Academy of Interactive Entertainment
Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) was established in 1996 as a non-profit organization to grow the 3D animation, game development and visual effects industries. AIE pioneered the development of specialist game qualifications and continues to innovate through industry partnerships and dynamic teaching. AIE has five campuses in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Online) and two in the United States (Seattle and Lafayette, LA).
The VET in Schools (VETiS) department at AIE is a new initiative focused on creating pathways into game development and interactive visualization through specialist training for secondary school students Australia wide.
AIE works with secondary schools and their teachers to help deliver an engaging and certificate course curriculum that is provided complete with comprehensive resources and projects. Our courses are designed to teach students how to produce 3D games and film, giving students a solid, practical foundation for further study.
The Certificate III in Media - Game Design Foundations - is a two-year program that focuses largely on developing games using Epic Game’s Unreal Engine 4 (UE4). Using UE4, students are exposed to the game development pipeline and build 3D game projects. The course shows them how to:
- Design games and game mechanics.
- Create game art assets in Maya for use in UE4.
- Texturing 3D objects.
- Creating blueprints for basic gameplay.
- Creating environments using BSP brushes and the landscape terrain editor.
- Importing animations for use with game characters in first-person style games.
For more information please visit www.aie.edu.au.
Student Spotlight:
Anthony Tan is a high school student enrolled in VET in Schools at Collingwood College in Victoria. Anthony’s work is a great example of the skills developed in the Certificate III in Media course which he will complete this year. Anthony has been able to learn UE4 to further develop and refine his game design and production skills to develop an impressive game involving a deer as the main character.
Deer Game – Anthony Tan from Collingwood College Victoria, Australia
Portfolio: http://animalglass.tumblr.com/
Teacher Spotlight:
Christ Astley teaches the Certificate III in Media at Collingwood College and had this to say about the VETiS program:
“I had been teaching Secondary Art, Design & Media for over 20 years when a colleague drew my attention to the exciting range of certificates offered by the AIE VETiS department in 3D animation, modelling, and game design. I immediately enrolled in a series of courses offered through the department which has opened up many new possibilities for me as an educator. Throughout the process, I have received tremendous support from the AIE VETiS department, as they provide a well-structured and vibrant curriculum and regular technical advice. The introduction of the Unreal Engine has given my students an incredibly powerful professional tool to use to realize their most ambitious game design projects. The work Anthony Tan has produced for his assessments demonstrates how this technology can motivate students to produce great things and provide them exciting and creative career paths.”
Student Spotlight:
Richard Occleshaw is a graduate of AIE’s VETiS Certificate III in Media course at Collingwood College. Since completing the Certificate III, Richard has gone on to enrol into AIE’s Advanced Diploma of Professional Game Development. He found the VETiS a new, challenging and fun experience.
“Learning part of what goes on in the game development process first-hand was enriching. VETiS for me was a useful learning experience that helped me to familiarise myself with the programs I’d go on to use in my Advanced Diploma course at AIE.”
The following is an image from his work in the Advanced Diploma.
Credits: Kraken, water material, environment assets and asset texturing by Richard Occleshaw. Lighting and engine work provided by Patrick Barr. Ship rigging and bow by Owen Villari.
Portfolio: https://catototo.artstation.com/
For more information please visit www.aie.edu.au.