Master Game Technology
Do you want to take your skills further, know more about research and immerse yourself in a relevant topic concerning the development of games? Then choose the Master Game Technology!
Study overview
Industry partners asked us to train master’s students with high-level skills at researching, testing, and resolving contemporary issues related to the content, creation, and culture of video games. The gap between academic and applied knowledge offers great opportunities for those able to review academic literature to look for findings that could be applied to create practical applications.
This master in games technology is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to gain the very sought-after research skills that the industry is focusing on more and more, while becoming an expert in their chosen field, whether that be art, design, or programming.
- Focus
The Master Game Technology focuses on facilitating your growth in research and development with support from industry partners and expert lecturers from the game industry. Training in research methods allows you to develop deep insights into your chosen area of game development.
- Craftsmanship
Staff of the Master Game Technology consists of industry veterans, trained at master’s or PhD level. This ensures a practical focus, realistic assignments, a large international industry network, and knowledge that is directly applicable to modern game development, along with supervisors that understand academic rigour.
- Guest lectures
Throughout the course, you will be able to attend guest lectures from a variety of experts covering current and future research practices in game studios and academia. This ensures exposure to up-to-date knowledge. It also gives the opportunity to increase your professional network before you enter the industry.
You will also be able to partake and teach in the bachelor courses, sharing your knowledge with our bachelor students and finding a pool of excited participants for your own research.
- Research areas
Applicants can enter the programme with their own research proposal that describes the research area they want to work in and their current skills and experience in that field. Research areas our programme shows strong expertise in include: procedural content generation, deep learning, animation, graphics, rendering, development and production pipelines, enhanced board games, player experience and data.
- Example papers
Sometimes it can be difficult to visualise how you can do research in your branch. Is research in Art even possible? What kind of data could a Design & Production paper yield? What are some interesting developments in the Programming related fields?
Here you will find some examples of papers written at the Master Game Technology, divided into our three disciplines.
Visual Arts (VA)
- Polman, H. - Enhancing the Player Experience Using Real-Time Biometric Data to Adapt a Mood in a Virtual Reality Game Environment
- Habekotté, J. - Framing the Value of Concept Art An insight into the applicability and development of concept art in the game industry
Design and Production (DP)
- Pastoors, J. - The Opposite of Love How parasocial interaction with NPCs can be enhanced through intergroup competition
Programming (PR)
The programme is structured in four blocks, each consisting of ten weeks. At the end of every block you present your work and progress is evaluated. The work involves both a research thesis and the practical development of artefacts which allow you to gather data and prove the application of your research.
Block A: Concept (15 ECTS)
During this first block you will be finetuning your topic of choice and phrasing your research question. You will also learn how to tackle your thesis and do your literature review so you know exactly what has been written on your topic.
Block B: Pre-production (15 ECTS)
During the second block you will be describing and planning your research and doing your first tests to check your process.
Block C: Production (15 ECTS)
In this block you will conduct your research, collect your data, and interpret it. Your thesis is coming together, and you can see how your initial research question can be answered.
Block D: Release (15 ECTS)
Finally, it is time to put in the finishing touches on your work and share your knowledge with the world by publishing your paper.
- Year-long graduation
You will spend the year on a topic based on your own literature revies. We will assist you in finding a research question that allows you to explore that topic in depth, and all of your assessments are related to that research and work delivered.
- Research and development
We offer courses on a variety of fundamental research and development topics. You follow courses covering general research methodologies, game-related research, and also presentation skills and thesis writing. The curriculum has set sessions for critique, discussions and debates in which students present their project progress and examine each other’s’ decisions and approaches.
- Self-directed learning
We want you to take ownership and responsibility of your own learning. We strongly promote innovation, possibly in new or unfamiliar environments, and often with an actual product or set of prototypes and a proof of concept in mind.
- Individual supervision
You will be assigned an individual supervisor with a connection to your field of research. Further support is available through access to researchers and specialists in any relevant area of game development.
- Industry involvement
We put a strong focus on collaborating with the industry. The industry is involved with reviewing your intake assignment, which can lead to the assignment of an industry supervisor. During the year, the industry is invited to presentations and poster sessions creating valuable moments for feedback.
The Master Game Technology is a one-year, full-time programme. The total study load is 60 ECTS credits. To give you an idea: 1 ECTS credit equals 28 study hours. For this course it is expected you will be putting in 40 hours of work each week.
We offer you a small-scale study environment as the number of students involved in the master's programme are limited. For questions on the content of the programme, lecturers can be easily reached. In addition, the programme coordinator is available to help with day-to-day issues. If you wish to discuss personal problems that may be affecting your life as a student, you can contact the student counsellor.
Admission
Students are eligible for the Master Game Technology if they hold a bachelor's degree in any relevant game development area, for example IT, programming, art, animation, design, and production. A pre-existing knowledge in the field you wish to explore is required. This course will not teach you game development skills but the focus is rather on writing and research fundamentals. If you wish to make something to substantiate your research, for example a test scene with different mood settings, you will need to already possess the skills required to make that test scene.
If you are interested in learning how to build games rather than how to do research within the field, please take a look at our excellent bachelor programme!
Check out the additional requirements and the options if you do not meet the requirements.
Application
If you meet the admission requirements, you are invited to apply for this programme. Admission is based on selection. There is a maximum of 28 students, distributed across the three disciplines, that can be admitted to the course.
Please check out the application procedure.
Your career
After your graduation you will be prepared for future positions such as a specialist in art, programming, or design and roles in R&D. These positions are not entry-level jobs, and a couple of years of work experience within the game industry is essential. This games master’s programme offers you the possibility to achieve these positions more rapidly by providing you with thorough research skills and strong communication skills.
After your graduation you are entitled to the degree of Master of Science.
(left: Diede Apers - Rendering Engineer at EA DICE)