• Introduction:

  This relatively new IT degree strand commenced at the Cairns campus in 2005. It combines the needs for IT education as accredited by the Australian Computer Society (at professional level) and the content recommended by the International Games Developers Association.

  It is the only Australian IT degree in game development that is accredited by the Australian Computer Society (since 2005).

  • The BIT Multimedia Game Development course flyer describes study topics, pre-requisites, application process, etc. for this BIT (strand IR, Cairns only, QTAC code 326021).

  • Student work samples: Levi Putna (2005, 2nd year). BIT/mgd advertisements: "lock and load" (2004 - really, we had to do this ad!).

  • Careers in games development - some information is available from the Game Developers' Association.
    Background information on the games development industry in Australia - information from the Federal Government Culture and Recreation Portal.

  • Tools that we use and/or track development of - Torque Game Engine (suggested by DP), Irrlicht Engine (suggested by MR); Terathon Software C4 (PM, notice how many topics listed in the C4 Engine API Documentation relate to our MGD program!).

  • Games from students at other universities that we note - Cloud (Independent Games Festival winner 2006).

  • Animation and other examples of interest - Elephants Dream is a short 3D animation made with open source tools (suggested by BK).

  • See change2.it.jcu.edu.au for more general information on JCU BIT programs in areas such as business systems, e-commerce, geographical informations systems, computer systems development and networking, as well as multimedia games and animation.

• Entry at years 2 and 3:

  • After 1 year of study at JCU, you can switch into this program at the start of your second year with no difficulties as our BIT strands all contain common core material at both Townsville and Cairns campuses. Check that you have completed the introduction to multimedia.

  • Switching to the BIT Multimedia Game Development is also possible after 2 years of study but a small number of your subjects may not be counted towards the degree. For example, suppose you did the industry professional strand to the end of second year or say 2 years of an IT/CS degree program at another university. How do we then plan the BIT/MGD? Please see this changeover plan for an example of how we can handle the transition (this is the actual plan for one student doing the change in 2006). To develop a specific plan for you, please contact the SIT academic advisor (see the notes on organising a meeting).

• Key Features and Benefits:

  The program contains these key features:

  • We achieve a balance of depth and breadth. While this program must includes scripting for games engines, it still retains scripting in PHP and python - languages that find application in areas such as e-commerce and grid computing. As you might expect, coverage of some topics from a typical CS/IT program must be reduced to make way for material that is specific to multimedia game development. However, we still maintain industry standard training in areas such as networking (e.g. CISCO CCNA preparation). This benefit of this balanced program design is that we maximise graduate employment prospects in other industries while strengthening the understanding of fundamentals (e.g. networking, programming) which are necessary in large scale multiuser games.

  • In second year, we develop an understanding of how games relate to individuals and groups, explore the role of play in human culture and game playing in a broader context, and develop a critical vocabulary for articulating the aesthetics of games. Later, a directed project provides practical experience in human-computer interface (HCI) and games design by modifying an existing game implemented in a games engine. Since 2005, our students have also achieved some great results with projects to assist children with learning difficulties while developing better graduate communication skills (technical seminars and demonstrations). A significant benefit for graduates is better HCI.

  • In third year, students develop a working understanding of game aesthetic design, including designing, creating and analysing the visual components, the sound and the interactive story line in computer games. All multimedia game development students undertake a final year project to develop a game and specialise further and gain practical game development experience.

  • All BIT students can choose to participate in the JCU Cairns IT Industry Collaboration Program which earned a Carrick Award in 2006. Our students benefit from project use of a number of engineering methodologies and hands-on industrial experience.

  • The major programming languages taught are C++ and JAVA. While high performance graphics is programmed in C/C++ (at second year level), all students undertake a JAVA-based project with a handheld device (at third year level). When choosing particular technologies for teaching, we attempt to again maximise possible employment prospects e.g. the second year animation subject uses MAYA which is popular in film production. The general benefit for graduates is broader career options.

  • The full program is shown in the following table with notes on the options.

• Subject Sequence:

  MULTIMEDIA GAME DEVELOPMENT - Strand Code IR
  February entry shown here, July entry also available
  (Cairns only)

  Year	February - June	July - November
  1	CP1200:03 Introduction to Computer Science I MA1000:03 Preparatory Mathematics or MA1020:03 Bridging Mathematics CP1500:03 Introduction to Database Principles xx1xxxx:03 Level 1 elective	CP1300:03 Introduction to Computer Science II MA1721:03 Computing Mathematics CU1010:03 Effective Writing CP1010:03 Introduction to Multimedia
  2	CP2001:03 Data Structures & Algorithms CP2377:03 Portable Programming (sh,PHP,python) CP2420:03 Graphics and Animation CP2430:03 Computer Games - Characteristics and Culture (even-numbered years) or CP3410:03 Advanced Game Design (odd-numbered years)	CP2004:03 Object Oriented Programming (JAVA) CP2402:03 Operating Systems and Architecture CP2060:03 Computer Graphics Principles CP2046:03 Directed Project - Game Principles
  3	CP2230:03 Internetworking 1 CP3046:03 Project 1 (Game Production) CP3120:03 Object Oriented Software Engineering CP2430:03 Computer Games - Characteristics and Culture (even-numbered years) or CP3410:03 Advanced Game Design (odd-numbered years)	CP2240:03 Internetworking 2 CP3047:03 Project 2 (Game Implementation) CP3110:03 Software Engineering CP3xxx:03 level 3 CP elective

• MIT:

  The MGD strand of the MIT includes subjects CP5410 Advanced Game Design, CP5420 Graphics and Animation Technologies, and CP5430 Computer Games - Characteristics and Culture.

• Options:

  • Options in the early part of the program: There is one free elective in semester 1. You might like to take a subject from the humanities (e.g. some IT students choose a language such as Japanese) or perhaps from business.
    High achievers in mathematics should take MA1000 instead of MA1020, and the academic advisor encourages any high achiever excelling in MA1000 to also consider MA1003 (come and discuss with the academic advisor).

  • Options at the end of the program: There is a level 3 elective in semester 2 (to satisfy university rules, the elective must remain a level 3 subject). There are a number of IT subjects available.
    A 3rd year MGD student could choose to take their level 3 elective in semester 1 and run CP3046 and CP3047 in parallel in semester 2, if their desired elective only ran in semester 1. A variation of this is to have CP3046 in study period 2 (semester 2) and then take CP3047 in study period 11. Delaying CP3046 to semester 2 has a slight benefit for the MGD student of allowing completion of the final specialist MGD subject before undertaking a game development oriented project.

  • Notes:
    Existing, new and revised BIT subjects which directly support the MGD strand are respectively: {CP1010, CP2060}, {CP2420, CP2430, CP2046, CP3410}, {CP3046, CP3047}.
    The timetabling of CP2420 does not clash with our main level 3 subjects therefore other BIT students can usually consider this subject as an option.

• Degree Flyers: MPIT Degree Flyers.

Oct 4 2007