Game design & development courses
Introduction to Game design & development
Want to turn your passion for video games into a career? These online courses in game design and development could be your door into Australia’s fast-growing digital games industry.
Master topics like scripting, animation and game coding so you can create immersive player experiences. Through Open Universities Australia, you can access online game design courses with providers from across the country.
We can also help you get into the course of your choice if you don’t have the necessary ATAR.
Start comparing qualifications now to see where your imagination could take you.
Discover game design & development courses
Online game design & development subjects and short courses
UndergraduateCUR-DIG28
100% online
No ATAR required. Start with a subject.
Starts 27 Nov 2023, 27 May 2024, 25 Nov 2024
Enrolments open until 30 Nov
UndergraduateMUR-GAD154
100% online
No ATAR required. Start with a subject.
Starts 26 Feb 2024, 26 Aug 2024
UndergraduateUSA-GRAP1027
100% online
No ATAR required. Start with a subject.
Starts 08 Jan 2024, 24 Jun 2024
UndergraduateMUR-ICT101
100% online
No ATAR required. Start with a subject.
Starts 26 Feb 2024
Online game design & development degrees
UndergraduateCUR-AGD-DEG
Create a new world with game design or animation
Be drawn in by a field which combines project management, technical expertise and creative storytelling. Work in an exciting fast-evolving industry, perhaps as an animator, 3D artist, motion graphics designer, visual effects artist or educator.
100% online
3 years full time or part time equivalent
No ATAR required. Start with a subject.
UndergraduateMUR-BIT-DEG
Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) in Games Design and Development
Combine creativity with coding for a winning career
Make the games you love to play! Build a solid IT foundation and get creative with this game design specialisation. Experience gaming through a different lens, where core IT knowledge sets the platform for your artistic skills including 3D animation.
100% online
3 years full time or part time equivalent
No ATAR required. Start with a subject.
UndergraduateCSU-CSC-DEG
This IT degree offers a games programming specialisation
Get a solid grounding in programming principles and databases. Explore how humans interact with computers and the internet. Touch on AI and consider a games specialisation if that’s what you’re passionate about. Accredited by the ACS.
100% online
3 years full time or part time equivalent
UndergraduateTUA-BGP-DEG
Build games from concept to commercial release
Make games from day one, collaborating with other programmers and designers. You’ll develop investigative skills, taking an analytical and creative approach to problem-solving. Get hands-on experience with Unity, Unreal and more.
100% online
3 years full time or part time equivalent
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Game design & development study FAQs
A game design and development degree will teach you how to conceptualise and build video games. Most courses cover the entire video game production process so that you have a solid understanding of the industry and can discover which area you’re most passionate about. Once you actually work in the industry, it’s likely you’ll specialise in a specific area of game design, like level design or world design, though some designers are generalists.
You can expect to graduate with a combination of information technology, design, storytelling and animation skills.
The game design industry in Australia is on the cusp of new growth. In 2022, the Australian Government introduced an incentive called the Digital Games Tax Offset that will promote local and foreign investment in Aussie video games. This is already leading to more employment opportunities for digital and creative talent. With the right skillset and portfolio, you could become a part of that movement—and even help develop the next big hit. Studios in Australia have been responsible for some of the world’s most popular games, including Untitled Goose Game, Hollow Knight and Unpacking.
The programming and design skills that you learn in your game design and development courses can also be utilised in other industries, including the IT sector, education and marketing, giving you the flexibility to explore other career possibilities.
Australia's digital games industry relies on remote workers. In a 2022 recap of the industry, 35% of employees revealed that they work remotely in the same state as their studio, while 23% work remotely from interstate. Studying your game design and development course online will teach you essential work from home skills that you will need in the real world, like how to self-manage and how to collaborate from a distance.
When you study online through Open Universities Australia, you don’t need an ATAR to get into an undergraduate game design and development degree.
We have an arrangement in place with leading universities that allows students to skip entry requirements altogether. Instead, you can get in by enrolling in what we call ‘open enrolment’ subjects from your desired degree. Once you pass those subjects, you will be guaranteed entry into the full qualification.
This enrolment option is only available with select universities, so be sure to check the ‘Entry requirements’ section on your course’s listing page to clarify if it’s offered. You can also get in touch with one of our friendly student advisors if you’d like more information about this.
A qualification in game design and development, programming or animation can lead to a range of careers in the industry, including:
- Game developer – Use programming languages to write source code and lay the foundation of the game.
- Game designer – Lead your vision to reality and plan out how the game works at a high level, from mechanics to player interaction.
- 2D/3D animator – Bring the game to life and tell a story by animating characters, effects, backgrounds and cut scenes.
- Project manager – Lead your team to success and ensure everything from planning to publishing runs smoothly.
- 3D artist – Paint 3D worlds with models, textures and material design and bring environments to life.
- Sound design – Tell the story of the game world through sound effects, dialogue and score.
- Concept artist – Help plant the seeds of a game's overall look and design through painting and illustration.
If you're not looking for a game design job, graduates also find roles within data visualisation, artificial intelligence, neural networking, simulation roles in science and medicine, and other artistic fields such as live production design, marketing and architecture.
There are a lot of reasons to study your course online through us.
- You can enrol without entry requirements
We have a unique open-door policy that makes it possible for everyone to enrol in university study, no matter their academic history. If you don’t meet the entry requirements for a degree, we’ll help you get in through single undergraduate subjects and transition into a qualification from there. - You have total control over how you study
Upskill without committing to a whole degree upfront. Or enrol in a full degree, but take it a subject at a time. We’ll introduce you to flexible study options you didn’t even know about, so you can fit uni around what matters to you. - You’ll graduate with the same qualification as an on-campus student
Once you enrol through us, you’ll study online with the university that provides your degree. This means that when you complete your qualification, you’ll graduate with the same degree as on-campus students. - We’ll help you navigate the university world
Our friendly student advisors will be your guide every step of the enrolment journey. They'll help you compare universities, choose a course, provide documentation and understand your finance options.
- You can enrol without entry requirements
Before starting an enrolment, it’s important to read the entry requirements for your chosen course to ensure that you’re eligible to apply. If you don’t quite meet the requirements, we may be able to help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study.
Chat with us to find out more.
Here at Open Universities Australia, we make enrolling online as straightforward as possible. To get started, find the course for you by browsing the options on this page. You can also compare different qualifications using our handy comparison tool, or request help from one of our student advisors.
When you’ve made your choice, click ‘Apply now’ on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We’ll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.
Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.
If you get stuck at any time, reach out to us and we’ll talk you through it.
You can also take a look at our online self-service enrolling instructions.
What do you learn in a game design and development course?
Game design courses cover all aspects of the video game production process, so you can make the leap from gamer to designer. Depending on the qualification, you’ll cover topics like:
- Design and development using game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity3D
- Game scripting
- Programming and computer science
- Animation and motion graphics design
- 3D modelling and rendering using industry software like Autodesk Maya
- Special effects compositing
- User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design
- IT project management
You can expect to graduate with a portfolio of work, which is essential for getting a job with game studios.
If you're exploring this field for the first time, a Bachelor of Game Design (or similar) will give you a solid foundation of knowledge, with the opportunity to study elective subjects in your area of interest.
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