Building games and friendships at Chester – Daniel’s experience of Games Development

Games Development explained – what it is and how you will work

Games Development has such a wide range of work styles, such as programming, level design, modelling and so much more! Not only do you get work on multiple games you create from scratch yourself with guidance, but you also have multiple modules in which you take part in team projects allowing you to refine your own skills, but also work in a team setting, which is a great experience! All allowing you to build a portfolio along the way.

The course is really enjoyable, with information content that keeps things interesting. Plus, the lecturers are super helpful—they break things down in a way that’s easy to understand and make the material easy to follow. 

Don't Wreck It Ralph – winning this year’s Game Jam!

I took part in the recent createChester Games Jam which is a conference organised for all students in Computer Sciences.  Every year we are given a new theme and we work in teams to create a game within a short 3-day time period, which is then judged by people within the industry. This year as a level 6, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to run one of the teams! It was a great experience; you get to mix with all levels of students, who all have their own sets of skills they are wanting to apply. Between your team you make a plan and begin development.  It’s always a good laugh regardless of the outcome. This year my team won the Games Jam with a game called "Don't Wreck It Ralph"! It was an amazing time spent building a game with a bit of friendly competition.

My top 3 reasons to study Games Development

My three main reasons to study games development would have to be:

• The staff are amazing and always willing to help and support when needed no matter how big or small
• The course study areas: these give you a massive wide range of skills that you can work on throughout the years
• The facilities: Chester has a dedicated games room, with quality PC's that make it easy to complete work, and work anywhere and anytime.

All this allowed me to develop throughout the course enhancing my skills along the way progressing and improving the standard of work throughout. This allowed me to achieve all my goals set out throughout the years, improving my skills and portfolio along the way.

Preparing for the future

Moving into the future I hope to do a Masters’ degree in project management here at Chester.  I hope to then take both the Games Development degree, and the Masters’ and put those to use, managing technological projects within the industry, developing my skills taken from both, as I progress in my career.

During my second year of createChester, we had a couple of days before the start of the Games Jam, in which we had multiple guess speakers who came in to share their story. We were able to book onto any talks that interested us! All of the talks I attended gave me a great insight into the future that I was looking towards. gave me a great insight into the future that I was looking towards. This allowed for me to take what I was learning and see how it could be applied in so many different ways in the real-world setting. These talks really helped me set my eyes on what I wanted to do once I graduate from university, and I know that other students feel the same!

Making friends and enjoying life outside the course

I joined multiple societies within my first year which really helped with socialising at the start and making friends! I already loved sports, but I wanted to take it to the next level. In my second year I ran for Team Captain of the Rounders and Softball Society and was voted in by other members as the 23/24 Season team captain! I then ran again the following year and was voted in again for the 24/25 season! following year and was voted in again for the 24/25 season! Having the ability to join the committee of the student run clubs gives students the responsibility and enjoyment of managing a club and it's been one of the best decisions I've made while at university! These clubs really build a sense of friendship between people, and it is always a great escape from reality, as well as keeping fit! I enjoyed it so much I might even run for a third year!

Thank you to all the staff!

The course as a whole is amazing.  A massive thanks to the staff for all the time they have taken to help me throughout the years!

Want to find out more?

Please visit the webpages for the course if you want to find out more about Games Development, or the related Games Design degrees here at Chester. You can also book onto an Open Day to visit us, have a look around our specialist computer science labs and talk to staff.