Industry and Education

I saw these stats and thought that's great!
But the big problem with the stats is:
1. over half of Australian studios are less than 5 years old
2. most target PC and mobiles, which IMO are pretty bad platforms for video games and unsustainable..

Hey there,
I'm not a game designer and I have no idea what the best way to pursue that avenue is, and in the case that no one else responds here, I highly recommend just reaching out and asking some of our industry's most well known and I'm sure very approachable game designers like:

Dan Graf : https://twitter.com/dangraf
Luke Muscat : https://twitter.com/pgmuscat

Get a twitter account and ask them

You love games and you said it is your passion. If you know how to code then you have a good opportunity to get a career either to code for a computer game company or to become a teacher of coding. Else, you are still learning how to code, you can get a course at http://codeforkids.education/ and get a coding package of your choice.

Can you get a masters degree at any university or college in Australia

I'm currently looking to enter university and i'd recommend your friend search for an Engineering Computer Technology course rather than a programming specific course. Programming is an easy to learn language, it's designed for anyone with a good grasp of English and Maths to be able to learn it by themselves. Computer Technology is more holistic in its approach and includes programming and software design as part of its course. While being able to program or having a Software Development degree is useful it is no where near as dynamic as Computer Science/Technology and opens half as many employment doors. Good universities are anywhere specialising in technology. I'm in Victoria right now and the best are RMIT and Swimbourne but any and all universities in Australia will offer a Computer Technology course.

The games technology / computer science double degree at Murdoch in Perth is pretty grueling and produces some great programmers.

Not a member myself, but if I wanted to find out, the first thing I would do is contact some GDAA members directly myself. There's a list of them on the GDAA page here:

http://www.gdaa.com.au/members/

A fair amount of those devs listed there are regulars on twitter and they're very approachable, so I would go that route first.

Other people I'd contact via twitter would be Giselle at @jazzrozz and Liam Esler at @liamesler (who currently lists himself as a GDAA event manager).

Aie Melbourne was amazing I moved from regional nsw to Melbourne and the teachers and staff are great the course itself is amazing and informative very hands on if you like that. I herd we had alot of quantum transfers but that's only what I herd

Hey Dylan,

I have just last year finished a degree through Qantm College in Brisbane. The degree was Bachelor of Interactive Entertainment Majoring in Games Design.

I am now working full time as a games and audio designer in Brisbane for Bifrost Studios. I would highly recommend Qantm for a degree. They off fast tracked course over 2 years which means you do trimesters rather than semesters. On top of that you are taught by industry professionals who have been in the industry and some that still work in the industry. Our games design lecturer working for Ubisoft on ACII, Splinter Cell and Prince of persia so the information we were taught was very relevant. Ill put a link to Qantm at the bottom of this comment. I don't know about other courses but from what i have heard other universities don't really offer the game development approach that Qantm does and other tend to direct you into film and other fields.

Speaking from experience, when it comes to finding a job it was great if you have mor than one skill to offer. Most indie companies like our cant afford to hire people for each role to undertake so we look for people who have skills in a variety of fields. I Myself have a background in music production and composition. I have no degree in it but i do have the knowledge and passion for it which compliment my degree in Games Design nicely.

If you are interested in programming at all it would be a great skill to have because as a designer you are most likey to be prototyping ideas for games and it will also allow you to understand the process of game development when explaining to another programmer what it is you want the game to do.

Hope this info helps mate. If you want more info email me at denis@bifroststudios.com.au I am more than happy to help where ever i can.

Denis

Qantm College Games Design - http://brisbane.qantm.com/en-gb/course_category/4759/Courses_offered_in…
(Also offered in Melbourne, sydney and perth.

I'm an independent game designer and developer. I'm not a programmer.
In my experience, a game design course is a bad idea - they are mostly shockingly awful, including the ones you hear are good. You can learn far more, and far more quickly, by googlin'. I've known people who wanted to make games who were put off by bad uni courses, and I know a lot of people in those courses who only realise by third year that they've been completely wasting their time, but don't want to drop out with only a year to go.
I also know people who've decided at random to quit their day jobs, spent a year unemployed and exhaustively teaching themselves their chosen discipline from nothing, and then gotten jobs in the industry. Those particular people admittedly tend to be from countries where there are actually jobs available, but the point isn't that they got jobs so much as that they became skilled enough to work at AAA developers in less time than it takes to graduate a games design course with relatively few skills and a degree nobody cares about.
You're right that you don't need to be a programmer to get into game design. It still helps to know a bit, mostly so that you can communicate with programmers.
The best place to start if you're interested in design but not programming is probably level design. Figure out the Source SDK or UDK (or Unity, I guess, I've never used it) and start making some levels. Most of the professional game devs I know started out mapping or modding. Joining a mod team is a great idea.
tl;dr: You made this post, so you have a computer and the internet. That's everything you need to make a great videogame. This is the last topic in the world you need to pay somebody to teach you about. Go go go.

Unity is the worst option to go with if you just want to level design. Honestly, it is set up so artists can import art assets from Maya, and coders, can write code in C# -- JavaScript is really a second option if you are familiar with C#, as you need to be a strong coder to use either one anyway. If you want to focus more on level design, go with UDK, as then you have the option to use Unreal Script -- visual scripting language very friendly to designers -- to make a game demo from it as well. But, UDK is more geared towards shooters, and Unity is more geared to everything else. So if you're intent is to make a demo, make sure you pick the right option for your needs.

I have no experience with Source, so, can't comment on it other than to say it is another option to UDK, but, there are benefits to going with UDK such as popularity of Unreal tech with all sorts of developers -- UDK experience may be seen in a very positive light in when applying for a job.

Why you do a course, is for the qualifications. These can come in handy in a variety of ways. Just getting a qualification is not good enough to get a job in game dev, but might come in handy when you want to access larger job markets and need at least a degree for a work visa. You will need to create a portfolio, and as a designer, you will need a playable game demo you've worked on your own or as part of a team. There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these. On your own, you get full credit, in a team, you show you can work as part of a team as a productive team member, under pressure. Regardless, it is going to be a lot of research and dev work that doing a game design course will only give you a foundation or framework for.

And yes, a "playable game demo", to show you know how to game design. If you're applying for a level design role, then you will need a range of levels to show off your abilities -- which doesn't have to be in UDK. FYI: level design is more than just environment art.

And that's all I'm gonna say on it ;).
--
Ivan

I am a game designer and a programmer, I graduated from RMIT (Melbourne) with a degree in Game design majoring in Programming. While people may complain about their degrees the reality is a degree does give you more opportunities particularly if you ever want to work overseas(many visas require degrees). A degree is what you make of it there was lots of 'not as useful as I would have liked' aspects to my degree (there is in every degree) but I did allot of independent study built games got involved with the local indie dev scene, participated in game jams and IGDA events (Melbourne has an awesome dev community).

Honestly if you really love game dev no bad uni courses will turn you off, not really, if it is not really your passion then it will and honestly it is better to know upfront as it is not an easy industry. That aside at the moment most of the opportunities available are in independent development not in large companies, though I am seeing more and more jobs at the moment (YAY! for climbing back out of the slump). While being an indie sounds awesome! rent etc still needs to be paid so having other skills can be useful as a supporting tool while you independently develop, I am currently working as a programmer which is paying the rent while I develop my own work, and get solid some solid software development experience.

I loved studying games and programming at RMIT and yes there were things I would have liked to have been better courses which were a waste of time but that is the real world for you. I now have a degree, the opportunity to go overseas and work, after gaining some experience, so all and all having the degree (any degree) is a helluva lot better than not (and there are IGDA scholarships etc which are awesome!).

If you have any questions you can send me an e-mail at anna.tito@mythicalcreature.net or twitter @MythicalC.
Anna

Hi Dylan,

It seems like you're going to get a lot of varied opinions in here, as I would have to disagree with some of what has been said in previous replies, but this is because we've all had different experiences. :)

I have recently finished my degree in Games Design at Qantm, Melbourne and I would say that although Google is all you need to make a game, I would strongly suggest that an education will boost your ability to be a great game designer. Design aspects aside, my time at Qantm taught me how to work productively in a team to ensure deadlines are met and quality is high. I also got to build a much better understanding of what the programmers and artists do, so when I approach them with a problem, I am able to see what steps they must go through to ensure the problem is fixed; a skill which really helps the team organise priorities as a whole. You will also learn a lot of design aspects in regards to the psychological impact of design decisions when it comes to creating levels, mechanics, audio and the game world.

I'll agree that this is all things you can learn from reading a lot of books (which I also highly recommend) and using Google, however a structured course will always try to keep you on track, moving in the right direction, and challenge your abilities.

If you want to start making games immediately, you may need to get your hands dirty with some coding and art just to get you started. Get yourself a game engine and just start making stuff; even if it's bad, the process is going to teach you so much that you'll start improving quite quickly. Existing engines like UDK and Source can be a great place for designing levels and mods, so starting there would be a great idea. I guess later, if you're feeling up to it, make the move to Unity3d or even Game Maker, so you can begin making games from scratch. They'll both require some programming knowledge (Unity a lot more than Game Maker), but both have huge communities where you can always find help when you need it!

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that studying can give you a great advantage, especially with the theory side of game design (or just design in general!) but regardless of whether you choose to study or not, I would just start making stuff right away! Make stuff and read lots! :)

- Benn

I just wanted to add that with Unity you can also get some interesting packages from their asset store -- not the only way to get them, especially free versions. For example there is playMaker and uScript. PlayMaker is more of a complete development framework with a visual scripting environment, and uScript is more just the visual scripting -- supposedly very similar to UDK's Kismet.

playMaker: http://www.hutonggames.com/
uScript*: http://www.uscript.net/home/
*you can get a free educational version

So, you don't need as much experience in programming as you might expect; however, the more you have the better off you will be ;).
--
Ivan

Advantages of doing a course:

- You make contacts. Your fellow peers certainly won't be industry pros now, but later down the track they very will might be. THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST VALUABLE THING YOU CAN GET FROM A COURSE
- To actually get through one, you're going to need discipline. If you don't have it, you're going to end up getting it. MEGA VALUE TOO.
- You can fob around on Centrelink while you're doing it

Advantages of going on your own:

- You'll have $40K extra.
- You'll be able to learn what you want to learn and when
- You can fast track your success and get pro skills in a year (or possibly less)

Disadvantages of a course:

- $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
- You will likely be forced to learn things you hate and will never use. As part of my degree I was forced into programming. Likewise those with a more programming bent got forced into Maya. And EVERYONE got forced into Audio.
- That bit of paper at the end, you know- the 'degree', means fuck all to most of this industry.

Disadvantages of going on you're own:

- If you don't have the discipline and drive, YOU WILL FAIL
- You will find it harder to recieve feedback on your work from opinions that matter (like industry pros). Trial and error will play a greater role in teaching you.
- There are plenty of mod teams out there, and plenty of them are disorganized saloons full of fap talk. You may end up wasting your time with a bad one (really, like 80% of mod teams never make a mod).
- You will be lucky to score a real-life 'support team' that actually know and understand what you're going for and going through.
- You will need a way to support yourself, because the government sure won't.

Your call bro.

http://www.luluarts.net/how-to-avoid-an-education-scam/

Thanks to everyone for replying, you all kinda gave different opinions which is confusing but for the most part everyone seems to be saying get stuck into some level design now, whether or not I do a course. I'll get started on that tomorrow.

A few more clarifications I realise I missed, I'm not sure I could motivate myself for home study, it's just to daunting and I'd have nowhere to begin and I know nobody that could give me feedback.
I can already get citizenship for England and from what I know that can extend to working in most of Europe. I'd only need to worry about Asia/American visas. So the degree isn't about getting a visa.
I do like the idea of studying though, not sure where to go if I wanted to still. A few people said Qantm but I've heard some pretty awful reviews about them.
I want to study so I know where to aim for myself, while I study I'll be doing a lot of my own study on the topics, I'll want to get some group experience, learn things about other topics that aren't just design (so I can communicate with the programmers and give myself more options for indie work etc)

I've been thinking about the same qantm course people have said in this but it's so effing expensive for a course in Australia D:

I agree with what Joe W-A said above. With the internet and the googles right at your finger tips there is really a wealth of information and a massive community at your finger tips. Just start. Don't even over think it. Just start and see where it gets you in a month, 6 months, a year, 2 years...

So many people are learning so many crazy things with the power of the internet. I studied music with a world renowned jazz musicians for 4 years and I never even saw him in person. We did everything over the internet and the phone. I learned more in my first week with him than I did in my university music program.

go go go go go!!

Sincerly,
Ty from htp://www.beatmakershq.com

Best way to start designing games is to start making them; if you're serious about game development the best way to approach it is from either a programming or art angle (I know sound engineers are also in demand but it's easier to specialize through art or code). I personally would suggest programming (because that's what I do) but either way, go find a good university, study something that isn't related specifically to designing games (code, art, psychology, literature, whatever) and use a broad education as a stepping stone into making interesting games.

I'd stay the hell away from game design courses and especially ones offered in QANTM, read books, find a community and make games, that's all it takes. Anyone saying differently is trying to take your money (and did I mention QANTM is terrible!)...

Sigh...so many looking for answers in a well of seemingly endless despair.
Those where the days...back then when you could make a level or mod in a game with an editor and get your experience.
I'm sure this road still exists, but just like everything else, they find a way to make a dollar by offering you something you can do better by your own efforts and will power. I got my experience way back then, when the dole was easier to make excuses to but I've paid back those costs many times over in the tax I've paid since learning on my own terms, and getting the skills I needed to get work in the industry for over 7 years. Then the industry kicked me in the guts, but I still had skills to get work outside of games and make twice the financial gain.
Get a real job, learn game dev at your own pace, then make your move if you still think it's good for you. It's like singing...don't give up yer day job...until you can sing.

They organised an extremely successful GCAP last year, are heavily involved with various and important funding initiatives, involved in talks with government officials on industry issues, commissioned the recent Game Development Industry Survey (the first on the sector since the the ABS survey of 2006/2007 which will be crucial for promotion and lobbying efforts for the games dev sector), and I'm sure a lot more other things that I've forgotten or am unaware of..

Yes they organised an event... That it ran smoothly and people talked about industry trends I can hardly doubt.

I've always wondered though whether people who are currently out of work or in work or looking for work feel that they've been well represented if at all by the GDAA? I mean take a look at the members section of their website.

"
* Attract capital and publishers from offshore
* Retain and attract talent in our local industry
"
I think they should take these 2 goals off the website in particular. If these are goals are being acheived I'm not seeing it. I've worked in the games industry for 10 years and I've never consciously registered anyone saying that they create opportunities or advocate on behalf of workers.

I'm merely asking, albeit in a pointed way, what do the GDAA actually do for us, the "Local Talent" If I join will I see any benefit to me?

In the past when things were good and easy I didn't see much point in the GDAA, now when I personally need help, and WANT to remain in the local industry need advocacy of sorts. I still see no point to them.

I'm curious if I'm alone in feeling this way?

Well, it's a little tough for them to operate in an industry which has collapsed around them in recent years - and in a year or two may well be all but extinct in Australia. In recent years I think the GDAA has actually done a pretty good job across the board. I'm not sure what exactly they could do to salvage or create employment, other than lobby the government to inject more funding. Recently we've seen the automotive industry do this very well - but they've had some 75 or so years to get their claws into government, so understandably they wield considerably more power than the GDAA.

They do quite a bit. For years they've held events at GDC to assist relationship building, they support those who go to PAX, they've done quite a lot for us in terms of giving us guidance, organising events, facilitating contacts, information, all kinds of things.

I know several indie developers who have been given personal assistance despite them not being paid up GDAA members.

They have been campaigning for better government support and recognition. They've been successful in this (i.e. R&D offset, Film Vic, Screen Australia, etc) and continue to push for us.

I don't expect the GDAA to create employment opportunities directly - they only represent the industry, they aren't meant to BE the industry. I know for a fact that they haven't been inactive (quite the opposite with GCAP, GDC, PAX, facilitating communication, lobbying, advice to studios, more). I don't accept that they are self interested as their fees are relatively modest compared to the industry support they provide.

What do you want to see them doing? I'm sure they'd be very interested to hear constructive feedback about areas they should be addressing.

I'm pretty sure the GDAA were the ones that successfully lobbied for the 40% R&D Tax Rebate, which I know has been a huge help for a lot of indies out there.

Hi Shane,

Your concerns are very valid and I take full responsibility for the GDAA not being as conversational as we possibly should have been, especially in the past 12 months. I'll come back to that in a minute.

Job security and the long term sustainability of the industry is at the heart of every GDAA initiative. It is mandated by the Board of the GDAA and my responsibility to determine the programs needed to achieve this. I believe, strongly, that the only reason the Australian industry isn't one of the key development territories in the world is due to a lack of investment - local and foreign - and has absolutely nothing to do with local talent, creativity or capability. And I will willingly fight anyone that suggests otherwise. As such we have been working on methods of attracting money into the local industry and, as you would expect, the need to create investment incentives for Australia.

A large portion of my time has been spent working with government, State and Federal, educating them about the industry, specifically the cultural and economic importance of our sector. To us the support of the game development industry is logical, however bear in mind government is mostly composed of a generation that did not grow up with games, have little understanding of the game development process and work within a system in which nothing moves quickly. It has been a long process, but we (myself and various Board members of the GDAA) have met with and now have the support of several Federal ministers. We are working toward a scheme not dissimilar to those in place in other key international territories. It would probably surprise many to know that we now are talking directly to the Prime Minister's office.

We are also seeking increased production funding from the various agencies around the country. It is critical that we see production funding on the same level as that experienced by other media sectors, and a successful outcome will give indie developers a chance to flex their creative muscle and ease some of the costs associated with producing games across all platforms. These discussions are also quite advanced.

It is the members of the GDAA that support this and all the other GDAA activities. Working with government is a time-consuming, occasionally frustrating and expensive undertaking, but it is critical to the long-term sustainability of the Australian industry. It is the GDAA members that are ensuring the future of the Australian industry.

The lack of communication/conversation from the GDAA is not deliberate. We have achieved a lot in the last 24 months and there is more to come. In truth once we have successfully completed something I tend to move immediately on to the next and am guilty of not broadcasting our successes. That said, almost every day I am made privy to confidential information, knowledge that I am unable to share with industry, the GDAA members or the Board. Based on your post I will endeavor to be more conversational in the future, to let you know exactly what we are working on and why.

The GDAA is not a walled garden and you should never feel like you don't have the right to question the activities of the association. It is on forums like Tsumea or at events like GCAP, Freeplay, the IGDA meetings, etc. that I get to hear the concerns of the industry and, where possible, can attempt to affect a change. Shane feel free to reach out any time (we're connected on Facebook), and that applies to everyone in the local industry. If you ever want to chat about what's going on locally, what we're doing or if you need assistance, please pick up the phone and call me.

Finally, and on a personal note, please know that we are working damn hard for the Australian industry. Everyone associated with the GDAA wants to see the industry grow, prosper and eliminate the insecurity that threatens us. This is what gets me up in morning.

All the best,

Tony Reed
CEO, GDAA

Well said Tony and many thanks for the candid and comprehensive response. This is indicative of the the maturing process the industry is going through, not just here but world wide.

Not to throw fire on the fuel here but it does raise some areas of queries (for me anyway);

The video game market is more than just console games, what about mobile and PC development in Australia?

Who, exactly, is setting a standard on the "goodness" of a video game? should it be the responsibility of the GDAA?

How do you judge a game being good? reviews are subjective (especially with Metacritic) and profits are not a good heuristic for the quality of a product given than in my personal opinion games like Skyrim, Call Of Duty and Mass Effect are NOT good games (although they all sold/sell extremely well which depresses me to no end).

How can the GDAA provide vision and strong leadership to individual development teams? again, is it really the GDAA's place to dictate such things (how can they?)

Hi Angelos,
Great to hear that you are interested in studying at Qantm College Melbourne!
Though Bachelor programs are typically 3 years in duration, the degree courses on offer at Qantm College are fast tracked, 2 year programs to allow students to graduate and enter into the industry sooner. Further to this, the value that you will find at Qantm College is essentially, but not limited to, the hands on training you will receive by industry professionals.
Have you had a chance to visit the campus as yet? The Melbourne campus is having an open day on the 19th of May from 11am-3pm. This would be a great opportunity for you to have all of your questions answered and really find out if Qantm is the place for you.
If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact me directly via email: e.hughes@sae.edu or phone: 07 3850 2002
Good Luck!
Emma

National Marketing Coordinator
Qantm College Australia

And those industry professionals are?

Hello Angelos,

And hello Anonymous ;)

I'm the Campus Academic Coordinator of the Qantm Degree Programs in Melbourne.

At Qantm, we value professional education that's also academically rigorous. We teach because we want to give back to the professional communities that gave us the careers in Creative Media that we love.

My current full-time staff members, all of whom are both academics AND industry experienced, are:

• Jody Kruger - Game Environments, 3D Modeling - Formerly at Krome (Star Wars: Force Unleashed, Hellboy PSP, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) etc.; Bachelor of Arts (Industrial Design) Uni Canberra, AIE and RMIT diplomas in Games and Fine Arts.
• Jason James - Game & Film 2D/3D Animation - Formerly at Ubisoft Montreal (Rainbow 6: Vegas, Farcry 2, EA Sports Rugby 2006 etc.); Classical Animation Diploma, Sheridan College (where Pixar hires from).
• Dr Ian Dixon - Screenwriting, Academic Practice - Directed Blue Heelers, Neighbours and his own works Wee Jimmy and the feature film Crushed etc.; PhD, Melbourne.
• Simon Finn - Drawing, 3D Modeling - Formerly at Luminova (visualisation work), multiple exhibitions and awards for drawing etc.; completing Master of Fine Art at Melbourne.
• Phil Wilkinson - Game & Film 3D Animation - Previous Academic Coordinator of Qantm Melbourne, considerable technical consultancy into the local 3D animation industry etc.; Bachelor of Creative Industries (Hons.) (Comm Design), QUT.
• Mike Blackney - Game Programming - Formerly at Transmission Games (Ashes Cricket 09, Jane's Advanced Strike Fighter) etc.; Bachelor of Multimedia (Games and Interactivity)and Bachelor of Science (Computer Science and Software Engineering), Swinburne.

Sorry I can't give more comprehensive CVs for them, it's already TL;DR... :)

You will note elsewhere on Tsumea that I am currently recruiting another game designer to complement this team. We also have ongoing game design sessional staff members, who have worked or who currently work at Firemint, Current Circus and NanaOn-Sha.

We have recent graduates working at Voxel Agents, TrickStar, Current Circus, Firemint, Ignition Studios and other places around town.

Readers should feel free to contact me through the normal channels at http://melbourne.qantm.com/en-gb/home/ should you have any further academic questions, or through Tsumea directly.

Alternately, you could come to one of our regular Open Days, where I would be very happy to introduce you to my team and demonstrate our very excellent and industry-informed student outcomes. As Emma noted, the next one is this Saturday (19th May).

Cheers,
Adam Parker

Transparency is a very good thing and seeing that list actually restores a bit of my faith in the overall quality of studying at QANTM. It's just a shame that the Sydney branch tarnishes any attempt at a serious discussion of the college as a legitimate source of education. I now know of at least one game-dev company that actively filters candidates from QANTM based on some examples of their more recent graduates...

It's pretty unfair to judge one graduate based on others, either positively or negatively.
Would it make me want to work there?
I was once asked my religion at an interview and immediately phoned the recruiter who had referred me to say no thanks, even if they offered it.

Hi anonymous,

This is Jens, I’m Adam’s counterpart in Sydney. I’m sorry to hear that your perception of QANTM’s work in Sydney is rather, well, poor.

I believe that, analogous to Melbourne, our staff profile reflects the combination of academic rigor and industry skills the Institute prides itself in.

So without further ado, here’s an overview of current full-time staff members:

- Alex Hoetzer: received his Honours from UNSW, worked in the film and VFX industry for 12 years, including such companies as Island Films and Fuel
- James Betar: has a Masters in Design Science from the University of Sydney and was included on the Dean’s List of Academic Excellence; before he came to QANTM he worked for Team Bondi
- Alan Murray: holds a Masters degree in physics and had worked in a professional capacity for more than 20 years, including visualisation and medical imaging. Currently doing his PhD on game based learning, gave a talk at the ASC Conference earlier this year
- Reza Sarkamari: holds two Masters (one in Information Technology, the other one in Multimedia Design), he taught on a post-graduate level at the University of Sydney and is a Certified Adobe Expert for Photoshop, Premiere and Encore
- Duan Sebastian: Bachelor in Computer Science, Masters in Interactive Multimedia, also teaches at UTS and works as the director of Web Design Cafe, member of the Golden Key Society (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Key_International_Honour_Society)
- Andrew Bittman: Bachelor of Computer Science from UTS, currently working on his Masters, actively involved in IGDA Sydney, worked as a project manager in IT for four years

My qualifications, admittedly, are more of an academic nature. I wrote a Masters thesis about the history of games in former East Germany, to then pursue a PhD about the social history of mass media and gaming in Australia and Germany and how it relates to the countries’ histories. Both theses are available as books. My PhD was supported by two scholarships from the German Academic Exchange Service. I also worked for an indie developer in Berlin and am still actively involved in the local development scene.

Similar to Melbourne, we also have several sessional staff members who, in addition to their postgraduate qualifications, either run their own business and serve clients like Samsung or work for companies like Nickelodeon or Disney.

On top of that we do invite high-calibre guest speakers on a regular basis. We had Tim Willits from ID come in to show us exclusive footage of Rage, Martin Slater gave feedback on students’ projects, Jeff Brand talked about the future of serious games, Terry Flew about the overhaul of the classification system, next Tuesday Paul from Bubblegum Interactive is holding a workshop to prepare the students for the pitches they have to do in the first week of the new trimester etc.

May I also point out that the feedback from local developers whenever we send interns their way was very positive. Students had the privilege to work with companies like Epiphany Games, Nnooo, Dinoroar, Bubblegum Interactive and Rotor. In addition, we were able to send students to the Department of Education, the resulting feedback was overwhelmingly positive. We even had a programming intern at Sabre Astronautics, a company founded by genuine NASA guys. Our intern worked alongside students from some of the country’s best universities and was able to hold his own.

We have recent graduates working at Nnooo, Animal Logic, Epiphany Games or Explore Engage. Another graduate made it to the last round of interviews with Halfbrick when they started their new studio in Sydney but decided to pull out and pursue his own business.

Just like Adam, I can be contacted through the normal channels at http://sydney.qantm.com/en-gb/home/ should you have any further academic questions.

In addition, we also have an Open Day coming up this weekend. Feel free to approach me or anyone from my team if you have any further questions.

Hope that helped to alleviate some concerns.

Cheers,
Dr. Jens Schroeder

Woah, what happened to Marty (removed)'s comment, I thought it was quite relevant an answer to the original question..,

haha, lol, that's cool, was just wondering as I quite value this site for insight and was quite surprised by the deletion of a comment which I personally didn't think was that bad :D

I think it's all a bit sad really. It's been this long and he still clearly needs to get help.

Nice link to that concept art site though. Not an artist so wasn't aware it existed.

There's so much talented teachers now at the Sydney Campus! I wish I had this when I attending Qantm at the time... Any current Qantm graduates check out Explore Engage, their an awesome team to work for! I'm now happily at Gameloft here in Asia :)

- Andrew

here's a quick little exercise for anyone thinking of taking programming at QANTM, Sydney... ask the programming teacher about his gaming industry experience... like, has he work in the industry, which companies? also I can't help but notice that it is very difficult to find any references for game projects under his name, released or otherwise... not trying to flame or anything, just an interesting observation...

If you want to be an animator. Don't I repeat DON'T waste your time and money on degrees in ' 3D '
Focus on beign good at one dicipline and make a solid reel.
I have been an Animator for 15 years and nearly every good junior we hire comes from one of these two schools.
http://www.animationmentor.com/
http://ianimate.net/

www.animschool.com is also a pretty good school to check out as well. I took that course after graduating and found my first gig as an animator.

Place in sydney is ok. Teachers are OK. Student are not so ok.. I myself have been attacked by a number of malicious students and a group think has begun against me and a colleague despite myself helping a number of people in previous trimesters. Youth there cannot mind their own business and I'm constantly harassed by two students verbally whom I fear i may have to slap with a PVO. I especially fear the way people are beginning to treat me in my classes.

Thanks, i'll check it out and take notes for further use.

That's what I like to see, someone who actually knows what they don't know :)
Anyway, not sure what the policy is on talking about courses here, so I'll avoid advertising much (it is the education forum so..). I'm one of the teachers at the VU Tafe games course. Ours might be a good fit since it covers a bit of everything over 1.5 years. It's all portfolio based. Since you're mainly interested in graphic design I'll point you to one of our teachers work (the other guys are just as good, his work is the 3d parts mostly)
http://fraktalvoid.com/

Check out the page here or give me a call if you want to chat about it
http://creativeindustries.vu.edu.au/games-development.html
Cam - 0403735668

Hi there Cam and thanks for commenting,

I'm not that interested in graphic design as that covers logos, brands, briefs, editorial layouts, packaging, print which is not what I'm looking for. I will learn it if I must, but it's not my focus.

Isn't your course now titled the Advanced Diploma of Interactive Digital Media now with three different streams? I've applied to do an interview already but nothing's arranged yet from VU. There's a Web/social networking stream, TV/film stream, and games development stream.
I don't know which to go into really. So the course isn't 2 years?
To what standard are you taught web? For 3D modeling and animation? [basics, intermediate, expert?]
Are there any fundamentals to animation, drawing, storyboarding, life drawing, concept art?
How technical does it get? Is this just only 3D modeling?

Please email me instead with your answers if you must be cautious at: uuuinfinity (at) gmail (dot) com

Hey everyone, I've changed my Original Post a bit but the changes are:

QUESTION 2:
2. I'm looking for a course that involves as much of the following while the others, I am willing to learn from other ways:

Passionate about: Illustrative, Visual Storytelling, Character design, Concept art, Concept building, Colour theory, Design principles side of things, Digital arts, advancing my Drawing, computer and technical skills [traditional and digital]. [even animation]

Will learn if needed: Website development and coding, manage a business/business course, marketing myself, networking, collaborations, 3D animation, 2D animation, creating my website, responding to briefs/projects, graphic design, getting work experience/placement/internships, technology, and everything else to ensure I'm on top of the changing industry.

QUESTION 4, MY CHOICES:
**Melbourne's Academy of Interactive Entertainment's [AIE] Advanced Diploma in Game Development [Game Art or Film/TV/VFX]? [2yr] -- [bit of life drawing + game art + collaborative work + 3D art technical mainly, isn't it?]
**Qantm Melbourne's Bachelor of Interactive Entertainment (Animation) [2yr] -- [generalist course + design + mobile game design + 3d basics with maya + animation it sounds like]
**Diploma/Advanced Diploma in Interactive Digital Media [IDM/Multimedia] from RMIT? Or from Victoria University, Swinburne, Holmesglen? [2yr] -- generalist/keeping options open where you do the basics for each venue [web, coding, sound, 3d, animation, etc] but don't master anything
**A business/marketing course I'll do so I can manage finances and that
**Do self study only [as planned below]
**Do self study + do a business/marketing course

So which option should I go towards?

What I plan to do in my own time regardless:

Study Andrew Loomis books and other anatomy books. Then get subscriptions at Gnomon and/or Digital Tutor. I don't know whether I can afford Animation Mentor and the others.

I'm interested in level/environment design as well as building story and characters, and I've also decided to make 2012 the year of new career paths. In 2011, I looked at almost every course relating to video games development (programming and animation), I've also done short courses at RMIT and Victoria University Maya, 3DS Max and ZBrush all the basic stuff and intermediate character design with maya - out of all the places I've been to AIE was probably the highlight... I just decided to bite the bullet and go for both AIE and Qantm... Adv Dip in Game Development - Specialising in Art (AIE) and the Bachelor of Interactive Entertainment - Major Animation(Qantm).
I tried applying directly through the schools, but got knocked back and told I had to sign up with vtac with all the kiddies. I got accepted into both courses through vtac & interviews. I'm kinda shocked that I had to go through vtac for AIE because it is an Adv Dip. after all! If I didn't do those short courses at RMIT and Vic Uni it would have been a lot harder to make my decision... but I guess it comes down to what kind of work you want to be doing after you complete the course... If you are aiming for a job in the games industry AIE has an awesome course structure, covering everything you're looking for plus environment design, etc - when doing 2nd year of the adv dip. you'll get together with the programming students to create a game. Which would look amazing for your portfolio. Qantm's bachelor - what can i say? seems to suit your needs to a T, as well as possibly appeal to broader fields of occupation (lets say you want to get into advertising or something)... the other thing to remember is Qantm is international, so if you are looking for work abroad a Qantm certificate will not be overlooked, but AIE is only recognised Australia wide... but AIE doesn't have a BAD wrap - it has no wrap... the school hasn't been around for long enough. Qantm... eerrr I have heard a couple of whoppers but not in relation to the melbourne campus
(but im sure you know all this boring stuff - I'm spewing I didn't see this post earlier - but whatever you choose you seem to be on the right track - hopefully my ramblings help you a little. Best of luck to you!)

I didn't realise you've replied until now!

I'm currently doing a Masters of Multimedia, considering a course change by the end of this semester.
I figure I may be more suited to graphic design yet I know 3D is a growing industry I'd like to explore into to see whether I'm suited towards the field.

Thanks for your time in your rambling; great to see a fellow rambler!
I'll be happy to stay connected with you though, my blog is at uuuinfinity.blogspot.com where you can find my twitter, google+ and facebook page (: