Hollow Knight was developed in South Australia in 2017 with the help of a crowdfunding campaign raising AU$ 57,000, the action-adventure 2D game has, to date, sold around three million copies.
A sequel is in the mix for the video game about a little bug on a quest to uncover the secrets of a long-abandoned insect kingdom.
As reported, the video game’s success is part of the spectacular growth of Australia’s video game development industry in recent years.
The industry is worth approximately AU$ 143 million a year and employing 1275 people.
The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) says the gaming industry in Australia has grown by 21% in the past 12 months, with 61% of studios expecting to employ new staff in the coming year.
About the Initiative
The University of South Australia is collaborating with an Adelaide company in order to offer the state’s first course in front-end games design and development.
The course is offered as a major in the University’s Bachelor of Creative Industries (BCI) degree and is focused on the design and art aspects of gaming.
This includes developing computer-generated imagery, writing narratives, developing characters and producing and managing games production.
The course will give South Australians a huge head start in an industry that has grown more than 300% in the past five years at the local level.
More courses like this are needed so that Australian game developers will remain globally relevant.
This is an opportunity for South Australia to take a leadership position in the industry, increasing its 9% share nationally by preparing students to hit the ground running from day one.
Game design draws from a vast array of human experience so it is not just for school leavers. It appeals to people from a diverse range of backgrounds and ages.
Benefits of Games Design and Development Course
- The course will prepare graduates for a range of opportunities, given that video gaming is an intersection of technology and art.
- Cutting-edge technology is used to deliver entertainment to a diverse, global audience. The skills developed in this industry overlap with many others, including visual effects, defence and virtual reality.
- This course is for people who have a strong creative bent, understand data, enjoy collaborating with others and want to take the step from being a consumer to a creator.
- It will open doors to an incredibly dynamic career built on the fundamentals of design, creativity, collaboration and fun.
- If students prefer the full gaming experience, they can pair this course with a Games major offered within the University’s Information Bachelor of IT, which is focused on the programming and software development side.
- As such, this will give them both front-end and back-end skills in game design and development.
- Prospective students have up until 28 February to apply for the BCI to commence in early March 2020, which has already attracted 125 first preferences and 305 overall preferences, exceeding all expectations.