Otago Polytechnic To Launch Another Video Games-related Study Pathway

Otago Polytechnic is introducing another video games-related study pathway.

Open to learners from July, the new Game Design pathway sits within the New Zealand Certificate in Digital Media and Design (Level 4).

Developed in collaboration with Swedish-based Futuregames, regarded among the best game development learning providers in the world, the Game Design pathway will focus on creating virtual worlds for games or work within the field of virtual production.

Learners will explore world building, content creation and game design using Unreal Engine, a widely used game engine that can be harnessed for a range of environments, including PC, PlayStation, XBox, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

The programme will also enable students to learn about real-time 3D art and design, lighting and atmospherics, interactive logic and narrative game design.

"The programme has been developed and our amazing staff are ready to go," says Prof Federico Freschi, Head of College: Te Maru Pumanawa College of Creative Practice and Enterprise.

"It has capacity for 19 students in Semester 2, which starts in July, and we are accepting enrolments now.

"This offering builds on our existing suite of games-related programmes and taps into our growing expertise in empowering people into careers in the fast-growing gaming industry," Prof Freschi says.

"We have assembled a multidisciplinary learning team dedicated to building games industry-ready graduates."

New Zealand’s games scene is fast becoming a multi-million-dollar industry. Game development studios, both in New Zealand and globally, are in need of specialist game designers and programmers.

Learners who complete the Game Design pathway in the New Zealand Certificate in Digital Media and Design might also wish to continue their Game Design focus by enrolling in a Bachelor of Design (Communication) at Otago Polytechnic.

Those interested in the creative or technical elements of making video games can also choose to study Otago Polytechnic’s Bachelor of Information Technology or Bachelor of Design (Communication), which offer pathways focused on games.

Otago Polytechnic’s game design and game development pathways are supported by the New Zealand Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE), with which it is a partner.

Otago Polytechnic recently signed an MOU with Futuregames, which will provide professional development for staff, mentoring for student projects, review and feedback on Otago Polytechnic’s games courses, as well as a range of learning materials.

Visit www.op.ac.nz/game-pathway for more information.

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