APPLICATION TASK 2023: B.A. IN DIGITAL GAMES
To apply to the Cologne Game Lab’s Bachelor of Arts in Digital Games, please complete the following application tasks and submit them through our 🠖application form.
1. Game Concept
Please outline a game concept on the following topic:
“AI – Artificial Intelligence“
Together with the topic, we are providing you two relevant texts at the end of this document as sources of inspiration. Choose one of these texts to base your game concept on. You can find the texts by following these links:

You can find the article here:
How AI is transforming the creative industries, The Economist

You can find the article here:
Computing machinery and intelligence – A. M. Turing

You can find the article here:
The practical guide to using AI to do stuff – Ethan Mollick
You can find the PDFs here (How AI is transforming the creative industries, The Economist [pdf]), here (Computing machinery and intelligence – A. M. Turing [pdf]), and here (The practical guide to using AI to do stuff – Ethan Mollick [pdf]).
Note: The sources provided contain video content. Therefore, it is advisable to access the web links to see the full content.
We encourage you to deliver your concept in a form that suits your ideas and creative abilities in the best way possible. Concepts are accepted in written form (as a pitch document, game design document, etc.), as a visualization (concept art, animation, level mockup, etc.), as a film clip (e.g. a teaser / trailer to the game), or as mixed media. Please refrain from sending us prototypes. Should you create one, please include a link to your gameplay video and/or screenshots.
All presentations should start with a working title and a short description (100 words max) including information on game genre, platform, target group, basic mechanics, and story (if applicable). The structure and form of the main part of your presentation are up to you.
The committee should be able to evaluate your application in no more than 10 minutes.
Important note: In case you use materials that were not created by yourself, provide the source or credit.
2. Written Assignment (250 Words)
The role of artificial intelligence in transforming creative work: can AI become a creative companion for human designers, artists, and programmers?
Write a short argumentative statement, reflecting the use of AI in creative types of work, such as writing story boards, designing game levels, making digital art, composing music, or game play programming. How, in your opinion, will AI transform the creative work of artists, writers, designers, or programmers? Will the increased use of AI replace human creativity or rather shape the creative work in different ways? Can algorithms produce creative content in the first place or are they only able to play the imitation game? Is creativity something that may be simulated and learned by algorithms from data sets? Or, quite on the contrary, is it reserved solely for humans? In other words, can AI-made art be unique or only imitative?
In order to complete the task, you will need to seek information and inspiration in the provided texts:
1. How AI is transforming the creative industries – The Economist
2. Computing machinery and intelligence – A. M. Turing
3. The practical guide to using AI to do stuff – Ethan Mollick
Submission Procedure
1. Uploading Documents
Please combine both assignments into one PDF and label it as follows:
“BA2023_lastname-firstname.pdf”
This document can include links to audiovisual add-ons like external players (YouTube, Vimeo, browser games). Please make sure that the submitted formats are easily accessible.
You need to upload the PDF to the corresponding field in the online 🠖application form. The form needs to be submitted by March 31 at 23:59 CEST at the latest. Please ensure that all documents are complete before you upload your application. We do not accept duplicate applications. Once you submit it, you will receive your applicant number. Keep this number safe! It will be important for the next step of the application process.
2. What’s next?
After March 31 all applications will be evaluated. A group of selected candidates will be invited to the interview round which will take place between June 6 and June 9. The interview schedule will be posted on our website on May 26. To find out if you have been invited to an interview or not, you will need to look for your applicant number, which will be provided to you in the confirmation mail, after you submitted the application form on the CGL website.
The interviews will be conducted online.
The interview modality is: Zoom.
Once the interviews are carried out, all accepted and rejected candidates will be informed via email in the beginning of July.
3. IMPORTANT
Be aware that CGL does not check the formal validity of your diplomas as a formal entrance requirement to TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences. The assessment of your diplomas concerning their formal validity will be conducted by our student registration office after the aptitude assessment (in July). In case you pass our aptitude test, we will offer you more information on this matter.
International applicants have to submit their documents to the validation agency Uni-Assist parallel to the CGL application procedure. The deadlines for Uni-Assist submissions are March 31 (BA & MA applicants).
All application documents must be submitted to Uni-Assist as officially certified copies. If your documents are issued in a language other than English or German, you are required to submit a German or English language translation from a state certified translator.
For the winter semester 2023/24 you can apply in digital form at uni-assist, you do not have to send any documents by post. TH Köln reserves the right to check these documents during the enrollment.
We would generally recommend you to prepare and submit your Uni Assist materials early on. The evaluation process by Uni-Assist can take up to four weeks during peak times even longer. Your final admission, however, depends on the result of the evaluation.
Good luck!