Diploma of Game Development
START YOUR CAREER AHEAD OF THE GAME
Units x Costs ($AUD)
4 x $3,807
2 x $2,728
1 x $5,456
Indicative Total Course Fee*
$26,140 AUD
Plus Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF)
* The Indicative Total Course Fee & Indicative Annual Course Fees reflects that students are charged fees on a per unit basis and the fee for a unit may increase.
For more information view the SAE Fee Schedule or visit the Fee & Payment page.
Units x Costs ($AUD)
4 x $4,439
2 x $3,178
1 x $6,356
Indicative Total Course Fee*
$30,468 AUD
Plus Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF)
* The Indicative Total Course Fee & Indicative Annual Course Fees reflects that students are charged fees on a per unit basis and the fee for a unit may increase.
For more information view the SAE Fee Schedule or visit the Fee & Payment page.
Complete your course faster by studying the course units over approximately 7 months (2 trimesters).
Complete your course faster by studying the course units over approximately 7 months (2 trimesters).
Whilst still classified as a full-time study load, you will complete the course units over one year. (3 trimesters)
If you want to take a little longer, that’s ok too. We’ll help you work out the best study load to suit your needs.
Note: Part-time is not available for international students.
February 2024
May 2024
September 2024
February 2024
May 2024
September 2024
February 2024
May 2024
September 2024
February 2024
May 2024
September 2024
February 2024
May 2024
September 2024
February 2024
May 2024
September 2024
DIPLOMA OF GAME DEVELOPMENT
If you want to be part of the exciting and expanding industry of gaming, we want to help you gain the skills to stand apart from them all.
In a matter of months, you’ll learn the key fundamentals of game development.
At SAE we can offer small classes and one-on-one mentoring opportunities you may not find in a larger university.
Your growth and development as a creative practitioner will be assessed through the completion of industry-based projects. This will ultimately help you build up a body of work and portfolio to share with potential employers or your first client.
In preparation for an industry that commands agility and adaptability, you’ll cut your creative teeth on projects in partnership with your course peers.
You’ll work in a team to pitch, design, plan and deliver a game in response to a brief. Your project will extend your design and scripting skills sets, to allow you to craft a broader range of gameplay systems and features.
To complement your technical skills, you will graduate with employability skills, introductory project management skills, and scholarly techniques for higher education.
Upon completion, you will be eligible for up to 80 credit points towards either the Bachelor of Games Development.
Career Outcomes
What jobs will this course lead me into?
- Entry-level Game Designer
- Entry-level Game Level Designer
- Entry-level Community Manager
- Entry-level Games Writer
- Quality Assurance Officer
- Production Assistant
- App Developer
Nik Pantis
"When I was doing my major project, I was encouraged to collaborate with students who were studying audio or design, and that’s exactly what you do in the real world. You have to learn how to get along with people who have different skill sets to yourself and navigate through any issues." SAE Alumni | Current Job: Production Manager, Ubisoft
Keovilay Cola Saycocie
"Studying at SAE taught me the fundamentals of game development, without it I probably wouldn't be able to be doing what I am doing right now." SAE Alumni | Current Job: Unreal Engine Developer
Rachel Toomeh
"I found it really beneficial to have this streamlined experience, where I got to meet and talk to teachers that had been in the industry. Learning from a game developer’s perspective was really beneficial, and at the time it was quite unique for where I was looking to go with my career.” SAE Alumni | Current Job: Product Manager, Not Doppler Studio
Why study a Diploma of Game Development at SAE?
Learn in a collaborative environment where your teachers are also your mentors.
A range of approaches to learning and teaching - virtual and on-campus - that provides flexibility, real-world application and support for students.
From day one you'll start creating with the latest software and equipment as you are mentored by an extensive network of expert practitioners.
YOUR CAREER IN GAMES BEGINS NOW
Tools & Software
Game Development Skills
Course Structure
The Diploma of Games Development is stage 1 of the 3 stages of a Bachelor.
Beyond technical and craft skills, expert practitioners also have an understanding of the historical, scholarly and cultural context of games. Through developing your ability to identify scholarly and authoritative resources, your skills in research, and your capacity to argue, present and write academically, you will become a more literate creative. You'll be able to apply these skills in industry to build better outcomes for your project and company with strong links to both the past and future of Games.
Potential projects: Working in a team, you'll develop a paper and digital presentation in the style of a Games Developer's Conference.
Game scripting is a common method of controlling the behaviour and sequencing of events and interactions within a game or scenario. Scripting can be thought of as a discrete language that uses principles of mathematics, combined with rules of syntax and patterns, to provide instructions for a computer to follow.
In this unit, you will implement a range of basic game functionality by utilising data manipulation, formulas, object creation, defining of behaviours, and working with event systems. You will also build an awareness of how to use these elements within common game scripting languages and environments.
Potential projects:
Build a simple game from scratch using an existing game engine such as Unity with C#.
This unit will introduce you to the mindset and skillset of the creative entrepreneur, and transform your approach to problem-solving. You will analyse historical and contemporary models of leadership and best practice in entrepreneurship, and use tools for project design that include ideation, problem framing, and pitching. The skills in this unit will assist you in developing your creative thinking, exploration, and experimentation methods, allowing you to experiment with project design and content for creative media.
Games development uses assets from a range of creative sources including 3D models for environments and objects and 2D assets for menus and backgrounds. In this unit You'll gain an understanding of the production and implementation of these types of assets.
You'll gain practical experience with 3D modelling, lighting, shading, animation and rendering to gain a foundational understanding of a range computer graphics concepts. You will also reflect on the theoretical principles behind the development of computer graphics through critical analysis.
In order to design and create games we need to be able to understand game systems and how they generate player experience. Games are complex, sitting at the intersection of art, technology, and psychology. To be able to become an effective game developer, it's important to start at a point where you can experiment and see the immediate outcomes of your decisions upon a product. It's for this reason that most game developers start off with small, rapidly developed games or modifications to check their thinking. In this module you will learn how to analyse existing games to identify and describe their core elements and interactions. You will apply this understanding to manipulate existing games in addition to designing new ones, and then check the effectiveness of your work through playtesting and player feedback.
Game systems increase in importance and complexity in proportion to the size of a project. This relationship requires modular and reusable systems within game development pipelines, which can be applied to other projects. In this unit, you will extend basic scripting principles by implementing event-systems and applied mathematics in the form of modular game systems. This will involve reviewing good code design by developing or modifying fundamental game systems driven by geometry, vectors, and physics, such as input systems and character controllers, as well as researching, designing, and developing a complex game system, such as a 2D boss battle system, RPG dialogue system, or action-adventure inventory system.
In order to create games, you must be able to manage the complexity of the game development process. In this unit You'll build familiarity with toolsets and existing industry practices to formulate and execute clear plans for delivering games assets and features on time and of a high quality.
Work in a team to pitch, design, plan and deliver a game in response to a brief, where You'll extend your existing skill sets in design and scripting to craft a broader range of gameplay systems and features. This will involve learning and applying teamwork and organisational skills with your your classmates, as well as feedback, testing and iteration processes for the game itself.
Potential projects:
Work as part of a team to pitch, design, plan and deliver a game in response to a brief.
To get a FEE-HELP* loan, you must:
- Be an Australian citizen and study at least part of your course in Australia or be a New Zealand Special Category visa (SCV) holder or permanent humanitarian visa holder and meet the residency requirements. Permanent residents can only get FEE-HELP for approved bridging studies be enrolled in a fee-paying place at a provider that offers FEE-HELP loans be enrolled in an eligible course at your provider by the census date (your provider can tell you if your course is eligible)
- Submit the Request for FEE-HELP loan form to your provider by the census date
- have an available HELP balance.
- Not have undertaken more than 2 years’ worth of higher education study in the last 12 months, unless your provider has assessed you as capable of taking on a higher study load.
- Have a Unique Student Identifier (USI) prior to the first census date to be eligible for FEE-HELP if you are starting a new course in 2022. Applying for a USI is fast and free, and you keep the same USI for life. You can apply for a USI, or check if you already have one, at www.usi.gov.au.
- If you are studying at a non-university higher education provider, you must maintain a pass-rate of 50 percent or above to continue to be eligible for FEE-HELP.
* Terms and conditions apply. For the latest updates regarding FEE-HELP please refer to sae.edu.au/fees
You can choose to study most of our courses in a part-time capacity. An SAE course advisor will be able to give you more information about the study options for your chosen course.
Note: Part-time is not available for international students.
We carefully design and deliver all our units to help you develop the knowledge you need to be successful in your chosen field of study. Courses and course units at SAE follow best practice teaching and learning.
CREDIT AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING
SAE may recognise your prior learning and may grant credit towards satisfying the requirements for a higher-level program. This is applied where previous learning is considered equivalent to the content and learning outcomes prescribed for units within the program.
For full details, please refer to SAE's policy on recognition of prior learning and credit transfers.
