How to Become a Game Designer?
You love games so much but no one seems to understand the importance of games in your life. Your parents nagged you every time you played it (#ikr) or even your friends said you are being anti-social. It’s okay because I know how significant games are in your life because let’s be real without games, the world is a boring place to live. It’s your escape to a fantasyland and your adrenaline getting higher and higher when you are trying to overcome one level to go to the next and that feeling of accomplishment the moment you successfully overcome that level is just amazing #ifeelyou.
But you know what, with your interest in games and your creativity, you can make more people happy as you can design games according to your artistic skills. Not only that, imagine you get to be the witness from day 1 designing the game to the day where people start talking about how much they love it, just like how you and your friends start talking about Call of Duty or The Legend of Zelda or even Fifa 20.
Before you make your way to the gaming industry, do you have what it takes to be a games designer? This field is highly competitive so lets do a quick test before entering the field.
1. Do You Have These Skills to Become a Game Designer?
- Artistic vision
- Drawing skills
- Creativity
- Communication skills
- Storytelling ability
- Strong analytical frame of mind
- Basic programming skills
- Team player
If your answers are mostly yes, let’s go to the next question.
2. Do You Have These Knowledge to Become a Game Designer?
- Up-to-date knowledge on gaming trends
- Fluent in 2D and 3D animation and graphics packages
- Understanding of gameplay theory
- Relevant health and safety procedures and legislation
If your answers are mostly yes, then how about the third question?
3. Do You Have the Proper Education to Become a Game Designer?
If you answer Yes, then you can skip to the next question.
But if you answer No, it is okay because I have a few university recommendations for you to study game design in Australia. Below is the list:
Which University to Study Game Design Degree In Australia?
University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
9th in Australia and 140th globally according to QS World University Rankings 2020. You will be equipped with many skills that are applicable to your IT career such as practical problem-solving skills, application of theory to a real world context, programming across many languages, written communication and entrepreneurship. Not only that, you will demonstrate leadership skills in technical and business situations upon graduation.
Program | Bachelor of Science in Games Development |
Intake | March |
Entry Requirement | English: IELTS 6.5 A-Level: 9 STPM: 10 |
Annual Indicative Fees | AUD$ 42,720 |
For enquiries on other equivalent entry requirements that are not listed above, contact us 😃
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
Ranked 8th in Australia and 77th globally in terms of employability by QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2020. You will be able to develop your game design and art skills. You will also be given a specialist training in computer-generated design emphasizing on game studies and art practise. RMIT has developed two games research groups focusing on world-leading research, which attracts expert staff who teach the most-up-to-date and cutting -edge ideas to students.
Program | Bachelor of Design (Games) |
Intake | February & July |
Entry Requirement | English: IELTS 6.5 A-Level: 7 STPM: GPA 2.33 UEC: 2.20 |
Annual Indicative Fees | AUD$ 34,560 |
For enquiries on other equivalent entry requirements that are not listed above, contact us 😃
University of South Australia (UniSA)
17th best in Australia and 274th best in the world according to QS World University Rankings 2020. This UniSA degree is professionally accredited by the Australian Computer Society and it enables you to apply technical skills and creativity to game-type productions and software. You will also study computer graphics programming, multimedia design and information visualisation. FInal year students will work on a major Information and Communication Technology project. Details of the degree is as follows:
Program | Bachelor of Information Technology (Games and Entertainment Design) |
Intake | February & July |
Entry Requirement | English: IELTS 6.0 A-Level: 7 UEC: 30 |
Annual Indicative Fees | AUD$ 33,600 |
For enquiries on other equivalent entry requirements that are not listed above, contact us 😃
Griffith University
19th in Australia and 320th in the world, ranked by QS World University Rankings 2020. Griffith will provide students a thorough grounding in the creative development of game art and design, moving from art-foundation skills to storytelling, storyboarding, cinematography, 3D modelling, human movement, game level design, sound design and the influence of games on society.Final year students will also have the opportunity to involve in a major group project with the objective to market your first game and have the opportunity to engage with industry practitioners.
Program | Bachelor of Games Design |
Intake | February |
Entry Requirement | English: IELTS 6.5 A-Level/ STPM: 6 UEC: 14 |
Annual Indicative Fees | AUD$ 30,000 |
For enquiries on other equivalent entry requirements that are not listed above, contact us 😃
Swinburne University of Technology
QS World University Rankings 2020 ranked Swinburne 21st in Australia and 383rd globally. You will undertake a range of projects which focus on analog and digital games, and develop practical and creative research and communication skills in a games lab environment. Students will also be eligible for student membership of the Games Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) and Australasian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) upon completion of their study.
Program | Bachelor of Games and Interactivity |
Intake | March |
Entry Requirement | English: IELTS 6.0 A-Level/ STPM: 8 UEC: 5 |
Annual Indicative Fees | AUD$ 32,400 |
For enquiries on other equivalent entry requirements that are not listed above, contact us 😃
Edith Cowan University (ECU)
QS World University Rankings 2020 ranked ECU 31st in Australia and top 700 globally. Students will learn both traditional multimedia and emerging digital interactive technologies, draw theory and knowledge together from multiple creative disciplines including web, visual and interaction design. Apart from that, you will also earn skills and competence in the design, scripting, development and usability of digital media products for information,entertainment and commerce.
Program | Bachelor of Design (Games and Interactive Design) |
Intake | February & JUly |
Entry Requirement | English: IELTS 6.0 A-Level/ STPM: 5 UEC: B4 |
Annual Indicative Fees | AUD$ 29,950 |
For enquiries on other equivalent entry requirements that are not listed above, contact us 😃
Western Sydney University
Top 20 in Australia for employability according to QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2020. You will learn games design, gamification, game-based learning, psychology of gaming, serious games, games entrepreneurship, broader modelling and simulation. Graduates of this degree will be equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset to address a diverse range of problems through game and simulation-based solutions when they enter the working world.
Program | Bachelor of Entrepreneurship (Games Design and Simulation) |
Intake | March & July |
Entry Requirement | English: IELTS 6.5 ATAR 70 |
Annual Indicative Fees | AUD$ 30,840 |
For enquiries on equivalent entry requirement ATAR 70 that is listed above, contact us 😃
Because this course requires artistic skills, certain universities require interviews or portfolios prior to acceptance. To find out more about this course or the mentioned universities, contact us 😃
4. Do You Have A Portfolio?
Throughout your high school and university study , you need to build your portfolio by gaining experiences. Go for part time or internships to build a portfolio.
Once you have all these 4 criterias, you are ready to enter the games industry #yasss You may go for an interview with any game companies and crush the interview. Or if you have the entrepreneur spirit, you can even build your own start-up games designing company. The choice is in your hands and if you have any questions on the universities mentioned above, you have the choice to contact us. Like what Andrew Ryan, Bioshock said, “We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us”
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Stephanie Calamba
Part time ACCA student, part time content writer but full time child of God.