About “Study at BSBI” (short, student-friendly)

BSBI is an international higher-education provider with multi-city campuses across Europe (notably Berlin and Hamburg, also Paris and Barcelona in the BSBI network). For creative programmes the Hamburg campus is the main hub — it offers studio spaces, hands-on teaching and entry routes such as the Portfolio Scholarship Competition. BSBI degrees in creative subjects are delivered in partnership with recognised UK creative universities, giving you a UK-awarded BA while living and studying in Germany.

 

Why study BA (Hons) Game Design at BSBI?

• Creative + practical: The course combines game theory, level & systems design, interactive storytelling, prototyping, and practical development using engines/industry tools — designed to produce portfolio-ready graduates.

• UCA validation: The programme is aligned with the UK creative sector standards through BSBI’s partnership with the University for the Creative Arts — useful for employability and postgraduate progression.

• Portfolio & scholarship routes: Creative students can enter the Portfolio Scholarship Competition (chance of 100% / 50% / 40% tuition awards) — a direct route to reduce cost or study for free.

• Industry exposure: Located in Hamburg (creative/tech scene) with ties to games, animation and design employers; BSBI emphasises placements and professional practice.

 

Level of study, campus locations & mode of learning

• Level: Undergraduate — BA (Hons) (honours undergraduate degree).

• Main delivery campus for Game Design: Hamburg (BSBI Creative Industries faculty). BSBI has other campuses (Berlin, Paris, Barcelona) and offers international mobility, but Game Design is listed as a Hamburg campus programme. Confirm campus before applying.

• Mode: Face-to-face on campus (workshops, labs, collaborative studio practice). Occasionally BSBI promotes blended/online options for other programmes but core Game Design teaching is studio-based and on campus.

 

Duration, credits & academic structure

• Duration: 3 years (full-time) standard; 4 years if you take an Integrated Foundation Year (international route).

• Credits: Standard UK honours degree expectation of 360 UK credits (confirm in the programme specification). UK credit guidance clarifies how credits map across years/levels.

• Teaching & assessment: Mix of lectures, seminars, practical labs, workshops, group projects, studio crits and a final major project/portfolio in the final year (industry-relevant deliverables and assessments).

 

Programme structure — subjects & sample topics

BSBI outlines a game-design curriculum that balances theory, craft and professional practice. Expect module themes like:

• Foundations of Game Design: game mechanics, rules, systems thinking.

• Level & Systems Design: player progression, balancing, level architecture and playtesting.

• Narrative & Interactive Storytelling: branching narratives, ludonarrative integration.

• Prototyping & Production: rapid prototyping in game engines (Unity/Unreal), iterative design, technical basics.

• Art & Asset Pipelines (for designers): collaboration with artists, concept art basics and asset integration.

• User Experience & Playtesting: UX for games, accessibility, player research and analytics.

• Final Major Project / Portfolio: team or individual capstone game project ready for employers/portfolio.

 

Disciplines / specialisations available

Students can shape their studies toward:

• Systems & mechanics design (gameplay design)

• Level design & environment scripting

• Interactive narrative & writing for games

• UX for games and user research

• Indie production & entrepreneurship (team project practice)
  Specialisation is typically achieved via project choices, electives and the final major project.

 

Career outcomes & employability

Graduates are prepared for roles such as:

• Game Designer / Systems Designer / Level Designer

• Interactive Narrative Designer / Writer

• Gameplay Programmer (with additional coding study)

• Game Producer / Project Coordinator

• Indie developer, QA & playtest lead, UX researcher for games

• Related roles in serious games, simulation, XR and interactive media
  BSBI emphasises portfolio building, placements and industry contact — the final major project is a showcase for employers.

 

Latest updates or special requirements

• UCA partnership & creative expansion (2024): BSBI publicly expanded its creative programme offering with UCA, adding Game Design, Comic & Concept Art, Photography and related MA programmes at its Hamburg campus — this is the academic validation context for the creative degrees.

• Portfolio required: creative programmes require a portfolio submission via the BSBI portal (follow the Portfolio Cookbook). Scholarship competitions are scheduled several times a year — check deadlines.