Professional Diploma in Game Development

Take the first step towards an exciting career in games!
No prior knowledge of Game Development required to get started.

Download Prospectus
or Enrol now with a 10% deposit

Starts
February 15, 2024

Duration
11 weeks
(1 evening p/wk)

Days
3 hours per week

Delivery mode
Online-Live Classroom

Price
€895 (approx. £810)

Industry Focused Diploma Programmes Taught Online Live

Gain an Industry Focused Professional Diploma in Game Development delivered online-live by subject matter experts without leaving your home.

Access this industry focused course to gain skills to compete and advance in the modern workplace.

Classes are recorded so you can learn and revise at your own pace.

On successful graduation you will get a diploma certificate issued on a secure portal that you can share with employers and colleagues on LinkedIn.

What will I learn?

The video game industry is pushing the boundaries of creative expression and innovation and if you are naturally artistic with a passion for video games now is the time to learn the latest game development practices and techniques from experts with extensive real world experience.

This programme will teach the skills you need to enter this innovative, rapidly growing industry. By the end of the programme you will have developed a portfolio of work using industry standard tools, theory and techniques that you can showcase at your next job interview or company brainstorming session.

Request a callback

Programme Curriculum

During your first class, you will explore the course content and format, including what you can expect from the programme and how it is assessed. You will also learn the basics of game design including:

  • The role of the game designer
  • Passions and skills a game designer may need
  • Playcentric design
  • The iterative design process

Be shown how to take an idea and develop it further, by breaking it down into parts and critically evaluating them for their merit, taking into account your target audience and the type of game you want to create. 

  • Formalising your ideas
  • Setting player experience goals

Learn how to develop your games in iterations, each new iteration improving on the previous version, until you have a finished game system. Learn the importance of play testing as well as methods of conducting a playtesting session and gathering user feedback.

  • Prototyping
  • Playtesting
  • Implement changes
  • Repeat

What makes a game, a game? How do we set it apart from other experiences? What shared features do all games have in common? We aim to answer those questions here, as we cover the principles of game design.

  • Game mechanics
  • Structure
  • Formal elements

A game's art is what first hooks a player:; it grabs their interest, invites them to play. We will look at how to create simple but appealing art for your games. 

  • Creating animated assets
  • Characters
  • Props

The user interface is a key element in any game deisgn. Its purpose is to give the user information relevant to their current situation in-game. We will cover the basics of setting up interactive menus and giving in-game feedback to players. 

  • Creating and setting up graphics for menus
  • Creating in-game overlays

Learn everything you need to create a fully functioning and playable 2D game prototype. Understand the basics of C# scripting and building projects within the Unity game engine. 

  • C# scripting, including syntax, variables and methods
  • Using the Unity interface
  • Setting up a project
  • Level design 
  • Working with the physics engine

Learn how to publish to web/android. Creating versions of your game to share with others is the best way to get essential user feedback on your prototypes as well as a great way to show potential employers your potential.

  • Creating a build from Unity for PC/Mac
  • Building for mobile/web
  • Uploading to online hosts

During your final class, the subject matter expert will summarise the key topics covered during the programme. The Assessment will be outlined in detail with plenty of opportunity to ask any clarifying questions. 

Price

€895
(approx. £810)

Download Prospectus
or Enrol now with a 10% deposit

Learn from the best

Seamus Hickey

Seamus is a highly experienced and multi-disciplinary developer in the graphics and game industries, working for over a decade within the technology sector. He has been lecturing for over 5 years in the fields of animation, motion graphics, UI/UX design and game development. 

He holds a BA in Animation, a BSc in Game Development and a Diploma in Project Management and Game Design.

Why should I enrol?

At Learnful, we guide and mentor our students throughout their learning experience.

Having an idea, a sketch or even beautiful art is great, but unfortunately not enough to cut in the world of game development.

Game developers need to be able to put everything together into a functioning system.

The Professional Diploma in Game Development will provide you with the skills required to turn your own pen and paper game designs into fully functional interactive products, using industry standard tools, theory and techniques.

Use cutting edge technology to bring your ideas to life, then test them out online with the gaming community.

Enrol Now

What jobs will this programme prepare me for?

Worth billions and growing at a phenomenal rate, the worldwide gaming industry is a resounding success with many Gaming careers available for keen video game enthusiasts to pursue. Ireland is known as a global technology hub, with 9 of the 10 global software companies and all of the ‘born of the internet’ companies operating at scale in Ireland. There is a large, highly skilled, multilingual workforce already in place in Ireland, which means it is a great place to establish a Gaming related business. Enterprise Ireland, the Irish trade and innovation agency actively supporting Gaming development – a clear indicator of the importance being placed on the rapidly expanding technology in the country.

Job opportunities are emerging across the sector. Big studios are hiring more than ever with the advent of more funding options for indie studios, we are seeing an end to the days of the bedroom programmer creating a game alone. Freelance game designers can easily find work online, and the nature of that work ranges from checking game design documents for inconsistencies to helping lone designers flesh out their ideas. As a graduate of this programme you will be well prepared to contribute to a wide array of Gaming industry roles, including Game Designer, Game Developer and Game Artist.

All Programmes include

USP icon 1

Enjoy a personalised and supported virtual classroom learning experience

USP icon 2

Validated educational pedagogy with an industry-led syllabus

USP icon 3

Real-time industry respected content curated by experts

USP icon 4

Global leading online interactive learning platform

USP icon 5

Verified & Shareable Digital Cert featuring the knowledge and skills you gain

USP icon 6

Industry standard software ensuring your learning incorporates the newest features

USP icon 7

Finance options available

USP icon 8

Globally recognised, your qualification travels with you

Questions?

For further details of the payment options available, see our finance page.

For employer sponsorship, simply fill out our employer sponsored form available on request from the Learnful team by emailing [email protected]. 

No prior experience/knowledge required.

All courses require proficiency in English, requirement of IELTS 6 or its equivalent. 

The Programme Subject Matter Expert will monitor progress throughout the programme using multiple choice scenarios to ensure that concepts are understood. An end of course formal written assignment, equating to 100% of the assessment marks,  must be passed to graduate. 

Price

€895
(approx. £810)

Download Prospectus
or Enrol now with a 10% deposit