Course description
This Creative Media Practice course has been developed into a Games Development course which is designed to develop your understanding of the Game Design & Development industry while building your fundamental transferable skills and assess your personal skill set. Units will be delivered over a wide range of different disciplines in the Games Design & Development with the intention to teach industry practices and fine-tune your role in the industry. If you want to excel in the Games industry and have a passion for creative development, then this is the course for you!
This course is supported by NextGen Skills Academy, TIGA & Creative UK.
Upcoming start dates
Suitability - Who should attend?
5 GCSEs grade 9-4 (grade A*- C) including both English & maths or a relevant Level 2 qualification preferably with a distinction. ICT skills are essential, and you will have an interview and assessment.
Training Course Content
Teaching content is defined in two large blocks, called learning and teaching modules, to allow deep and integrated delivery of content. Skills are developed through teaching and learning modules and synthesised through projects, producing outcomes for assessment. To deepen and refine your skills over time, you need access to teaching and learning approaches that challenge you. This is supported by the five mandatory areas of content, which are common to both modules, and which are developed to give you valuable transferable skills.
The five content areas are:
- informing ideas
- problem solving
- technical skills
- professional practice
- communication.
These five content areas will be present and developed in these Games Development subject areas: - Industry Practices & Job Roles
- Project Management
- Game Design Theory & Studies
- Level Design
- Narrative Design
- UX / UI Practices
- Digital Graphics
- Game Engines & Scripting (Unity & Unreal)
- 3D Modelling
- PBR Textures (Substance Designer & Painter)
- 3D Animation
- Sound Design for Games
- Group Game Jams.
Level 4 Optional Unit – the final assessment in the Extended Diploma offers the option of producing additional evidence to demonstrate ability at Level 4, supporting you in achieving their aims for progression. This unit will focus on reviewing your work over the two years in a critical self-appraisal.
This course is classroom taught and you will have opportunities to develop your creative skills through instructor led workshops. Over the two years, you will work in teams on project briefs and game jams designed to develop team working, communication and critical thinking skills.
Course delivery details
There are four assessment units across the specification, two in the 540 Diploma and a further two in the Extended Diploma.
Diploma: A1 Skills Development, A2 Creative Project
Extended Diploma: B1 Personal Progression, B2 Creative Industry Response
Optional Level 4: Critical Self-appraisal.
Compensation in grading -
Grading is compensatory in assessment units and across qualifications, rewarding you for your exceptional performance in some areas, without requiring it in all areas.
Highly practical and progression focused – all assessment is holistic, based on portfolios of work. Evidence is generated through practical projects, briefs, workshops and engagement with the media industry; this prepares you for progression to the creative industry through the development of portfolios and materials for progression.
Common assessment criteria -
the same five common assessment criteria are used to assess all work produced throughout the qualification, this simplifies assessment and means that it is clear what students are expected to do to achieve the criteria.
Continuing Studies
BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Creative Media Practice (Games Development)
Progress to the Level 4 HNC in Digital Technologies (Games Programming) or other HNC/D & university courses in related fields.
HCUC - Harrow College & Uxbridge College
It’s no surprise that students travel from all over London to study at Harrow College and Uxbridge College. With specialist career advisers on hand to offer advice and guidance, the colleges deliver successful results in further education and career progression....