Game Development Insights- What to Look Out For in a Game Development Education: Part II

Hey all,

Last month, I wrote a little about Game Development Education and would like to continue where I left off. After having talked about education in Singapore, as well as the local job market, I’d like to go a little bit more in depth into certain specific courses that I’ve looked into, available in MAGES institute of Excellence, Singapore.

Game Development with Unity 3D

The Unity Engine has been increasingly popular with Game Developers. Most of this has to do with Unity enabling both designers and artists to have direct input into the development of the game. Of course there are cons that come with simplifying a process. Programmers who are already proficient with the computer languages have to learn how Unity function. In the bigger picture however, the Unity Engine has been known to shave off development timing by months—thus explaining why current studios are adopting it, and why educational institutes are integrating Game Development with Unity 3D into their modules and courses.

Visual Effects Courses

I’d also like to speak a little about game animation and specialization into disciplines of animation, in particular, the visual effects courses as I got the chance to learn a little about these courses.

Visual Effects, is in essence, the manipulation of imagery outside the context of a live shot. While it is not usually associated with video games, more and more triple A studios are utilizing this particular discipline of Animation. Institutions such as MAGES Institute of Excellence, who specialize in Animation, as well as in Videogame Development are well poised to provide guidance to students.

Examples of modules usually taught in visual effects courses are visual effects theory and practices, environment look development, particle effects & dynamics, motion graphics, digital composing and lighting and rigging.

Of course, as with any animation related discipline, it is important that there is an emphasis on developing your demo-reel, which is in essence your portfolio. Having someone to groom and polish your portfolio allows you to put your best foot forward when it comes to future employment.

That is what institutions like MAGES Institute of Excellence can offer you. Imagine having established industry professionals themselves tell you what it is that you need to show prospective employers to land yourself a job in the industry. It is beyond just a simple education, but a transfer of decades of industry experience… but then again why take my word for it. If you’re interested in an education for game Design or animation, come down, have a look at the campus and meet the faculty. You’ll understand what I’m talking about. Once again, if you have any questions, do leave them in the comments below!

Cheers!

Game Development with Unity 3D

Game Development &  Design

Unity 3D has often been marketed as the Game Engine of the future, and with its plethora of editing features, it is little wonder why. Game Studios the world over, have sat up and taken notice of how much the Unity Engine has sped up the development process. The main reason for this, is that the Unity 3D Engine has made implementation more accessible, allowing both the artists and the designers to make direct inputs into the game instead of handing the assets over to the programmers to implement.

Some of the advantages of Game Development with Unity 3D  include:

• A unified asset pipeline—there isn’t any need to spend time on resource subsystem. No buggy import routines to write and fix, as the process has been simplified to a “Drag-and-drop” system.
• Great tweaking and debugging support—all your gameplay variables are shown right as you play, and can be changed as and when you see fit. Pause the game anytime, or step through the code one statement at a time.
• A comprehensive library of rendering options, sounds, physics and controls is already written. These ready-made codes, often referred to as “boilerplate” codes, simplify matters even further.
• An integrated level editor means that there is no need for the level designer to switch to a level tool, and then having to input that into the engine.
• Has cross-platform capabilities, meaning that developers no longer need to port their codes to suit one platform to another. Only minor tweaking is required.

In short, Unity 3D simplifies the entire development process and greatly shortens development time. This translates to less turnover time for gaming studios, meaning that companies can now produce games at a faster rate. However, as with all simplification processes, there are some drawbacks to Unity 3D.

The programmer, besides having to learn how to use a new tool, will often find the Unity engine is at the end of the day, a software. As per compared to writing C# codes from scratch, which offers you more flexibility, Unity 3D, like all software is limited by its own set of rules.

In the bigger of things, Unity 3D is a great tool, and a huge breakthrough for games development. However, it is always wise to supplement knowledge of Unity 3D, with know-how of other tools and gaming engines.

LevelDesign Course for Games

For example, level design is one of the aspects that we can look at, where reliance on the Unity 3D engine may hamper the skills of an aspiring developer. While Unity 3D has a great built-in level editor, it is often wise to supplement that know-how with knowledge of other tools to ensure that one is not over-reliant on a single software. Aspiring level designers have a myriad of level tools to choose from, such as the Source SDK and GtkRadiant.

MAGES Institutes is one of only a handful of institutes in Singapore that offers a level design course for games. This level design course will ensure that aspiring level designers are guided by industry