EXTENDED REALITIES - 2026/7

Module Overview

Extended Realities (XR) technologies including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) harness games technologies to create new forms of immersive experience. Beyond video games for entertainment, XR technologies are used in serious games and immersive simulations, addressing a wide range of social, ethical, and educational needs. Examples include puzzle and exploration games, training simulations, educational experiences, therapeutic applications, and narrative environments. During this module, you will work collaboratively to design and develop innovative XR experiences, applying your specialist game design and production skills to a chosen area. You will analyse existing XR design solutions, evaluate their effectiveness, and apply this knowledge to create your own original designs. Studying this module will enable you to extend and adapt your existing game design skills to new and emerging XR contexts. You will gain a deeper understanding of how games technologies are applied across diverse industries and produce work suitable for inclusion in your professional portfolio. The skills and insights developed will help open pathways into employment across the XR games sector, as well as the wider serious games and immersive media industries.

Module provider

Music & Media

Module Leader

WEINEL Jon (Music & Med)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Use of game engines and development tools for creating XR experiences.
• Applications of XR technologies within video games, digital arts, and interactive media.
• Applying game design principles to develop effective and engaging XR solutions.
• Exploring the immersive and perceptual dimensions of XR applications.
• Designing for affective experience, mood, and emotion in immersive environments.
• Conceptual and aesthetic approaches to real and virtual environments.
• XR interfaces and interaction design, including controllers, spatial input, and gesture systems.
• Exploration of emerging technologies such as biofeedback, haptics, and adaptive systems.
• Investigation of immersive installations and performances, including fulldomes, live visuals, and VJ practices.
• Examination of the ethical, social, and cultural implications of XR technologies and their uses.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Assessment 1: XR Project Design Document

Students will create a design document for a proposed XR project.

Assessment 2: XR Project Demo

Students will create a prototype project demonstration using a chosen XR technology.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the module learning outcomes. Students will be provided with a structured set of lab tasks which introduce domains of XR. Following this they will develop an XR project pitch working as a group, working within their specialist domains. They will then develop their project pitch into a functional prototype with their group.

Assessment 1: XR Project Pitch

Students will create a collaborative pitch for a project within the XR domain. 

Assessment 2: Extended Realities Project

This summative assessment represents a culmination of the module's output with students presenting a substantive collaborative XR project.

Formative assessment and feedback will be provided throughout this module during lectures and labs. Lab sessions will provide opportunities for students to receive feedback from the tutors on their work-in-progress. Students will engage in peer-review feedback sessions with each other, fostering peer-learning and developing communication skills for discussing XR development practices used in industry.

Module aims

• Enable students to integrate game design principles and techniques within the context of emerging XR platforms.
• Provide opportunities for students to explore user experience, perception, and immersion as core design considerations in XR environments.
• Encourage critical engagement with the ethical, cultural, and social dimensions of XR technologies.
• Support the development of professional and collaborative practices through the creation and presentation of XR design projects.
• Foster evaluative and reflective skills through the analysis of XR solutions using established design frameworks and terminology.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy for this module is designed to develop specialist XR design and development skills through a combination of lectures, and lab-based project work. It supports the adaptation of game design principles to immersive contexts, encouraging collaborative and independent experimentation, and fosters critical reflection on design decisions, user experience, and ethical considerations. The approach also promotes creativity, resourcefulness, and professional practice, including effective communication, presentation, and the creation of prototypes suitable for portfolios and industry contexts. 

Learning and teaching methods will be based primarily around lectures and labs. Lectures introduce key theoretical and practical concepts in XR design and demonstrate relevant techniques and workflows. In lab sessions, students apply these ideas through hands-on tasks, developing their own concepts, and work collaboratively to build immersive XR experiences. Students are encouraged to experiment, research, and reflect on their design and development processes, documenting decisions and outcomes professionally. Access to a variety of digital resources and development tools will support exploration across a range of emerging XR technologies.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: DMA3020

Other information

The Department of Music and Media is committed to developing graduates with attributes encompassing Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. 

Employability: This module enables students to actively participate in the design and development of immersive XR experiences, preparing them for professional practice in areas of the video games industry that use these technologies, as well as the wider sphere of industries using XR such as serious games and creative industries. Project work develops professional, collaborative, project management and communication skills which are highly valued by employers. 

Digital Capabilities: Students are introduced to a wide range of industry-standard tools and development environments, including game engines and related production tools which they will apply to XR. This enables them to apply technical and creative skills with digital tools in professional contexts. 

Global and Cultural Awareness: Students will explore XR projects drawn from a variety of global and cultural contexts, broadening their perspective with regards to the wide range of international uses for XR technologies in a wide range of contexts. 

Sustainability: The module encourages students to investigate ethical uses of XR technologies, considering aspects such as sustainability. As part of the module they will evaluate projects with engage with these themes and will be encouraged to create work that responds to sustainability issues. 

Resourcefulness and Resilience: Students are guided to reflect, evaluate, adapt, and respond flexibly during the development of their XR concepts and prototypes, addressing technical, design, and ethical challenges and improving their work iteratively based on feedback.

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2026/7 academic year.