Game Programmer

On a game programmer apprenticeship course you will help craft dependable and efficient software tailored to the demands of real-time graphical environments on contemporary gaming platforms.

These programmers help spearhead the creation of technical systems that directly or indirectly influence a player’s gaming experience. These technical systems encompass a broad spectrum, encompassing everything from gameplay mechanics (such as devising a system for various attack moves and their impact on adversaries) to asset pipelines (for instance, developing tools that process geometry data to support character customization systems) and customized technologies (like inventing a new graphics rendering system to depict lifelike dragon scales).

You will collaborate to strategise and synchroniwe your work within a larger team and offer technical insights to various creative disciplines. You will also help diagnose and resolve issues within intricate systems affected by numerous interrelated factors, instigating modifications to software architectures to align with evolving designs.

Your efforts will help enhance the overall value of the team’s contributions to the player’s experience.

What you’ll learn

On a game programmer apprenticeship course, you’ll learn:

• Explore the development of interactive, real-time applications for gaming platforms, including familiarity with industry-standard programming languages, application programming interfaces (APIs), tools, engines, and frameworks.
• Understand the syntax and structure of industry-standard programming languages (beyond visual programming) utilised in game development, such as C++ and C#.
• Grasp the fundamental graphical and mathematical principles underlying real-time graphics in two and three dimensions.
• Recognise the characteristics of modern hardware platforms and how they facilitate the efficient operation of interactive, real-time graphical applications.
• Employ strategies to balance quality and performance requirements for achieving, monitoring, and sustaining acceptable frame rates and memory usage in real-time interactive applications.
• Utilise tools to identify and optimise performance bottlenecks in real-time applications.
• Understand the role of debugging tools, crash reports, automated testing, and continuous integration workflows in creating robust software.
• Explore the significance of staged deployment, monitoring, and analytics in game release, tracking, and refinement.
• Analyse common principles of sound software design applied within the gaming industry, including contrasting approaches and priorities (e.g., object-oriented vs. data-oriented).
• Examine the operation of a comprehensive asset pipeline in game development, encompassing technical requirements, processing stages, and tools used to incorporate assets into the game.
• Utilise version control and project management tools to plan and coordinate the execution of development tasks.
• Investigate prevalent development methodologies and their application in game development.
• Recognise the diverse roles involved in game development and the unique strengths and perspectives that multi-disciplinary teams bring to the creative process.
• Locate sources of information on the latest technological innovations within the gaming industry.
• Evaluate the role of rapid prototyping and agile approaches in fostering innovation.
• Understand the organisation’s coding, documentation, and issue tracking standards and their alignment with broader practices in the software industry.
• Identify the project’s business stakeholders and comprehend how multi-disciplinary development teams can generate value within various business models.
• Understand relevant data protection laws, including GDPR.
• Implement security approaches to safeguard products from compromise and adhere to best security practices, including password policies, phishing prevention, and VPN usage.
• Evaluate the merits of different game engines, third-party frameworks, and tools and determine when to use them to expedite development.
• Balance the requirements and resource availability of the team (such as staff time and software licensing) in the context of engineering and maintaining a game’s asset pipeline.
• Recognise the various disciplines involved in the development process and understand their typical skillsets, technology, tool, and asset format expectations.
• Specialise in operating specific hardware architectures or gaming platforms and devising efficient solutions tailored to their unique capabilities.
• Strike a balance between team resource requirements (staff time, software licensing) and delivering maximum user benefit.
• Effectively utilise externally-facing support portals and project tracking tools to track and document technologies for sharing with a broad user base.

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

• A bachelor’s degree, a Level 4, 5 or 6 apprenticeship, a degree apprenticeship or a relevant industry qualification.

Assessment methods

The programme is assessed in various ways before completing the End Point Assessment, including a portfolio of evidence, project brief and professional discussion.

Restrictions and requirements

• Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the end-point assessment.

Duration, level, subjects and potential salary upon completion