Choose your career path in this multibillion dollar industry. This degree allows the development of creative skills ranging from the technical to the artistic. You will gain experience in the whole process of game and interactive media development, from identification and evaluation of ideas, creation of design concepts, critique of existing and potential products, analysis of cultural impact and industry trends, through to the development and delivery of a final product.

You will learn about the games and interactive environments industries through interacting with industry members, reviewing the development process of games and related products, participating in class discussions and studying industry literature. You will discover visualisation, interaction and communication techniques as applied to games and interactive media. A strong foundation in both entertainment technology and creative skills is complemented with options in games programming, including graphics programming and game artificial intelligence. You will be introduced to generic programming concepts and problem-solving strategies, team work, and the ethical and social responsibilities of an interactive media professional.

Given the growth in small, independent game development worldwide you'll be introduced the ideas of game development entrepreneurship from your first year of studies. You'll gain the knowledge and skills related to succeeding as an independent game developer. In your major capstone experience you'll work as part of a team to develop and publish your own game.

As a graduate from the Game Design Major, you can apply your knowledge and skills in roles such as game designer, level designer, game producer and mobile game designer. The skills learnt can also be applied outside the games industry to create engaging tools and environments in other domains.

Professional recognition

If you complete a Software Technology Minor as part of your degree, you may be eligible for associate membership of the Australian Computer Society (ACS).

Research pathways

You may wish to take your passion further and extend your studies with an honours research program.

Honours is an ideal pathway for high-achieving graduates to enter the doctoral program (PhD), and provides a wider range of career opportunities including research, analytic or teaching positions.Consult your course coordinator in second or third year to assess what projects may be available within your areas of interest.

To be eligible for an honours course, you must have a bachelor degree in information technology, mathematics, science or property economics (depending on the course) or its equivalent, completed within the last five years, with a minimum grade point average of 4.5 (on QUT’s 7-point scale).

Possible careers

• Animator
• Computer Game Programmer
• Computer Games Developer
• Computer-aided designer
• Digital Content Designer
• Digital Content Producer
• Games Developer
• Programmer
• Sound Designer