The University of Bayreuth was the first university in Germany to teach computer game science. And today its graduates have won the German Computer Games Award.
These days, the University of Bayreuth offers a wide range of programmes for students and those interested in the area of "games", thereby creating its own small gaming ecosystem. The core of this lies in the Computer Game Studies degree programme - with which the University of Bayreuth took gaming to a whole new level in 2015. There are also a number of other degree programmes linked to the topic to varying degrees through free and compulsory projects. In addition, the University supports students in founding their own game studios and hosts so-called game jams several times a year. Our success speaks for itself: Most recently, students from the University of Bayreuth won the German Computer Games Award DCP in the category "Young Talent Award: Best Prototype".
The two teams behind the prototypes "Passing By" and "Mukana - Battle of Asgard" conducted their development work in Bayreuth. While "Passing By", winner of the Young Talent/Prototype category (worth € 50,000), was developed by three students and one alumna of the University, the young game studio "Rappbit", the force behind "Mukana - Battle of Asgard", is also based in Bayreuth. The nomination for their prototype earned the studio "Rappbit" € 25,000 in prize money.
... is an exploration and survival game in which players take on the role of the ballooning character Curly, who must deliver a mysterious letter. In the process, they explore unique flying islands on which small puzzles have to be solved. The jury of the German Computer Game Award particularly emphasised the presentation: the various biomes were aesthetically pleasing and were accompanied by appropriate music. "Passing By" also takes into account people of colour, diverse gender aspects, and non-heteronormative communities, which the jury found positive. Passing By can be downloaded and played free of charge on the homepage of co-developer Marius Mühleck .
In the comparatively small team, many tasks, especially when it came to the structure and content of the game, were worked on together. The music for the prototype was written by fellow student Michael Hochmuth.
CSW alumna, continued to work on the prototype with the team after successfully completing her studies, alongside her job as a game designer.
Marius Mühleck, also a CSW student, primarily took care of programming during the development.
Jan Milosch,
CSW
student, was mainly responsible for the sound and narration, the team being
founded as part of a freelance project during his studies.
"We have stopped working on the prototype of Passing By so that we can focus on finishing our studies first. But the prize money will enable us to start planning a new edition of our game idea afterwards, which we are of course very happy about."
-Developers: Passing By
Students who are interested in the topic of games can develop games in their individual projects in the Media Studies & Media Practice (MeWiP) bachelor's degree programme, in addition to 2 compulsory projects with a games connection.
In contrast to the bachelor's programme, the subsequent master's programme in Computer Game Studies (CSW) concentrates exclusively on the field of "games". Prof. Dr. Jochen Koubek, Professor of Digital Media at the University of Bayreuth, designed the CSW master's programme back in 2015. In the following video, he talks about what students in Bayreuth learn about games:
The University of Bayreuth supports students in founding their own game companies, so-called studios. It is not uncommon for students to pursue ideas and projects that they have developed during their studies. The three studios and game developers presented here are only a small selection of the committed students at the University of Bayreuth who develop games on their own or in collaboration. A list of games that are or have been developed by students can be found here, on the homepage of Game Innovation Lab (GIL).
