THE MANCHESTER-BASED Futureworks media school provides students with education in sound, music, film, games and 3D animation. The games courses on offer for aspiring young industry professionals include a Foundation in Game Art, a Diploma in Game Development, Game Audio for Audio Engineers and a degree in Games Design. “I would say that both the diploma and the degree are courses that would give students the skills and knowledge to move into the games industry as they are both substantial three year courses,” says Futureworks head of games Ken Lau (pictured far right). “The diploma is a part-time course taught on two evenings a week, which runs for three years, and the degree is more of a traditional full-time course. The Foundation in Game Art is a taster of the art pipeline for our students.” As well as these courses, Lau reveals
that Futureworks is set to offer a Masters Degree in Games Design starting from September for those looking to expand their knowledge. He adds that all of these programs are taught by a team of experienced
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tutors which he says are passionate about games, and keep classes small in size to allow teachers to work more closely with individual students. “We get to know our students very
well and can monitor their progress effectively because of this,” he says. “We are agile and we can institute changes to the course delivery very quickly enabling us to monitor and modify our courses very effectively.”
Both the Diploma and
Degree are courses that give students the skills to move into the
games industry. Ken Lau, Futureworks
Two of the lecturers on the course
have formed their own indie studios, and have also previously worked at companies such as EA and Traveller’s Tales, whilst the school also has a
professional illustrator to teach drawing skills and character design. Lau also explains that a number of students have been able to take on work placements as well as internships at what he describes as a ‘large north- west developer’, whilst one former
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pupil has started his own company as a result of his experience at Futureworks. A team of students at the educational establishment is also entering Abertay’s popular BAFTA-related student development competition Dare to be Digital.