Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings creator David Jones tops a list of alumni that means Abertay has plenty of history to shout about. But the university is also investing heavily in the future. Its annual development competition, Dare To Be Digital, culminates in a public event attended by over 10,000 people. And the university’s Prototype Fund, which offers fledging studios a cash injection, has sparked several indie successes. Here, faculty academic director Professor Louis Natanson explains the courses, industry contacts and funding on offer to students.
What courses do you offer to gear up graduates for a career in games?
Our undergraduate courses are BSc Computer Games Technology, BSc Computer Game Applications Development and BA Computer Arts. Our flagship course is the 12-month Professional Masters (MProf) in Games Development, which builds on the same game studio-style learning as Dare To Be Digital. Small teams of programmers, artists and sound engineers work together to make game prototypes to a proper client brief. It’s very challenging, but a safe way for students with a background in arts, general computing or games to learn from experienced industry professionals how development really works.
Dare To Be Digital is a great opportunity for your students.
It’s something unique in education, and in the game industry. Each summer we bring together 15 teams of five students from around the world to build a brand new game in just nine weeks. At the end, they have to put their games on show to the public at our Dare ProtoPlay games festival. Industry experts pick three winners, who become the sole nominees for the BAFTA Ones To Watch Award. It’s an incredible opportunity to meet people in the games industry during the nine weeks, not to mention the prestige of having taken part.
How closely do you work with studios and developers to build your syllabus?
We have an advisory group of game studios and industry experts – including Channel 4, Denki, Rare, Sony, Tag Games and Ubisoft Reflections – who guide all of our courses, which are constantly under review. Since launching the world’s first Computer Games Technology degree with industry input in 1997, the courses have been regularly developed to match the shifts in the industry. We’re also part of the PlayStation First initiative to get dev kits in the hands of students, so they can learn to code on PS3s and Vitas on our courses.
What is the Prototype Fund, and how does it work?
The Prototype Fund offers a route for graduates to springboard into a career by starting their own company, or for existing small games studios to massively reduce the risk of testing out a new game. Getting a £25,000 grant to build a prototype is an incredible boost to attracting extra investment. One of the studios we supported raised £800,000 in private funding after completing their prototype.
Why should students choose Abertay over other universities?
Educationally, Abertay stands out since all of our game art, audio and programming degrees are delivered from the same department – and all these students directly interact with each other. Games companies need graduates that can communicate and work with experts in different areas, and that’s been a key part of our courses from the start. For instance, in their third year all students do a major project responding to a client’s brief. Our strong industry ties and international reputation mean that students regularly work on projects for Disney, Microsoft and Sony, as well as a large number of Dundee- and UK-based studios.
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