Cologne Game Lab

Operating as a specialized institute within the Faculty of Cultural Studies at TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences), the Cologne Game Lab balances academic inquiry, artistic experimentation, and commercial game production. Founded in 2010, the institute is based in a converted Felten & Guilleaume AG cable factory administration building in the Köln-Mülheim district. Its facilities include an Open Work Loft, dedicated Open Space areas across North and South wings, specialized computer labs, and a cinema hall arranged to mirror the open-plan floor layouts of commercial game studios. Instruction across all degree programs is conducted entirely in English for an international student cohort representing more than 45 nations.

Undergraduate Studies

The seven-semester B.A. Digital Games relies on project-focused learning rather than conventional lectures. Students spend their first two semesters in an Equalization and Exchange phase designed to align varying technical and creative backgrounds through shared foundational coursework. In the third semester, students formally choose one of three specialization tracks:

• Game Arts: Visual asset production, character modeling, and environment design.
• Game Design: Core mechanics, system design, narrative architecture, and player experience.
• Game Programming: Technical implementation, engine systems, and gameplay mechanics.

A central component of each undergraduate semester is the Collaborative Project. Interdisciplinary teams drawn from each track collaborate on complete prototypes across an escalating sequence of genres, advancing from ludic exercises and narrative titles to multiplayer games, experimental mechanics, and impact-driven productions.

Postgraduate Pathways

CGL offers several master's tracks structured around specific career stages and technical objectives:

• M.A. Digital Games (3 Semesters): Aimed at graduates with prior game development degrees. The core feature is a two-semester Game Studio module in which teams develop, polish, and launch a playable game on a professional platform.
• M.A. Game Development & Research (4 Semesters): A continuing-education program for professionals with at least one year of industry experience. Coursework centers on non-linear adaptation, serious games, and game studies research culminating in a written master's thesis.
• M.A. 3D Animation for Film & Games (4 Semesters): Run in partnership with ifs internationale filmschule köln, this professional degree focuses on virtual character creation and real-time environment construction. To accommodate working media practitioners, mandatory on-campus coursework is consolidated onto Mondays and select weekday evenings. Production workflows incorporate Unreal Engine, Unity, Maya, ZBrush, Substance 3D Painter, and Houdini.

Industry and Publishing Initiatives

Rather than confining student projects to classroom archives, the lab maintains active pipelines for public exhibition and distribution. Student work is commercially released through Broken Paternoster Games, a student-run publishing label. Each year, CGL organizes the 63-square-meter RAW TALENT exhibition booth at gamescom in Cologne, giving students direct access to international publishers, press, and players. Academic research is supported alongside production through the student-led journal Kaludoscope and the annual Clash of Realities international research conference.