course is to speak to somebody who has been there and done it.
Enter former Games Design student and Sheffield College alumni, Caleb!
In this video Caleb explains a bit more about the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Games Design, what his job as a Junior Character Artist involves, and how his experiences at The Sheffield College helped to prepare him for the role he does now.
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