Multi-award winning games studio and creators of the Total War franchise, Creative Assembly, has partnered with 16-19 Academy, East London Arts and Music (ELAM) to deliver a new Game Design course.
This is the first integrated partnership in the UK for Further Education Game Design that will see students following an industry-developed curriculum. The course gives students the opportunity to learn game-making on a holistic level, encompassing games art, mechanics, programming, storytelling and sound alongside mentoring, masterclasses, workshops and more, from Creative Assembly’s experts.
Certified as outstanding in all areas by Ofsted, ELAM places central importance on being in touch with the creative industries, bridging the gap between education and industry. Over a quarter of ELAM’s students are from disadvantaged backgrounds and over 70% are from a BAME background, a demographic that is currently underrepresented in the games industry.
Tim Heaton, Studio Director at Creative Assembly, said:
“As a leader in the UK games industry we are committed to educating the future games development talent of tomorrow, and driving innovation through diversity.
“ELAM is working to address the shortfall in the UK’s creative skills shortage and we look forward to sharing our expertise that come with 30 years of making world-class games to help them achieve this.”
Charlie Kennard, Principal at East London Arts and Music, said:
"The UK games industry is currently the 6th largest in the world, employing around 25,000 people, yet the education system is not preparing students with the specialist skills the industry requires. Creative Assembly join other ELAM partners, including Universal Music UK and Abbey Road Studios, to give trainees the opportunity to regularly engage with the industry and gain a level of professionalism, raising the standard of undergraduates before they go to university.”
The UK games market is thriving, with games generating £2.96bn in 2016, 1.3 times the size of the video market (£2.25bn) and 2.6 times the size of music (£1.1bn) . UK games rank among the most popular in the world , with Creative Assembly’s Total War™ series seeing a franchise record-breaking monthly average of 1.2m global players in 2017.
ELAM and Creative Assembly are encouraging students with an interest in games to sign up to the new Game Design course here.
To read more about Creative Assembly's commitment to education, read about the Legacy Project here.
