Games Design and Development
Games design and development is a discipline that combines creative vision with technical execution, asking how interactive experiences can be conceived, designed, built, and refined so that they engage, challenge, and entertain players. The games industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors in the global entertainment economy, employing designers, programmers, artists, audio specialists, and producers working in teams that often rival film studios in scale and ambition. Studying games design and development gives you both the creative skills and the technical foundations to contribute to that environment.
Coventry University's three-year full-time Games Design and Development degree is designed for aspiring game designers and developers. As the course describes, you will explore storytelling, mechanics, and production pipelines while building, testing, and refining playable games in a collaborative studio environment that mirrors industry. The programme has a typical entry tariff of 136 points and includes a sandwich year option, a year abroad option, and work placement opportunities, giving you the chance to build professional experience in the games industry before you graduate.
You will develop skills in game design theory, level design, game mechanics, programming for games, and the use of industry-standard engines and tools, alongside project management and the ability to work effectively in creative production teams.
Graduates enter a wide range of roles within and adjacent to the games industry, including game designer, level designer, game developer, programmer, quality assurance tester, game producer, and narrative designer. Others move into the broader interactive media sector, working in virtual reality, augmented reality, interactive training, or simulation. The technical and creative skills developed through the degree are also valued in film and television visual effects, advertising, and the tech sector more broadly.
Postgraduate study or further specialisation in programming, design, or production is an option for those seeking to develop deeper expertise.