Computer Games Technology with Foundation Year BSc (Hons)

This module covers basic programming concepts and fundamentals using Java programming language. Content includes:

• an overview of programming paradigms and techniques
• analysis of problems and design using pseudo-code and flowcharts
• basic program elements and structure
• development supported by version-controlled code repositories.

This module will introduce students to the main concepts and techniques of discrete structures and their applications in computer science. Main areas covered by the course include logic, set theory, relations and functions and combinatorics.

This module will help you to learn the basic concepts behind current computer hardware, software and supporting technologies. As you learn these principles, you will understand how computers work beyond the statements of their high-level language, and this will allow you to write more efficient code.

You will learn about the creation and development of computer games using the Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) and C/C++ which are primary software development tools currently used in the industry. You will be expected to use the introduced programming tools to develop an interactive artefact as well as use symbolic interfaces to create simple programs in games. Topics will include:

• Introduction to programming in games
• Introduction to C/C++ programming
• Introduction to programming in UE4

You will gain the knowledge and skills to design and implement a relational database. It will cover information security and database management issues and an awareness of the central role of relational and other types of databases.

In this introductory module, you will create a website. Along the way, you will learn the basic principles and practical skills of good design and apply these in an appropriate layout that visually communicates your own online identity. In building your site, you will use popular web development software and gain background knowledge of underlying technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

This module will provide an insight into the games development process. You will investigate and understand the key elements involved in the process of games design, and apply these in the construction of a Game Design Document; a substantive technical document which combines concept and treatment, detailing aspects such as game logic, mechanics, balance, rules and objectives. As part of the module, you will develop a playable prototype to showcase your design.

This module covers the history and the state of the current computer games industry. It will provide insight into the operational structure and development work of today’s game studios. Of particular interest, is the workload distribution between departments in a game studio as well as the different levels of managing within a game studio. Further, the module covers the economic and social impact of the game industry and computer games themselves. Topics will include:

•     History of game development

•     Economic and social impact of computer games

•     The games industry: How does a game studio work

•     Departments and inter-departmental corporation in game studios

•     Roles in game studios, specialisation of developers

•     Management of complex game development projects

In this module you will gain insights into key techniques within the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Aspects of AI you'll cover include agents, environments and learning as well as techniques such as regression, classification, clustering, reinforcement learning, learning recommendation and decision support systems.

The aim of this module is to provide you with the experience of working collaboratively as part of a project team. The module will provide opportunities for you to adopt different project team roles in order to deliver a solution for a real-world client.

The third graphical dimension adds further potential in both visualisation and interaction. This module focuses on utilising a popular 3D games engine to produce an immersive interactive artefact. Drawing on your previous experience of games design and programming, you will create an arena that demonstrates an understanding of 3D space.

This module covers the generation of 2D and 3D computer graphics. The module will cover the basic principles of computer graphics (CG) as well as advanced aspects, such as scene composition, measurement and resolution, polygon modelling and optimisation, NURBS modelling, texture painting and mapping, the use of shaders and lighting.

Software engineering is concerned with the construction of large software programs. This module will bring together the tools and techniques you covered in earlier modules that deal with software development, drawing on concepts from object-oriented and relational design.

This module will teach the fundamental concepts of computer graphics, and in particular 3D computer graphics and 3D image generation.

Module content will include essential mathematics for computer graphics including 2D and 3D transformations, standard and basic algorithms and concepts, standard hardware and software concepts, and the application of standard 3D graphics libraries/frameworks for the practical implementation of 2D and 3D graphics.

A list of indicative topics is as follows:

• Line-drawing and surface filling algorithms
• Tessellation
• GPU pipeline
• Geometry data structures
• Texture and bump mapping
• Basic shading techniques
• 3D graphics APIs (OpenGL and DirectX)
• Primitive objects - Polygons
• Level of detail
• Rasterisation
• Z-Buffers

You will investigate a topic of interest and prepare a project proposal. You will then present your ideas to the school for approval and once this has been approved, you will begin a detailed literature review of your chosen field. You will choose and follow a suitable development methodology leading to an implementation which you will evaluate.

You will be introduced to fundamental cyber security concepts including Cryptography, Authentication, Authorisation, and Auditing with an emphasis on their application.

This module is about human and technical aspects of interactive computing systems and organisations. In the course of taking this module, you'll consider the interplay between human users, designers, developers and computers. Therefore, its basis is in psychology and human factors as well as in software engineering and interaction design.

There has been an explosion in data, much of which is not fully structured, but contains valuable information such as search trends, consumer behaviour and other patterns. This module aims to cover some of the developments in the broad range of "Big Data" problems. It will give you a good understanding of data structures, software development procedures and the range of analytical tool used to undertake a wide range of standard and custom analyses to provide data solutions to these issues. 

Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence that provides systems with the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed.

This module familiarises you with some basic machine learning algorithms and techniques and their applications, as well as general questions related to analysing and handling large data sets. Several software libraries and data sets publicly available will be used to illustrate the application of these algorithms. The emphasis will be thus on machine learning algorithms and applications, with some broad explanation of the underlying principles.