BA (Hons) Games Narrative

All undergraduate courses at AUB offer an optional placement year, to be taken between your second and third years of study.

If you’re unsure about this optional placement, you don’t need to decide now. Once you’re here and studying with us, the course team will discuss the placement options with you, so when the time comes, you can make a decision that’s right for you.

The first unit, Introduction to Game Narratives, shows you the core elements of narrative structure, storytelling techniques, and your application within the gaming context. You'll explore how narrative shapes the player's experiences and you'll begin to understand the relationship between traditional storytelling methods and interactive media including the use of AI. This unit lays the groundwork for more complex narrative studies, helping you to build a solid foundation in crafting compelling game narratives.

The second unit, Character Development and World-Building allows you to understand the creation of immersive worlds and believable characters, essential components of any successful game narrative. By learning the principles of world-building, you'll be equipped to design environments that enhance the player’s journey, while character development focuses on crafting engaging, multidimensional characters that drive the story forward. This unit encourages creativity and a deep understanding of how settings and characters work together to create compelling experiences.

The final unit, Storytelling Through Games (Narrative) is a part-shared unit with BA (Hons) Games Art and Design. This unit explores the mechanics of storytelling within interactive and game-based formats, emphasising the creation of Meaningful Games. You'll learn how to design stories that convey deeper messages and themes, engaging players on multiple levels. You'll explore narrative techniques tailored for interactivity, such as dialogue systems, branching storylines, and non-linear storytelling. This shared unit allows for interdisciplinary collaboration, providing insight into how narrative integrates with art and design in the game creation process.

The opening unit of Year 2 is Gender, Identity, and Values (Narrative) is partly shared with BA (Hons) Games Art and Design. This unit focuses on critical themes like diversity, representation, gender, and identity in game narratives. You'll analyse and create stories that reflect a broad spectrum of human experience, learning to consider ethical storytelling and cultural sensitivity. Alongside these themes, you'll experiment with techniques for creating branching narratives and providing meaningful player agency, ensuring that decisions within a game influence the narrative in significant ways.

This leads on to the Self-Initiated Project. In this unit, you take full ownership of a narrative project of your creation. You'll propose, plan, and develop a narrative design, applying the skills and knowledge gained from previous units. You'll examine the relationship between game mechanics and narrative, ensuring that the story and gameplay mechanics complement each other. This project allows you to explore your creative direction, honing your ability to merge story and gameplay while managing a long-term design process.

The Launchpad (Narrative) unit runs throughout the year and is partly shared with BA (Hons) Games Art and Design and BA (Hons) Business of Games. This industry-focused unit helps you to prepare for the transition from university to professional roles in the gaming industry. You'll build a professional portfolio showcasing your narrative designs, engage with industry professionals, and learn about the practical aspects of career development. Topics include intellectual property, collaboration within game development teams, and market trends. The unit is designed to prepare you for future employment, freelancing, or further study in the field.

The start of the final year has the unit Advanced Narrative Techniques, this unit takes you into advanced narrative techniques such as transmedia storytelling, where stories span multiple platforms (e.g., games, films, books), and explores how immersive worlds can be created with complex narrative structures. You'll refine their ability to design layered, engaging narratives that are rich in detail and creativity. This unit encourages you to push the boundaries of conventional game storytelling, exploring innovative approaches that resonate with modern audiences. Alongside this, the Industry Report unit tasks you with conducting research into the gaming industry, with a focus on how narrative design is utilised across different sectors. You'll analyse current trends, investigate specific roles related to narrative within the industry, and explore potential career paths. This report will offer a deep understanding of how their skills can be applied in the professional world and give them insights into the business side of game development.

The final two terms are made up of a Final Major Project unit. This self-initiated project serves as the culmination of the course, where you'll develop a comprehensive narrative design for a game. Drawing on feedback from tutors and peers, you'll integrate everything learned throughout the course, from storytelling techniques and world-building to player agency and mechanics. This project is an opportunity for you to showcase your mastery of narrative design and create a piece that's portfolio-ready and industry-competitive.

Alongside the Final Major Project, you'll work on the Reflective Journal unit where you'll maintain a Reflective Journal documenting your creative process, narrative decisions, and personal growth. This journal helps you to critically evaluate your work, identify areas for improvement, and reflect on how your understanding of narrative design has evolved, and is instead of a standalone dissertation. It serves as a vital tool for personal development, encouraging you to continually assess and refine their creative approach.