MA Games Design (Narrative)
- MA
- PG Certificate (Postgraduate Certificate)
- PG Diploma (Postgraduate Diploma)
Overview
Videogames are a complex medium with rich narrative potential across traditional and emergent storytelling forms. They exist in a dynamic industry with interoperable teams. Narrative design sits at the heart of this, requiring designers to hold the entire game in their head as it develops, a process narrative designers have described as akin to building a plane while flying it. It is a collaborative endeavour that requires a comprehensive understanding of storytelling, game implementation, and how mechanics, worlds, and players shape the narrative experience.
Co-designed with industry, the MA Games Design (Narrative) establishes a training framework to meet this challenge. Located in Bristol's vibrant community of indie game developers, housed in the world-leading School of Humanities, and supported by the internationally recognised Bristol Digital Game Lab, you will be taught by expert researchers and practitioners working at the forefront of narrative design.
In the supportive game writers' room, you will learn and build rapport with your peers. Together, you will meet creative briefs, innovate through game jams, and create narrative game experiences. To address mental health challenges in the games industry, the programme spreads assignments and establishes iterative work as ongoing formative assessment. This master's degree grants you the opportunity to work across our campuses and the creative city of Bristol, providing you with your own Alienware gaming laptop to access the latest games and game engines.
Through a range of innovative teaching and learning methods, you will:
- Master narrative frameworks and the components of narrative design.
- Become critical, playful consumers through weekly active play sessions.
- Experiment with creative ideas in rapid prototyping sessions that reward risk-taking, accommodate failure, and enable reflection.
- Explore issues of representation in games and trends in gaming culture, championing inclusivity and diversity through conscientious design.
- Build confidence in the use of industry-standard tooling and game engines, bridging theory and practice to tell your own stories through technology.
- Engage critical perspective on games and emerging technologies.
- Encounter research-rich teaching on the social impact of games.
- Connect with the Bristol Digital Game Lab's local, national, and international industry collaborators, ranging from renowned studios to exciting new ventures.
- Work across disciplines to understand the game development process and gain underpinning skills and resilience for a successful career in narrative design.
Programme structure
The MA models the journey a narrative designer takes from ideation to execution through a suite of mandatory units.
Teaching Block 1 focuses on storytelling devices and narrative structure. Writing for Games (40-credits) immerses you in the collaborative environment of a game writers' room where you will script characters, questlines, and gameworlds. Meanwhile, Storytelling and Games (20-credits) will explore the unique narrative potential of games. You will engage in active play sessions designed to deconstruct game narratives and reflect on their components, fostering a culture of critical thinking and conscientious consumption.
In Teaching Block 2 you return to the writers' room for Implementing Stories in Games (40-credits), which introduces game engines and the game development cycle to help you realise your ideas in practice. Alongside this, Writing with Emerging Technologies in Games (20-credits) exposes you to the history of games and technology, framing contemporary debates and inspiring critical approaches and responsible practice.
The Game Design Portfolio (60-credits) collates the skills and attributes required for narrative design into four projects: Pitching a Game; Meeting an Industry Brief; Industry Placement; and Developing a Serious Game. Whichever option you choose, you will work independently and as part of a team to realise a narrative game demonstrator that showcases your creative and technical skills. The programme culminates in an industry-focused showcase.
Part-time students take both TB1 units in year 1 and the TB2 units plus the Portfolio in year 2.
Entry requirements
You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or an international equivalent in any subject.
We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree. Specific module requirements would still apply.
We will also consider your application if your final overall achieved grade is slightly lower than the programme's entry requirement.
If your achieved grade is lower than our entry requirements, your application may be more likely to receive an offer if you have additional relevant work experience or qualifications. If you have at least one of the following, please include your CV (curriculum vitae / résumé) when you apply, showing:
- evidence of relevant work experience in: Games Industry; Entertainment Industry.
- a relevant postgraduate qualification.
See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.
Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.
If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level C.
Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.
Fees and funding
- Home: full-time
- £13,100 per year
- Overseas: full-time
- £29,300 per year
Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.
More about tuition fees, living costs and financial support.
Alumni discount
University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Check your eligibility for an alumni discount.
Funding and scholarships
Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.
Career prospects
This programme will establish a training framework for the specific role of narrative design for videogames. Graduates from this programme will be able to develop interactive narratives and dynamic gameworlds using digital technologies. Their technical expertise in game engines will enable them to shape the stories of tomorrow. We anticipate students progressing to careers in narrative design, working on narrative-focused experiences across platforms and genres.
Industry stakeholders and the Bristol Digital Game Lab have identified four key skills within the role of narrative design. These are: teamworking, storytelling, technical implementation, and critical thinking. Graduates will be able to evidence mastery of all four areas through their portfolios and progress onto a range of careers within the global games industries. Such transferable skills will also position successful leavers well in the context of creative technology growth sectors, empowering them to work across media and spillover sectors such as virtual production, which increasingly rely on game engines, as well as in further research and consultancy.
Contact us
- Contact
- Enquiries Team
- Phone
- +44 (0) 117 394 1649
- choosebristol-pg@bristol.ac.uk
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