Games Technology

From 2009 in addition to offering the existing Bachelor of Computing degree, the School of Computing and Information Systems will also be offering a specialisation in Games Technology. This specialisation within the BComp will be offered as the BComp (Games).

As reported in the Games Developers Association of Australia Industry Profile Report[1], the games industry in Australia employs over 1400 people and consists of around 45 distinct businesses. In the period from September 2006 to July 2007 approximately 300 new jobs were created. Total income for the industry was over 100M in the 2006/07 financial year. Over 80% of this income is export oriented, indicating the globalization of the industry. The number one key challenge facing the industry is attracting skilled staff.

The Bachelor of Computing (Games Technology)[2] degree is a compelling offering that has a significant proportion of units that are clearly identifiable as games related. It also retains the essential units from the more general Bachelor of Computing allowing students to seek employment in any ICT field, not just in the gaming industry. This course is fun and interesting but also has some units that allow the students to challenge themselves at the higher levels to develop some in-depth technical gaming skills.

[1] Game Developers Association of Australia Industry Profile Report –
http://www.gdaa.com.au/docs/GDAA_Industry_Profile_Report_221106.pdf

[2] This degree is still awaiting approval from the University

Course Objectives

The Bachelor of Computing (Games Technology) is a comprehensive 3-year degree course that encompasses software engineering with a games orientation. The specific course objectives are as follows:

to provide a thorough introduction to the theory and practice of computing;
to provide a thorough understanding of the theory, design and programming techniques required for producing computer games and simulation;
to provide a broad base of computing knowledge to support lifelong learning in the field of computing;
to produce computing professionals with the ability to apply new and emerging computing technologies to create solutions in the workplace;
to produce computing professionals with a high level of relevance to a wide range of industries, including: electronic entertainment, scientific simulation and modelling, education and training, and IT in general;
to produce computing professionals who can communicate and cooperate with others and work within and contribute to a team environment.

Career Outcomes

Graduates will find employment in games production companies of all sizes. Games and simulations are closely related, and graduates of the degree would be equally employable in either industry. Graduates of the course can expect to work in a wide range of games specific areas including game designer, game developer, game programmer, component integrator, and simulation developer. The Computing fundamentals studied in the course also equip students for traditional IT careers including project manager, software engineer, programmer, software analyst, software designer, software tester and many more.

Course Structure

Students are required to take 15 fixed units and 5 units from a short list of possibilities, the remaining 8 units that make up the degree can be any university unit. The exact structure is explained in detail on the course structure page.

Entry Requirements

Possession of the University's basic admission requirements. TCE Computing or Mathematics subjects are not required.

How to enrol

The Bachelor of Computing (Games Technology) degree will be offered on the Hobart campus in 2009. Students should go to the University of Tasmania's enrolment page. The student should enrol in the Bachelor of Computing. At the next stage of enrolment, when you specify your units, you will be enrolled in the Games Technology specialisation.

Two games units, Games Fundamentals and Games Design and Production, have been designed so that they are suitable for any university student to take as a single elective, they do not require any programming experience.

All the games units are available as electives within the Bachelor of Computing in Hobart.