Study Game Development at a Top Private University Because of Increased Demand in Malaysia & Globally

Choose to Study the Best Game Development Degree Course in Malaysia to Prepare You Well for the Job

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The global gaming industry is projected to increase up to US$118 billion this year and the Asia Pacific territory, the largest growth area, is essentially driving the global industry. Malaysia’s export of gaming content increased 75% to US$19.57 million (RM80 million) between 2014 and 2015. Furthermore, in 2017, some 60 local Malaysian game-making studios recorded exports worth RM600 million.

“PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2013 – 2017 report estimated that Malaysia’s gaming market would grow to US$212.29 million (RM868 million) in 2017. Clearly, this is an industry that has the capacity to significantly contribute to the nation’s economy,” Ananth, who is also the elected Deputy President of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF)

Digital purchases of games have recently overtaken film and music combined, and video game tournaments are now offering million dollar prizes for the  winners. The International 2018 saw the biggest prize pool in eSports history at US$25,532,177.00. With a degree in computer games design, you will enter into one of the hottest industries in the world. And even if you change your mind during your degree, your design, programming, coding, and engineering skills are going to be sought after in all parts of the technology and computing sector.

Furthermore, your unique combination of technical and creative skills will set you up with great employability job prospects from software development to data science.

For more information on how to choose the right course with high job demand, contact 01111408838

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Computer Game Design Degree Course in Malaysia

From Mario Kart to Minecraft, Final Fantasy, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto to the latest edition of FIFA football series, video games have played a huge role in many of our lives. Christmas mornings were spent unwrapping, loading up, and getting to know the next best game that year. Coming on leaps and bounds in the past decade, video games have gone from a niche hobby to a multi-billion pound industry of simulation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Far more than a pastime, video games have become a social way of life for people of all ages.

But at their heart, they’re fun. Being able to design, write, engineer, and market video games is a skill that very few have, despite the size of the industry. As a graduate of games design, you’ll be uniquely equipped to combine your technical and creative skills to play a part in the happiness of millions of people around the world.

Computer Game Job Demand Growth in Malaysia

The Gaming Industry evolved from a group of young developers into a billion-dollar industry, and with the exponential growth of technology, the trend of playing games has grown from being played on PCs and mobiles, to consoles and virtual reality (VR). A global leader in eSports, games, and mobile intelligence, Newzoo is the leading market intelligence from the Netherlands since the year 2007.

It has a partnership with giant tech companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, Warner Bros, Google, Razer and many others. Newzoo has also highlighted in its 2018 Global Games Market Report that the global games market is expected to grow from USD151.9 billion in 2019 to approximately USD180.1 billion in 2021.

The increasing trend in the Gaming Industry has led to a new trend known as Electronic Sports (eSports), a competition using video games. The global revenue for eSports is expected to grow to USD1.5 billion by 2020. Newzoo also highlighted that the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 51 per cent of global eSports enthusiasts in 2017.

The Malaysian National Creative Industry Policies, governed by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia has identified the gaming industry as one of the ten main categories in the Creative Industry, namely Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Music, Literature, Fashion and Design, Traditional and Cultural Arts, Creative Education, Creative Technologies, Film/TV/Gaming Content, and Culinary Arts. In 2018, the Gaming Industry alone contributed USD100 million to Malaysia’s revenue and expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2018-2023) of 10.9 per cent, which will result in a market volume of USD168 million by 2023. Malaysia also ranks 21st worldwide in term of games revenue, with the total amount of USD633 million.

In 2017, some 60 local game-making studios recorded exports worth RM600 million. The digital content industry includes animation, games, visual effects, new media and infrastructure platforms sectors. From 2013 to 2017, these sectors collectively grew by 6%, generating RM7.9 billion in revenue. At
present, there are more than 370 studios in Malaysia directly involved in various stages of development and production, involving over 11,000 jobs

Digital Games is not a new industry in Malaysia. Our early homegrown pioneers – GameBrains and Phoenix Game Studios – were pioneers in the region. Established in 1998, GameBrains was one of the first game studios in Malaysia developing 21 game titles for various platforms such as PlayStation 2, Game Boy and the Game Boy Advance. Phoenix Game Studios created one of the first
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing game or MMORPG.

In 2006, Codemasters, the renowned racing game creators from the UK, set up base in Malaysia which further catalysed the local and regional game developer
talents.

Game companies such as Bandai Namco and Pole To Win are recent global industry leaders that have taken root here, together with local champions such as Lemon Sky, Passion Republic and more. For instance, Streamline Studios in Malaysia has collaborated with big game companies like Square Enix and Capcom. They’ve also worked on critically acclaimed games such as Final Fantasy XV, BioShock Infinite and Street Fighter V.

The ecosystem is further enriched with the active presence of Adobe, Unity, Google and Unreal working in partnership with the industry. The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
or MDEC has played a crucial role to bring together these players, community and industry to network, share views and grow business value.

At present, Malaysian games studio have showcased their capabilities by developing and contributing to the art and design for renowned Triple A games such as ‘Final Fantasy’, ‘Street Fighter V’ and ‘Unchartered 4’.

In order to sustain the momentum, LEVEL UP Inc, an initiative under MDEC was established as an accelerator for games, providing an integrated support eco-system consisting of physical infrastructure, competency and capability development programmes.

5G will also take mobile gaming to the next level. Gaming and eSports are the fastest growing sports in the world. However, continuous improvement in technology is the most critical component to the success of the gaming and
eSports industry.

During Budget 2019, a total of RM10 million has been allocated to develop eSports. With the commitment shown by the Government, the eSports in Malaysia is expected to boom this year as Youth and Sports Ministry also aspires Malaysia to be the eSports hub in the region. Esports Malaysia (ESM), a governing body for electronic sports in Malaysia has been reformed to address the concerns of eSports athletes and spearhead the development of eSports in the country.

In 2016, ASEAN decided to jump on the bandwagon by hosting its very own eSports tournament. Malaysia, in collaboration with eSports Malaysia hosted the first ever ASEAN Games for eSports (AGES) with a prize pool of around US$256,000.

Most recently, the 2018 Asian Games, held in Jakarta and Palembang simultaneously, had – for the first time – six demonstration games as part of its eSports event. The games were Arena Of Valor, Hearthstone, Pro Evolution Soccer, League Of Legends, Clash Royale and StarCraft 2.

The games industry continues to grow strongly in both Southeast Asia and Malaysia.

• Southeast Asia is recognised as the world’s fastestgrowing region for all online games revenue (PC and mobile included). According to Niko Partners, a
  leading industry market research firm, the PC online and mobile game revenue in South-East Asia is projected to reach $4.4 billion by 2021. This is driven
  on the strength of esports and new hit international games entering the Southeast Asia market.
• The number of PC online and mobile gamers in Southeast Asia is projected to rise from 300 million by the end of 2017 to more than 400 million by 2021.
• According to Newzoo reporting in 2017, another game industry research firm, average annual spend per paying gamer doubled from USD37.31/paying gamer
  versus USD80.31/paying gamer within three years. It further reported that in 2017, 14 million Malaysians spent a total of RM587M to purchase games.

Who Should Study Game Design

Many private universities in Malaysia would like to see mathematics on your qualifications, to help with the coding and programming element of a games design course. Other subjects like physics, IT, media studies, and design technology will be useful.

However, mathematics is not a big part of the job for many games designers, particularly if you’re in the creative department dealing with illustration and animation.

For those who have a keen eye for visual aesthetics and 3D Modelling, consider being a game artist. Students who enjoy analysing, writing stories and crafting experiences, can opt to be game designers.

For those who love mathematics, problem-solving and going through lines of codes, they can make game technology their preferred specialisation.

You should demonstrate both the technical (analytics, data handling, and programming) and creative (curiosity, artistic direction, and innovation) qualities that make up a successful games designer.

Education Pathway

Students after SPM or O-Levels may go for the Foundation in Computing & Technology or Foundation in Arts a top private university in Malaysia for 1 year before continuing on to the 3-year Computer Games Development or Game Design degree.

With 3 credits in SPM or O-Levels including Maths, students may go for the 2-year Diploma in Information Technology or Diploma in Game Design and then enter into Year 2 of the Computer Games Development or Game Design degree. Pre-University students with the relevant results in STPM, A-Levels, SAM, CPU, AUSMAT, etc. can enter directly into Year 1 of the degree.

Entry Requirements into the Game Development Degree

• GCE A Level : 2 Principal Passes (2Es)
• STPM : 2 Principal Passes (2Cs) or CGPA 2.00
• UEC : 5 Credits (5Bs) inclusive of a credit in Additional Mathematics
• Diploma : Pass with Min. CGPA 2.00
• Foundation Studies: Pass with Min. CGPA 2.00
• Any other qualifications deemed equivalent by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia (or as stated in the Document Senarai Nilai Taraf Kelayakan Akademik, Malaysian Qualifications Agency):
• Pass (Subject to review and approval of certified transcripts)

Mathematics Requirement: Students must have obtained a Pass in Mathematics at SPM level; the student who will be pursuing the Game Technology specialization track must have obtained a Credit in Mathematics at SPM level or its equivalent. Candidates without a Pass or Credit in Mathematics at SPM level may be admitted if their entry qualification contain subject(s) of Mathematics and their achievement is equivalent or higher than the required Pass or Credit of Mathematics at the SPM level.

Studying Game Development in Malaysia

If you’re interested in the technical, visual, and creative aspects of video games, a bachelor’s degree in game design or game development provides the foundation to succeed in the field. Game design degree courses typically emphasize either the technical or artistic side of video gaming and game design, but there are some degrees that offer coursework in both.

Therefore, it is important to look at the subjects when choosing the course. With a degree in computer game design, you can become a video game designer, a graphic designer, an art director, or a multimedia artist.

Top Game Development private universities in Malaysia provide opportunities for creative and technical-minded students to explore multimedia tools, skills, and applications that are essential to staying competitive in today’s gaming culture.

Game design is a very hands on practical course, meaning that it is focused on real-world skills. Everything you’re taught at university will be useful in your future job, so from the start you’ll be encouraged to think like a games designer or developer.

Additionally, you will be given the skills and freedom to develop your own ideas, and part of the syllabus will be to design and prototype your own games. You’ll have to pitch them and develop your skills in digital asset creation, wire-framing, and 3D modelling.

But like all degrees, you’ll start with the basics. The core theories, concepts and methods of game design will help you decide where your passion and specialist skills might lie. Computer science will be at the heart of everything, and the knowledge you collect throughout your course would prove useful in many other sectors including media, technology, marketing, and entertainment.

Students will also have the opportunity to put what they have learnt into practice during their internship. There are basically 3 main areas of Game Design study:

1. GAME ART handles the visual components of games. Game Artists have to learn how to create 3D and 2D art assets for various types of games ranging from simple pixel-based graphics to hyper-realistic graphics for total player immersion.
2. GAME DESIGN handles the gameplay, mechanics, level and world design as well as storytelling/narrative of electronic games. Game Designers have to learn how games function to construct experiences, including play mechanics, game balancing, social game interaction and the integration of visual, audio, tactile and textual elements into the total game experience.
3. GAME TECHNOLOGY focuses on the technical aspects of Games such as physics engines, graphics engine, artificial intelligence and networking. Game Programmers have to learn the optimisation of mainstream algorithms such as path-finding and sorting, and real-time 3D rendering for a ground-up games engine or modification of an existing engine.

What Subjects will you Study in a Game Design Degree Course in Malaysia?

The degree combines computer programming and mathematical disciplines with aspects of games design. You will acquire a wide range of skills including programming, systems architecture, multimedia technologies, human computer interaction, graphics, animation, sound and video.

Additionally you will develop a strong appreciation of the software design and management processes and principles. On completing the programme you will be able to demonstrate creativity in problem-solving and decision-making in complex situations and also creativity and imagination in design situations.

General Subjects

• Fundamentals of Game Art
• Fundamentals of Game Design
• Fundamentals of Game Development
• Fundamentals of Game Technology
• Game Business and Marketing
• Game Project Studio
• Human Computer Interaction for Games
• Computer Games Design: Documentation
• Computer Games Level Design
• Games Engines
• Games Physics
• Computing & IT in the Workplace
• Fundamentals of Software Development
• Introduction To C Programming
• Introduction to Management
• Mathematical Concepts for Computing
• System Analysis & Design
• Analogue Games
• Basic 3D Computer Character Modelling
• Believable Models for Games & Virtual Reality
• Computer Games Design: High Concept and Preproduction
• Computer Games Design: Production and Testing
• Computer Graphics
• Imaging & Special Effects
• Mathematics for Computer Graphics
• Programming Concepts in C++
• 3D Computer Graphics
• Advanced 3D Character Modelling and Animation
• Audio For Computer Games
• Computer Games Development Project
• HCI and Usability
• Investigations in Compter Games Development
• Mobile Multimedia & Gaming
• Multimedia Techniques For Animation, Games & Film Effects
• Programming Techniques for Animation & Computer Games

Game Art

• Digital Drawing
• Digital Imaging
• Animation Principles
• Introduction to 3D Modelling
• 3D Game Modelling and Texturing 1 & 2
• 3D Game Animation 1 & 2
• 2D Game Art Development
• 3D Game Art Development
• Concept Art for Games
• Advanced 3D Game Art

Game Design

• Game Systems Analysis and Design
• Game Social and Culture Studies
• Game Level Design
• Game World Creation
• Game Media Studies
• Game Genre Studies 1 & 2
• Game Narrative
• Multiplayer Game Design
• Game QA and Testing
• Game Support Documentation and Review
• Game Futures

Game Technology

• Fundamentals of Programming
• Logic, Math and Physics for Games
• Object Oriented Programming
• Data Structures and Algorithms
• Game Programming
• Object Oriented Systems Analysis & Design
• Mobile Game Development
• Graphics Programming
• Artificial Intelligence for Games
• 3D Game Programming
• Game Engine Architecture and Design
• Data Communication and Networking

Choosing the Right University to Study Game Design

Game design degree courses are interdisciplinary in nature, combining artistic and technical coursework to teach students about the design process and gaming industry. In addition, game design degrees may be focused on the mathematical, software, programming, and technical aspects of video games. While, some programs are focused on video game design students, emphasizing the creative, aesthetic, and historical aspects of the field.

A technical based degree in game design include coursework in programming languages, 3D applications, game mechanics, algorithm analysis, and optics and motion. While a creative game design degree courses incorporate game theory and history, storytelling and scripting languages, art and music fundamentals, and the psychology of gaming.

Those interested in the information technology aspects of gaming will benefit most from the more technical based degree, while those who prefer to focus on the stories, images, and emotions of gaming may find the creative game design degree more suitable. Therefore, it is important to look at the subjects when choosing the game design degree programme. Not all syllabus are the same at the universities.

A game design bachelor’s degree programs last 3 years for full-time students at a private university in Malaysia. This will include internship. A top private university in Malaysia would provide top notch facilities such as alienware computer labs, computer game software, and computer software. Students should also look at the awards won by the university as an indicator of the level achieved by the students and lecturers.

EduSpiral Consultant Services is an officially appointed agent for top private private universities in Malaysia. We have 20 years of experience in providing course information & advise, campus tours, and helping students to make the right choice. Fill in the enquiry form for more information.

Top 3 Private Universities in Malaysia for Game Design or Computer Games Technology Degree

With the massive growth of the creative industries, Malaysians are also jumping on the virtual world’s bandwagon to kick-start their careers as game developers. Today, the production of games require a team of highly skilled professionals in the areas of graphic material digitisation, programming of digital sound and characters, and the creation of creative content.

The spur of the Gaming Industry also sparks the interest of other young technology entrepreneurs to venture and explore the Game Development industry. Courses specialising in the game design such as  Games Development or Computer Game Technology are being offered by Top private universities in Malaysia such as:

1. University of Wollongong (UOW) Malaysia KDU
2. Asia Pacific University (APU)
3. Multimedia University (MMU)

Career Options

Careers in game design require you to work independently and as part of a design team. Computer programmers, art and graphic designers, and software and web developers must work individually on tasks with the ability to bring ideas, project components, and production tasks to a group environment.

A degree in game design prepares you to collaborate with other computer programmers, information technology experts, and creative professionals on new and continuing gaming projects. Art directors and graphic designers also work with teams of artists, managers, and marketers to develop exciting projects that are relevant to the gaming industry.

• Game Art
  • 2D / 3D Game Artist
  • 2D / 3D Animator
  • Concept Artist
  • Technical Artist
• Game Design
  • Game Content Designer
  • Game Designer
  • Game Tester
  • Interface Designer
  • Level Designer
  • Story Scripter
• Game Technology
  • A.I. Programmer
  • Engine Programmer
  • Game Programmer
  • Graphics Programm