Our BSc (Hons) Games Animation degree combines creativity, technical expertise and industry-focused practice to prepare you for a career creating animation for games and interactive experiences. You'll explore the core disciplines of games animation, such as motion capture, hand-keyed animation and technical animation, whilst developing your own specialist interests.
You'll create compelling 3D characters, bring them to life through expressive animation and realistic body mechanics, and equip them with props, vehicles and weapons. Alongside this, you'll design immersive game environments, from sprawling landscapes and bustling cities to castles, space stations and fantastical worlds.
To ensure your animations work seamlessly in real time, you'll also develop an understanding of game engines, gameplay design and technical implementation.
As one of the UK's largest games departments, we work closely with industry partners including Flix Interactive, Sumo Digital, Cloud Imperium Games, and animation specialists Carse and Waterman. These connections, combined with extensive project work, help you graduate with an impressive portfolio and the skills employers are looking for.
Our graduates have gone on to successful careers across the games industry, joining leading studios in animation, technical art and game development.
The course has been designed to meet the growing demand for skilled games animators, while providing transferable skills that are equally valuable in film, virtual production and other real-time digital industries.
In your first year, you'll build a strong foundation in game asset creation, animation, game design and game engine development. During your second year, you'll expand your expertise through subjects such as cinematics, prototyping 3D assets, lighting and character creation, producing bespoke animated characters and interactive experiences.
You'll also take part in a collaborative games project, working alongside students from across the Staffordshire Games Institute to develop a complete game. In your final year, you'll undertake a major individual project, producing a professional portfolio that demonstrates your creative and technical abilities and prepares you for a career in games animation.
Our academic team combines extensive industry experience with award-winning teaching, ensuring you'll receive practical, up-to-date guidance throughout your studies.
You'll have access to industry-standard facilities, including our Vicon motion capture studio, specialist Unreal Engine development labs, VR and mixed reality facilities, green-screen studios and high-performance development workstations. You'll also gain hands-on experience developing for a range of contemporary platforms, including PlayStation, Meta Quest, HTC Vive and PC.