Detail from the university’s promotional video via YouTube

MANY of the most famous video game designers did not have a formal qualification in programming, but that option is now available to computer whizzes seeking to make their own digital worlds as part of a new Bachelor of Arts degree.

The Games Art BA programme, which is being launched by Westminster University this September, will train students in code-writing, app design and “Game Engine Architecture”, among other skills.

The course is being led by game designer Dr Tomas Rawlings, studio director at Auroch Digital, a game development company behind programmes like Mars Horizon and Warhammer 40,000.

Students will learn about “game narrative design”, “game world layout” and “game user experience design.”

Tomas Rawlings

However video game design is a career path that does not demand a degree.

As Dr Rawlings says in a video promoting the course: “The act of making [a video game] is where you do your most important learning.”

For example, Toru Iwatani, the designer of the world-famous arcade game Pac-Man, taught himself computer programming and had no formal training in coding or graphic design.

And Yoshiaki Koizumi, the designer behind 1990s Nintendo smash-hits including Super Mario Kart and The Legend of Zelda had no formal training, and had originally intended to become a film-maker.

Julie Innes

The Westminster course costs £9,250 a year for UK students, rising to £15,400 for international students.

The internet contains many resources teaching people how to code that are available for free.

Michaela O’Brien, head of the school of media and communications, said the Games Art BA signals Westminster University’s decision to grow “…the range of undergraduate programmes that help students to get into the games industry”.

And senior lecturer in animation, Julie Innes, said: “Everything in our lives is becoming gamified, and, if you think about that, that means that a career in games has limitless possibilities.”