Matthew is an IT student with a passion for games. He talks about his course, his love of games and where he's headed after study.
Where do you study? What's the name of the course?
I am currently completing a Bachelor of Information Technology at Deakin University, Waurn Ponds campus. As part of the degree I am studying for two majors: Computer Science/Software Development and Games Design and Development.
How did you find out about the course you're doing?
Finding out about the games course at Deakin was more of a pleasant surprise than anything else. I had made the decision long ago that I wanted to do computer programming. Games development was always a passion but it wasn?t something that was readily available as a degree of study.
After completing my first year at Deakin a new games course became available, I quickly jumped at the chance and altered my enrolment to encompass all of the new course units while still maintaining my existing major.
Was the course easy to get into? What did you have to do to qualify?
Getting into the games course at Deakin was a fairly simple process for me, since I was already enrolled at the time. It was just a matter of taking on the new units in place of my current electives and the two majors fit perfectly.
What made you decide that you wanted to study how to make games?
As a kid I played a lot of games, but it wasn?t until I was around 14 when I started learning programming that I realised I could merge two things I loved doing (games and programming) into actually making games.
Through teaching myself from books and the internet during my time at high school and the start of university I had made several games on my own. When I found that Deakin was offering a games course where I could actually study to make games I couldn?t resist.
What sort of things do you study as part of learning to make games?
At Deakin we cover the process of game development from starting out with an idea to producing that into a finished package. We cover technical areas like how to make audio and graphics for games, and how to do the programming for them.
We learn about understanding games, the pieces that go into them and what makes for a good game. Also we look at things from a developer point of view where you need to pitch a game concept, formally define the game, manage a development team and eventually package and promote your masterpiece.
What's the hardest part about designing a game?
The hardest part of designing a game is really dependant on what area of game development you?re interested in. Personally I find the most difficult thing is the actual content. The 3D models, the textures, the sounds, the music, all of these things have to come from somewhere, that?s why any good development team has a good spread of people with different skills to support each other.
What's the most fun part about designing a game?
I love the programming. Many would find that the least interesting part of the whole process but I find the best bit is when you have just added a cool new feature to the game, but not told anyone. Seeing their response as they discover it and start thinking of all the possible new gameplay elements that can be made out of it makes the hours to tinkering with the code worthwhile.
How big a part of your life are games?
I try to always have one short term and one long term game on my PC at all time. That way I can jump in, play for a while and then get back to work. If I have more time I can sit down and enjoy a more lengthy experience of a more in-depth game. Of late my time has been more towards the short end, although if you count the number of hours spent developing games along with the playing, well that?s a scary number of hours.
What's your favourite game? Why?
This question for me is on-par with something like choosing your favourite parent, it?s impossible to decide. I tend to favour games that I have played recently; they always seem to be bringing out better and better games. I would have to put Half-Life 2 high on my list; it had a good story, great visuals and was a lot of fun to play. The Myst series is a collection of games that I have really enjoyed. I love solving the puzzles and uncovering more of the story.
I am a big fan of Diablo 2. I think that would be my most played game ever, I have finished it around seven times I think (including the expansion), and it had that special something that made it so addictive to play, especially online.
There are many others like Duke Nukem 3D, Lemmings, Battlefield 1942 (with desert combat), Deus Ex... I could go on forever.
What kind of job do you want to end up with?
My ideal job would be working as lead programming at a large gaming company developing big budget titles from fresh new ideas that haven?t been explored before. To be able to go to all the big gaming shows to demonstrate the latest thing in development would be fantastic.
