Your learning experience

SAE has implemented a remote flexible learning option for current and future students. The range of tools developed by SAE will not only allow students to collaborate online but also gain experience in remote working practices widely used within the creative industries.

• Use industry-standard middleware and development packages such as Unity, Unreal Engine, Direct X, OpenGL, UDK, and many more.
• Learn advanced-level industry-standard C++ and C# programming languages with a specialised focus on games development
• Experience a course designed in collaboration with industry partners, develop the skills the games industry wants.
• Learn gameplay programming, game engine programming and tools development – you will be able to develop your own engines from the ground up and create your own tools including importers/exporters and scene managers.
• Learn gameplay programming, game engine programming and tools development – you will be able to develop your own engines from the ground up and create your own tools including importers/exporters and scene managers.
• Learn the design and technical skills to be able to articulate and implement high-level games concepts – these are key professional attributes required by the games industry and often not addressed in other HE games courses.
• Develop high-level skills in games design, programming, 3D pipeline, games psychology, and working prototypes – learn how to make your ideas a reality.
• Start making games in your first trimester.
• Work with artists, designers, filmmakers, animators and audio specialists.

ASSOCIATE DEGREE OF GAMES DEVELOPMENT

The Associate Degree of Games Development program is broken up into discrete stages, each designed to promote different skills.

Stage I – Foundational Skills Development

In Stage I, students will undertake a number of foundational modules which provide the essential technical skills and knowledge not only relevant to the chosen discipline area but also give students the skills required to collaborate with other creative media students and professionals in later stages of the course. Students will also undertake weekly rituals including reflective journaling that will assist students in identifying the skills, knowledge, and behaviours required to develop their creative media practice.

Stage I has one studio module:

1. Games Studio 1
In this module, students will work in a team to pitch, design, plan, and deliver a game in response to a brief. This will include learning and applying a range of teamwork and organisational skills with peers, as well as feedback, testing, and iteration processes for the game itself. It will also extend on students existing skill-sets in design and scripting to allow students to craft a broader range of gameplay systems and features.

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Stage II – Interdisciplinary Projects, Media and Cultural Studies

In Stage II we show students how their work contributes to and interacts with broader cultural and media practice through common and studio modules. This knowledge will enable students to work with a variety of other disciplines expanding their potential on the global stage. Within Stage II, students will work closely with facilitators to identify key learning outcomes needed to complete modules. Deliberate and reflective practice assist students through their studio modules, playing an active reflection role throughout the learning journey. Student projects within Stage II are reflective of real-world scenarios, containing real-world dilemmas - societal issues that require solutions; authentic audiences -simulating professional practice and constraints- understanding how a range of constraints can impact projects within professional practice.

Students complete a number of real-world projects with students not only in their own discipline but also in all other SAE disciplines. At the end of each studio module, students showcase work in a public exhibition. Work placements designed to help them collaborate with peers and clients from different disciplines, geographies, and cultures.

Stage II has two studio modules for both Games Programming and Games Design;

1. Games Programming 

The SAE Games Programming degree is a highly focused program that delves deep into game-play and game engine programming. Students will build skills in existing software packages and frameworks such as Unreal Engine and Unity, to build technical skillset and develop game tools, libraries, and engines. Students will also enhance their knowledge of C++ and object-oriented programming to build complex games and tools. 
Throughout the program, students will cross-collaborate from all other disciplines to build a rich and high-quality portfolio of work.

Studio 2:
Game development relies on processes and patterns well known to programmers to solve common problems. Students will undertake these processes and evaluate common programming patterns core to the development of games. Students will also explore more advanced mathematics techniques utilised in common game engine systems.

Studio 3: 
Game development requires the tools to extend existing and new game engines to achieve efficient pipelines. Game programmers are critical in collaborating with game designers to meet the technical needs of the game project. In this studio, students will develop tools, libraries, AI systems, and technical aesthetic optimisations to achieve the aims of the game's project.

2. Games Design

In the Game Design specialisation, students will work on a range of projects with peers and SAE Facilitators, which will build skills and knowledge within the diverse scope of Game Design.


During the program students will be able to pursue all facets of Game Design such as level design, systems design, economy design, combat and AI design, balancing, player psychology and much more. Best of all, SAE will provide the tools to be able to articulate design ideas into real working games, explore complex artistic ideas that lead to original, personal games that are artistically and meaningful to the student. Students have the opportunity to work alongside other like-minded students and staff from all SAE disciplines to build a massive portfolio of projects.

Studio 2: 
Game design and development rely as equally on knowledge and skills, as it does on the eureka moment of creative design inspiration. In this studio module, students will ideate and develop one or more game prototypes. Students will test these against criteria for success and identify the best prototype. Students will develop this further by exploring more advanced game design techniques and evaluate with an audience.

Studio 3: 
In this studio, students will focus on developing games with meaning, inquiry, and purpose. As game designer students have an opportunity to tell authentic stories and narratives through gameplay and other mechanics. Students will employ techniques to convey a consistent theme and style throughout your project, and influence plays in outputs and inputs.

Stage III

Stage III of the Bachelor of Games Development is designed to prepare students for entry-level professional industry roles and to undertake post-graduate studies. Stage III develops a student’s capacity to work with the collaborative and geographically diverse world of creative media practice.

To prepare students for this, SAE project supervisors and facilitators work with Stage III students to develop sophisticated, collaborative creative media projects which meet the professional standards of the industry. These final projects are done in collaboration with all other SAE disciplines, either on campus or remotely, enabling students to pursue their most ambitious and creative portfolio pieces yet.

To support this, students in Stage III learn advanced discipline-specific skills and knowledge, experience remote, collaborative practice with their peers across the SAE campus network, broaden their skills and knowledge through studying elective modules in other disciplines, or in creative media business and entrepreneurship and finally, gain industry feedback on their transferable skills through the finalisation of SAE’s creative industries Work Integrated Learning Program.

Stage III is NOT included in the Associate Degree.