Get Into Games 2015: National Film And Television School

T he National Film And Television School’s game design MA only accepted its first applicants in 2012, but has rapidly established itself as an influential course. Heading it up is Jon Weinbren, who has spent over two decades in the creative industries, including roles at EA, Sony, the BBC and London’s Science Museum.

You focus on a single course at NFTS. What’s involved?
We offer a two-year MA programme in Games Design And Development. This runs alongside a range of postgraduate MA and diploma courses across a broad spectrum of film and television specialist disciplines. At the NFTS, there is usually a maximum of eight students per MA specialism, and the Games course operates in the same way. We’ve now been through two full cycles and we have graduates from both already out there in the world and making waves. We’ve forged great relationships with the other specialisms – particularly screenwriters, producers, sound designers and composers.

With more paths open to aspiring developers than ever, why should they consider a game-related degree?
It’s true that making games and distributing them has become a much more accessible endeavour than in years gone by. There are so many good game development tools that are free or nearly free to use, and that’s exciting and empowering. However, having access to tools and knowing how to use them to make engaging experiences for increasingly diverse audiences are two different things. The best route into game development really depends on what your ambitions are. It’s possible to acquire relevant skills and techniques independently, but what you miss out on is the teamwork, the ideas, the inspiration and the access to fellow collaborators. Although we are one of only a handful of MA offerings in games, it’s my view that studying games at this level offers real value and focus. Many of our students also come to us with a few years’ experience in the working world, and they can bring that experience to the course and to the ideas they develop while on the course. So what we offer here is access to a diversity of ideas and experiences as well as a very sound creative and technical education, which we feel is a great route to becoming an innovator and a future leader in the field.

How is NFTS positioned to do that?
The unique thing about the NFTS is how students from each discipline work with each other on set modules and on final projects, and the Games course is no exception. Over the two years, students are equipped with a comprehensive grounding in game art, animation, design, production and coding, and encouraged to explore and experiment at every stage. At its heart, it is an uncompromisingly creative course, yet we make sure students have a thorough and practical technical understanding of all aspects of game development.

Edge Staff

Edge magazine was launched in 1993 with a mission to dig deep into the inner workings of the international videogame industry, quickly building a reputation for next-level analysis, features, interviews and reviews that holds fast nearly 30 years on. 

Latest in Games
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even after all this time
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Batman looking over the city during Batman: Arkham City, one of the best PS3 games.
The PS2 Batman Begins game was considered such a "disaster" that Christopher Nolan turned down a Dark Knight-inspired game
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe assassinating target with Tanto skill
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first title update is a hotfix with three lines of patch notes and a download size up to 9GB
Latest in Features
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"
Daredevil: Born Again trailer
Daredevil: Born Again episode 5 isn't a filler episode, it brings back the magic of old-school episodic TV
Assassin's Creed 3 screenshot of Desmond hilding a circular Isu artifact
Assassin's Creed Shadows' modern storyline is kind of non-existent and I couldn't be happier about it
An Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail showing Yasuke and Oda Nobunaga armored up and on horseback, ready to ride to battle
"We really wanted you to live this history": Assassin's Creed Shadows is all about "perspective", says the game's cinematic director
A screenshot of a pink-haired protagonist in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, surrounded by other BLADE soldiers and a Skell.
I spent 10 years waiting for the answers to Xenoblade Chronicles X's haunting cliffhanger ending, and it was worth the wait