Graduates leave AIE having worked on a range of different games genres, technologies and platforms.

Through the course student s create a number of different games and prototypes focused on different genres and game mechanics. We don't focus on any particular type of genre or game mechanic but encourage students to purse the areas they're passionate about. That means both understanding how to recreate some of the great games, through to innovating and creating new unique experiences. We support this throughout our curriculum which is focused on creat ing great game artists, programmers and designers. Artists need to know how to create immersive environments, programmers should be able to code challenging A. I. and designers should understanding what players enjoy and envisage how they will interact with the game. In terms of platforms, as well as PC, students have the opportunity to get their games on mobile, tablet and console platforms. Sony selected AIE as the

first Australian participant in the PlayStation First Academic Partnership Programme which means students get access to PS Vita dev kits which will also give them a head start on PS4 development. Other t echnology we're working with includes the Oculus Rift VR headsets with which a couple of our Incubator teams are currently experimenting. AIE will continue to have its best students heading off to some of the world's best studios, such as BioWare, Rockstar, Halfbrick and EA Games - but with so many folks wanting to go indie, and so many studios wanting to see shipped titles before looking at people, a lot of our st udents will be working on independent projects, many through the AIE Incubator Program, and that will mean we will see them working on everything from classic games , through to truly experimental and original works.
What opportunities do you see for development of PC games specifically within Australia today? There is a serious advantage

for PC game development today in that it is the least restrict ive and easiest platform to develop and prototype for. Unlike when developing for console or iOS, it's very possible for the developer to distribute and publish themselves, and try things like a soft-launch that involves working with your community. As a result, we're going to continue to see the PC as the leading platform for indie development.
What kind of industry figures could prospective students expect to hear from at your Institution? Recent speakers at AIE include Grant Collier, ex-Infinity Ward CEO (Call of Duty), Nick Blood from CCP Games (EVE Online), Martin

(World of Tanks) and Frank Simon from Nihilistic (Resistance). AIE has close working relationships with local developers to each campus including BigWorld / Wargaming, 2K Australia, Uppercut Games, Half Brick Studios, Epiphany Games, Big Ant and EA/ Firemonkeys, to name a few. Our academic partnership with Sony means that we have the developers from games like God of War and MetalStorm speak to students. We also draw on a wide network of Alumni working in industry.
What items would successful graduates of your institution be likely to have in their final portfolios? Up to five awesome games along with some really impressive pieces of work in their demo

Slater from Wargaming / BigWorld

"Our academic partnership with Sony means we have developers from games like God of War and MetalStorm speak to students"

reels and/or tech demos! During the first year of the course, all the streams - game art, game programming and game design - work separately developing their skills in their respective disciplines. In year two they develop their specialisat ions in key areas related to their stream, for example a game artist may concentrate developing their skills in game level design or character animat ion. The disciplines then get together and form development teams to pitch, prototype and develop a number of games .

PCPOWmLAY

103

Brendan Votano, Game Lecturer at JMC Academy

budding developers to enter into game development, and t he new government grant s have given a much needed boost of funds to the local industry.
What factors external to your Institution have changed the games education in the past year?

movement of small indie studios start ing up with a focus on mobile platforms. More groups have appeared or grown in numbers (IGDA, SU UG), offering support and networking opportunities for

I don't see anything really changing over the last year, but things in general would be the amount of institutes offering game related courses constantly increasing and the amount of onl ine tutorials and classes

available. What educational institutes need to provide is that extra factor unavailable in the online space, such as high qual ity facilit ies, opportunities for cross pollination with other faculties/d isciplines (such as audio engineers, media and marketing), and exposure to industry representatives through class time.
What has your Institution changed about its structure or t eachings In the past year, and what are they In response to?

The focus in the course was

originally on purely the visual and design aspects of games but that has since changed to give the students a broad exposure to all disciplines within the game making process such as programming and iterative design and prototyping. While the main focus is still on developing games for a PC/ web environment, we have encouraged our students to explore ot her technologies that are more prevalent in our local industry such as developing for mobile and touch screen devices.

104

PCPOWERPLU

What kinds of games can graduates of your Inst itution expect to have the opportunity to work on?

The focus in our course is more on the design and creative aspects of game making rather than getting too technical. The students are responsible for deciding what games they want to make and work on, so the scope of games a student could work on is limitless . These are usually gameplay driven smaller experiences or smal l parts of one larger overa ll game. Graduates will be equipped with the skills to enter either a small st udio working on several elements such as modelling, animating, layout, concept ing and design or enter into a larger studio where they can focus more di ligently on the aforementioned ski lls.
What opportunities do you see for development of PC games specifically within Australia today? I see PC gam ing as being

the greatest way for local developers and start-ups to get games out into t he market , through either self-publication or services such as Green light. I think the lines between what games are developed for PC as opposed to consoles is getting vaguer and the opportun it ies run across both format s almost equally.
What kind of industry figures could prospective students expect to hear from at your Institution? We are constantly bui lding relationships with some of the local devs in Sydney so that t here is t he opportunity for t he students t o regularly

on throughout t he production of the student's games. In addition to the local scene, we are striving t o organize for the st udent s to meet and talk wit h people from much larger and international studios when t he opportun ity arises, such as at the EB Games Expo, PAX Melbourne and t he like.
What items would successful graduat es of your institution be likely to have in their final portfollos? The students will leave with a centrepiece of a playable

receive feedback and advice from those currently working in the ind ustry. This is current ly happening in our pre-production class and will carry

"We are striving to organize for the students to meet and talk with people from much larger and international studios"

game of their own design. This could be eit her a gameplay driven game with simple visuals, or a pol ished demo level of high quality appearance showing off the graphics and visual designs t hat students have come up with. In addition to t hi s will be detailed character mode ls and environments created in foundation subjects, 2D and 3D animated characters and several blocked out game prototype levels that can be further refined into finished games.

PCPOWmLAY

105

#220 ON SALE

SEP.19

106

PCPOWER PLAI