Associate Degree in Game Design

The Associate Degree in Game Design at the Academy of Interactive Technology is a two-year qualification for people who want to build games rather than just play them. You study the craft from the ground up: how game systems work, how levels are laid out and paced, how a rule set turns into something a player wants to keep exploring, and how a team takes an idea from a one-page concept to a playable build. Expect to spend a lot of time in studios and labs, not just lecture theatres, because game design is learned by making things and testing them with real players.

How the qualification is structured

An associate degree sits between a diploma and a bachelor degree on the Australian Qualifications Framework. It is normally two years of full-time study, made up of units of study, each carrying credit points. Most Australian institutions run these units across semesters or trimesters, with full-time students typically enrolling in several units at a time. You accumulate credit points as you pass units, and the degree is awarded once you have met the required total. Because it is a nested qualification, some students use it as a stepping stone into a bachelor degree and apply for credit for the units they have already completed. At AIT the focus is practical and portfolio-driven, so you finish with work you can show an employer, not just a transcript.

What you actually study

The core of the degree is design thinking applied to interactive media. That means learning to prototype quickly, document your ideas clearly, and take criticism without taking it personally. You will work with industry-standard tools for building and testing games, and you will study the systems behind them: player feedback, difficulty curves, economy and progression, narrative structure, and user experience. Team-based projects are central. Games are made by groups of people with different skills, so you learn to work with artists, programmers and producers, to pitch an idea, and to hit a deadline. Many Australian game courses also bring in guest speakers and set briefs that mirror what studios actually do, and AIT is based in a city with an active games and interactive media sector.

Who it suits

This degree suits school leavers who know they want to work in games, career changers who have been making things in their own time and want formal training, and people who want a shorter, more hands-on qualification than a three-year bachelor degree. You do not need to be a programmer or an artist to start. You do need to be curious about why some games work and others do not, and willing to put in the hours building and testing. If you are an international student, you will need to meet the English requirement set by the institution and the separate threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs for the Student visa. While studying, a student visa generally allows up to 48 hours of work per fortnight during term. After graduating, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream lets eligible graduates stay and work in Australia. Check the official course page and the CRICOS register for current details on structure, entry requirements and fees.

Graduates work across the Australian games and interactive media industry, in studios, agencies and in-house teams. Typical roles include:

• Junior game designer
• Level designer
• Systems or economy designer
• Narrative designer
• QA tester and games analyst
• Game producer or project coordinator
• UX designer for interactive products
• Serious games or educational games designer
• Mobile and casual games designer
• Freelance or indie game developer

Employers include game development studios, interactive agencies, simulation and training providers, education technology companies, and the broader screen and digital media sector. Some graduates go on to further study, using the associate degree as credit towards a bachelor degree in game design, animation or interactive media.