Computer Game Design and Enterprise
Computer game design and enterprise is a discipline that combines the creative and technical demands of making games with the business and production knowledge needed to bring them successfully to market. Game design is not simply about programming or art direction, though both matter: it is fundamentally about understanding what makes an experience compelling, how rules and systems create meaning and engagement, how player psychology shapes interaction, and how all of these elements are brought together through disciplined production processes. Enterprise skills complete the picture, equipping you to understand the commercial realities of the games industry, from financing and publishing to marketing and studio management.
At Wrexham University, the programme is studied part time, giving you flexibility in how you balance your studies with other commitments, and includes a foundation year to build the technical and creative foundations of the discipline before you move into the main degree content. A sandwich year with work placement opportunities is built into the structure, giving you substantial time working in the games industry or a related sector. This professional experience is invaluable, as the games industry recruits heavily from people who already have a portfolio of real work and a demonstrable understanding of how games are made commercially.
You will develop skills in game design documentation, prototyping, level design, systems thinking and project management alongside creative and technical studio practice.
Graduates move into roles across the games industry in design, production management, quality assurance, project management and business development. The enterprise component also prepares you for founding or co-founding an independent studio, and many graduates pursue careers as indie developers or creative directors. The broader skills in systems thinking, digital production and project management transfer into adjacent industries including simulation, interactive media, educational technology and digital product management.
Further study in game design, creative technology or business is also available for those who want to develop specialist expertise.