BSc (Hons) Computer Games Development

This module provides you with a basic knowledge in relation to the computing platform (hardware, operating systems, networks) upon which applications are developed and hosted. You will need this as support knowledge for subsequent modules at Level 5 and 6.

This module provides you with an opportunity to consider your future role as a computing professional. The tutorials and workshops will be used to develop strategies that you can use, providing opportunities for you to understand the field of Computing in a more effective way. You will develop your understanding of professionalism in computing, of working in the computing industry, and of the ethical frameworks and codes of conduct for the computing industry.

The module develops your ability to model data in various differing scenarios. You are initially required to manipulate and present data in spreadsheet based applications. Then, you are required to solve problems using a data modelling methodology (e.g. entity relationship models/normalisation), ultimately leading towards the construction of database based applications.

In this module, you will develop your high-level programming skills using the industry standard languages for computer games development. You will be introduced to the fundamental concepts of data type creation, utilisation and specification, programmatic computation, logic and how to control application flow. Practical experience with a high-level language and its associated ecosystem will lead to the development of problem solving and decomposition skills in order to solve real-world development problems using the processes of the software development lifecycle.

This module teaches you the fundamentals of computer graphics, specifically 2D, and its underlying mathematical principles. You will recap a number of elementary mathematics concepts before being introduced to how complex concepts can solve computer graphics problems. The module teaches you the practical aspects of computer graphics through a series of programming workshop using modern graphics API.

Increasingly, much of the world's software is being run in a web browser. Software offered over the Web provides many sought-after benefits in software deployment: ease of implementation, universality and ubiquity of access, and availability of server-side data and services. This module seeks to endow you with the necessary knowledge and underpinning technologies to develop for the World Wide Web. You will learn techniques and technologies to develop web applications, hosted on a web application server, using a server-side programming language to dynamically generate standards compliant mark-up, driven from a data source. You will use design principles which abstract content from aesthetic and utilises client-side dynamism to enhance the user's experience, using industry standard toolsets and web-focused API.

This module is intended to introduce students to a range of key concepts central to developing an understanding of video games and the history of their theorisation.

The module has two main purposes. First, you will be equipped with adequate research skills and experience of working on subject-related research topics, to lead into your final year project. Second, this module works to enhance your professionalism, including teamworking, which boosts employability and your awareness of what is expected in an employment scenario.

This module builds on your fundamental knowledge of Computer Networks and Data Communications, and develops more in depth knowledge of related concepts which will be underpinned by practical Lab work.

This module is a technical, skills-focused module. You will be introduced to Data Structures as Abstract Data Types and cover the fundamentals of discrete mathematics which provide the foundations for data structure design and implementation. You will gain exposure of how to create your own implementation in games industry standard languages and their standard libraries. Each structure will be covered from a game programming perspective, demonstrating real-world usage within game engines and game applications. It will require previous experience in programming, building on existing programming-based skills such as problem/functional decomposition and the use of an IDE to develop and test programs.

This module builds on your knowledge of 2D graphics and furthers your knowledge in 3D computer graphics, from the underlying mathematical principles to your application in the development of 3D computer games. The module uses a modern GPU-driven graphics API to demonstrate how complex 3D scenes can be constructed using a wide range of 3D graphical techniques. You will be taught about the programmable pipeline, including shader implementations of lighting and texture calculations.

In this module, you will learn about the associated techniques and tools for creating 3D models for 3D animation and games. This incorporates the digital content creation pipeline for games, rendering and lighting, to generate static and animated content that can be utilised inside a modern games' engine for representation of scene geometry and game avatars. You will cover the various tools and techniques that are used to build assets for games from conception to realisation. You will be exposed to both Digital Content Creation Tools and in-engine editing tools in order to understand the workflow for creating real-time content.

In this module, you will build upon your foundational programming skills by introducing in both a practical and theoretical manner some of the fundamental ideas of software engineering, enabling you to develop and communicate designs for small scale games software systems. As a group, you will apply the Agile Development methodology and its associated design techniques using Object-Oriented principles to produce solutions for games development scenarios using Object-Oriented Programming. You will gain experience of Software Engineering techniques for the design, development and testing of game software and understand the impact of these techniques on the architecture of modern games application, using industry-led tools and techniques.

The aim is to provide students with an extended period of work experience at an approved partner that will complement their programme of study at LJMU. This will give students the opportunity to develop professional skills relevant to their programme of study as well as the attitude and behaviours necessary for employment in a diverse and changing environment. This extended placement forms a key part of a sandwich degree. All placements need to be assessed and approved prior to commencement in line with the LJMU Placement Learning Code of Practice. The Code of Practice requires students to conduct themselves in a professional and responsible manner during the placement - failure to do so may lead to the placement being terminated prematurely. Placements are normally for one calendar year on a full-time basis. Split placements of a shorter duration may be permissible. There is an expectation that a minimum of 1200 hours will be spent in the workplace.

The aim is to provide students with an additional year of study at an approved overseas partner that will complement their programme at LJMU. This is an additional year of full-time study at an approved higher education institution. The modules to be studied must be agreed in advance, and must be appropriate for the student's programme of study. Assuming successful completion of this year, mark-bearing credit will be awarded by the Faculty Recognition Group. The grade conversion scale to be used will be made available in advance of the year abroad.

This module presents you with the opportunity to complete a substantial project in a chosen area relevant to your programme. The scope of what is an appropriate artefact varies between programmes and you will discuss this with your programme teams. This module will enable you to use rigorous development or scientific methods to produce an artefact, resulting in an oral and written report.

This module will cover the software engineering principles used to implement a full-scale game engine in order to build complex, large-scale 3D games (commonly termed Triple-A games in the games industry). You will focus on the core modules of a modern engine, as well as its gameplay framework, alongside the game play foundations of the games which are built on top of the engine.

This module covers the two major sub-disciplines of advanced topics in games development which are used to convert real-time rendered 3D graphics into game applications Artificial Intelligence and Rigid Body Dynamics (Game Physics). The module will begin with an overview of the underpinning theories of both fields and will focus on how specific algorithms and technologies in each field are applied to dynamically control both characters and the environment of a game application. You will learn how to model AI in a game environment using discretisation techniques and how to model physics in a game engine environment using Numerical Solver-based techniques.

This module will focus on the novel input and output technologies that enables blended experience between the physical reality and virtual reality. It will also cover design of virtual worlds and the development of mixed reality applications, as well as the proposal of mixed reality solutions for a specific application. You will be working collaboratively during lab sessions to develop MR solutions.

This module builds on your knowledge of the principles of 3D graphics and furthers your understanding of advanced computer graphics processes. The module uses a modern GPU-driven graphics API to demonstrate how complex 3D scenes can be constructed from complex geometry and rendered in real-time with special effects. You will focus on state of the art approaches to real-time rendering and how graphics programmers are targeting the goal of photorealistic rendering in real-time.

The aim of this module is to enhance your technical knowledge of systems development with an appreciation of the social-technical aspects of design. It covers the evolving area of User Experience (UX) design. This involves you using UX methods to design and prototype an interactive system and then validate your design against user requirements using UX evaluation techniques.

This module broadens a Software Engineer's horizon to include system and software development for embedded systems, with consideration of the Internet of Things. You are required to have considerable high-level programming knowledge by Level 6. This will be expanded to consider working with lower-level architectural concerns and development software for "baremetal" systems.