Official Master in Video Game Design

Fifth Edition

Studying Video Game Design at ESADA will train you in the core skills of this sector through applied project work, supported by experienced industry professionals. You will improve your interdisciplinary communication and collaboration skills through teamwork with students and professionals from other areas of video game development.

Official Master in Video Game Design

Fifth Edition

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Study Video Game Design

ESADA's master's degree in video game creation is the first officially regulated master's degree in this subject to be taught in Andalusia. It is an opportunity to apply technologies and development practices in your own projects under the guidance and mentoring of industry professionals who will train you in professional skills and relevant knowledge to be able to exercise a certain role within a development studio or even form your own.

The objective of the Official Master's Degree in Video Game Design is to turn graduates into qualified professionals, placing them in development teams, with visible objectives and results in projects relevant to the industry.

The Master's Final Project will consist of the development of a video game as a complete product, with the support of other students from other Degrees at the centre: Graphic Design and Product Design. The orientation of this project allows the synergies of work between different roles found in the real world industry, resulting in the design, programming and marketing of a fully viable video game.

Life is a symbiosis of reality, fiction and play.
Alfonso Jurado, Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Video Game Design

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Video Game Design Syllabus

1º Course

Development techniques and environments (Annual, 2 ECTS)
Introduces the fundamentals of design, the Game Designer’s methodology, hypermedia narrative, and the documentation required for development. Covers the planning process, including the use of Scrum, agile methodologies, project management software tools, and video game testing.

Keys to 2D design (Annual, 4 ECTS)
Studies the evolution of video game art from 8-bit to the present, concept art, colour theory, composition, and tools for creating 2D designs.

2D creation and animation for video games (Annual, 2 ECTS)
Focuses on the creation of 2D animations, covering theory and tools required to create smooth and effective animations in video games.

3D character and environment creation (Annual, 5 ECTS)
Looks at the transition from 2D to 3D art, the role of the 3D artist, and concepts of modelling, texturing, lighting, and rendering in 3D. Includes a practical challenge to adapt a 2D project to 3D.

3D Animation (Annual, 3 ECTS)
Introduces rigging and 3D character animation. Students learn to use 3D animation programs and tools, working in teams as in a professional studio.

Acoustic Theory (Annual, 2 ECTS)
Covers the basics of sound in video games, including frequency, acoustic pressure, resonance, and digital audio formats.

Technical sound design (Annual, 2 ECTS)
Teaches audio and video system handling, audio editing, and the creation of sound effects and soundtracks for video games, including procedural sound.

The C# programming language (Annual, 3 ECTS)
An introduction to object-oriented programming using C#, covering data types, conditional statements, loops, and advanced programming topics such as arrays, exceptions, events, delegates, and databases.

Unity and its environment (Annual, 5 ECTS)
Teaches Unity, from creating projects and organising scenes to working with game objects, prefabs, lighting, and rapid prototyping. Covers user interface and user control.

2D/3D video game programming (Annual, 3 ECTS)
Focuses on using Unity’s SDK to create video games, working with 2D graphics, 3D animations, physics, effects, sound, multiplayer, and publishing for various platforms.

Algorithmics (Annual, 2 ECTS)
Introduces algorithms for video game development, including transformation and sorting algorithms, non-linear data structures, and artificial intelligence in games.

Innovation, marketing and communication (Annual, 3 ECTS)
Covers marketing channels, video game marketing, intellectual property, contracts, patents, and legal aspects such as content regulation, financing, and the video game industry.

History and evolution of the video game (Annual, 4 ECTS)
Explores the origins of video games, from the first arcade games to their evolution through the 70s, 80s, and 90s. It also covers the current state of the industry, the typification of video games, gameplay, player experience, and the sociocultural influence of video games, including gamification and psychology.

Master’s Thesis (2nd Semester, 20 ECTS)

In order to achieve our educational objectives, we will provide students with a quality teaching and learning environment, with diverse methods focused on the acquisition of different types of learning that will lead not only to the acquisition of competences, but also of attitudes and values.

Conceptualisation and evaluation of the human-machine interaction of products, systems, applications and computer services in the field of video games.
Complete management and planning of software projects and handling of design methodologies, as well as planning and modelling tools.
Knowledge and understanding of the structure and roles that make up a video game company, management of the information obtained in the master's degree itself as well as the autonomy to carry out these roles.
Ability to generate and analyse expressive and narrative resources applied to audiovisual discourses, with special emphasis on multimedia, hypermedia and video games.
Ability to carry out the artistic aspect of the video game, create characters and environments both in 2D and 3D, as well as their subsequent animation.
Understanding and mastery of the basic concepts of the general laws of the classical mechanics of video games and their application to the resolution of problems inherent to their development.
Knowledge of the structure, organisation, operation and interconnection of computer systems, the fundamentals of their programming, and their application to the resolution of problems specific to the development of video games.
Knowledge of the function of the operating system and development kits for mobile devices and video game platforms.
Will have the ability to understand the video game within a context when designing it and will know how to choose the most appropriate strategy for its creation, taking into account all the factors involved in the process.
Ability to design and evaluate person-device interfaces that guarantee the accessibility and usability of computer systems, services and applications.
Will be able to apply development principles and methods to model, design and develop applications, intelligent systems and knowledge-based systems.
They will be able to handle the basic principles of sound production in the field of video games and will master professional tools related to the medium.

Concept artist
Texturiser
2D artist
3D artist
2D animator
3D animator
Rigger
Illuminator
Level designer
UX/UI designer
Sound designer
Game programmer
Game designer
Videogame scriptwriter
Gamified experiences designer
Serious games designer

Official Degree

1 year | 60 ECTS
Access to public grants
Internships
Erasmus+

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Tuition fees and scholarships

Full course fee

4150€*

4500€

*Free file opening if you enroll before September 1, 2024

As students of an official degree, you will have the opportunity to apply for grants from the Ministry of Education for post-compulsory studies.

As these studies are within the European Higher Education Area, you will be eligible for the Erasmus + scholarships both for studying abroad and for international internships.

In addition, former ESADA students will enjoy a 10% discount on their master's degree enrolment.

More information about tuition fees