Level 3 Games Design & Animation

This innovative course is perfect for you if you wish to pursue a career within the ever changing and fast-paced games design industry. This two-year course is equivalent to 3 A-Levels and is designed for students who want to take their skills to the next level. This is the course for you if you love video games and want the professional skills required to develop them and build your career in the industry. Using the latest industry standard resources, you will plan, produce, and communicate your creative talents in a series of video game units tailored to the 3D artist, designer, and programmer job roles.

If you have an interest in different aspects of games and would like to secure an exciting career in a dynamic sector, this course could be ideal for you. This course is ideal if you have already completed a GCSE or level 2 vocational qualification in IT, media, or art. This course will enable you to enhance your creative and technical skills in order to progress on to university or employment within the games industry. The video games industry is the forefront of the creative media industries, projected to become a $300 billion industry by 2025, with a vast growth in innovative capabilities and mobile technologies.

The course delivers a specialist curriculum, allowing you to develop specific practical skills as well as learning about the games design industry and professional practice. You will complete project briefs that allow you to experiment with a wide range of roles and explore games design techniques whilst developing your theoretical knowledge of the industry. Projects include pre-production, 3D modelling, level design, 2D game creation, developing games as part of a team, and working to client briefs. You will study in state-of-the-art game studios, take part in regular productions, and learn from tutors who are highly skilled within their fields. You will be continuously assessed based on the projects you complete throughout the year via your digital portfolio.

Students who successfully complete the course have a number of progression pathways including employment and further or higher education. With the gaming industry more popular than ever, you could soon be embarking on a career to become the next leading computer games designer. Whether you're interested in design or programming or prefer getting creative with modelling or animation, there are so many exciting possibilities in this fascinating industry. We could even help you understand what it takes to set up your very own studio.

Throughout this course you will receive expert advice from a plethora of industry experts, who will inform you about their own creative journeys and advise you how to determine your own path. Warrington & Vale Royal College works very closely with a range of universities, which allows our students to attend open days and ensures they have a clear progression pathway.

You will be allocated a progress coach who will provide you with support to help you succeed on your study programme and progress on to your chosen career or progression path. We have a team of staff dedicated to providing learning support if required, as well as a Welfare Team that is on hand to offer guidance, support and help when needed.

Additionally, eligible students can access a wide range of finance and funding support to help them during their time at college.

Click here for learning support: https://wvr.ac.uk/college-life/learning-support

Click here for finance support: https://wvr.ac.uk/college-life/financial-support

Warrington & Vale Royal College has state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, including a dedicated games studio equipped with high end PC suites. You will also have access to industry standard software such as Autodesk Maya, Unreal Engine, Unity, and the full Adobe Suite. You will also be able to use our green screen studio, digital SLRS, and Apple Mac suites.

You will need a minimum of five GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English and/or maths, or you will have needed to have successfully completed a related level 2 course. If you have not already achieved a grade 4 in your GCSE English and/or maths, you will undertake a smaller progression level 3 qualification and be required to work towards a GCSE in English and/or maths as part of your study programme.

Having a home computer and access to the software would be hugely beneficial, however it is not a mandatory requirement. You will also need to pay for any trips and visits that may take place throughout this course.