Bachelor of Game Development (Honours)

Uow malaysia has always been recognized as one of the premier game development institutes in malaysia and is the forerunner for producing the best graduates in this field. As one of the earliest private educational institutions in malaysia, we at uow malaysia not only pride ourselves with delivering quality education, but we are also championing the nation’s digital content initiative in game development. 

As we continue to grow and evolve, UOW Malaysia has now taken the role as one of the primary movers in the space of Game Development for both education and industry collaborations. The Bachelor of Game Development Program in Glenmarie, Selangor campus is also one of the first programs  outside North America and Europe to be an Unreal Academic Partner. The Unreal Academic Partner Program recognizes universities and schools that have committed to providing high-quality educational opportunities with an experienced faculty, proven curricula, sufficient facilities, and resources to meet the demands of the global game development industry.

What is Game Development?

• Game development is the processes, techniques, theories, and practices related to the creation of video games. Game development is a process that involves a combination of multi-disciplinary sets of knowledge and skills ranging from programming to psychology; and from artistic flair to business acumen. The game development process may involve just a single individual or a team of people working for a large development studio. Game development is a fusion of three major disciplines, namely Game Technology, Game Art and Game Design. 

How big is the Video Games Industry?

• Video game have been around for decades, providing entertainment for children and adults alike. It has significantly evolved from the manic button bashing, reflex-intensive forms of arcade entertainment to a sophisticated form of digital entertainment with highly immersive worlds and near-photorealistic visual aesthetics. The video game industry has always been about innovation and pushing the boundaries of digital technology, with advances in new tactile devices, new visual experiences, and virtual technology in the works. As technology continues to improve, so do video games. 
• Video game creation has become increasingly complex, and the cost of creating one can cost tens and even hundreds of millions, pushing game development into Hollywood movie territory in terms of production and marketing costs.
• The video game sector is immensely large. In fact, it is larger than the movie and music industries combined. It is still arguably the fastest growing industries in the world economy today. The Video Gaming Industry is estimated to be worth US$178.73 Billion in 2021 growing by 14.4 percent from the previous year and is expected to reach US$268 Billion by 2025.
• The game development landscape is not new in Malaysia. Not many Malaysians are aware, but Malaysia has been involved in Game Development since the early 90s. There were several Malaysian Companies that had been contracted for out-sourcing work on various Game platforms during that period. Now, Malaysia is home to over 85 game studios of which seven of them are renowned international studios including Sony Playstation Studios Malaysia, Larian Studios from Belgium, Codemasters and Double Eleven from the UK, Bandai Namco from Japan, Streamline Media Group and Virtuos. 
• Malaysia is poised to be one of the biggest game development hubs in the region. In light of this incredible growth and with the pressing need for game developers with very specialised skills, UOW Malaysia KDU aims to cultivate high quality talents familiar with production processes and aware of what is needed to produce successful video games.

What will I study in Game Development?

The Bachelor of Game Development (Honours) program is specially crafted and development by industry professionals and pioneers. Students entering this program are presented with the opportunity to specialize in three distinct areas:

• 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.
• Art has come a long way from the first video games with little pixels to represents character or objects to today’s showcase of high-end visually stunning graphics. Game Artists today are a specialized breed of talents with not only an eye for visual aesthetics but also a strong degree of technical knowledge. Nowadays many games rely on hyper realistic graphics to pull players into an immersive and engaging world of digital games. Game Artist have to be good in their observation skills, have a sense of aesthetics and have a keen mind to explore the known world. if you enjoy drawing, reading comics, watching anime, appreciate art in various forms or medium; then the path of a Game Artist is indeed for you.
• 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.

Game Design is the art of crafting experiences. It is often the first step in making a game, but a game designer’s job doesn’t stop by just thinking of ideas. Game Design covers the gameplay mechanics, level design, narrative, documentation and interactions within a game. Game Designers also needs to know a little bit of marketing and business in order to monetize their games. There is no shortage of ideas for cool games, but ideas are free. Game Designers are tasked with taking that idea and turning it into something tangible and commercial. Game Designers have to be creative yet analytical, observant yet curious. They need to be able to propose a theory and put that theory to the test through rigorous playtesting and perform quality checks before the product is ready to be shipped.

If you love reading, have a creative mind and are interested in crafting worlds and experiences, then maybe Game Design is the path for you.

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. Behind every game, behind those dazzling special effects, the intriguing dialogues, or even the enjoyable game-play system, they are bound together by strict and complex lines of codes. These codes govern how the game functions, when certain sounds are meant to happen and more importantly, help makes the game play smoothly.

Students will explore new technologies like 3D graphics, animation, game mechanics, user interface designing for games, gaming software development, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and interactive design. 

What are the career options of a Game Developer?

• The video game industry is a multi-billion dollar industry with many game development career options to choose from, both on the highly technical and creative sides of the field. If you have the commitment, skills and drive to immerse yourself in the world of video games, the possibilities are endless. The image shows some of the career possibilities in this fast-growing sector.
• The premier school for game development studies – take it in uow Malaysia. “An all-inclusive industry-designed syllabus that produces game maestros”

The best streamlined syllabus

• Our syllabus is a direct result of in-depth analysis and collaborations with industry partners and game development pioneers to ensure our graduates are not only employable but desirable talents that can integrate seamlessly into the industry. The syllabus evolves to stay relevant to current industry needs, trends and practices. 
• The game development degree program at uow malaysia is endorsed by a major uk-based game development studio and stalwarts in the local industry. The program’s streamlined syllabus and industry insights produces sought-after talents, drawing many a studio to headhunt and handpick talents before they even graduate. With three specialised streams to choose from, our program is one of the most comprehensive game development programs out there. 
• Bachelor of game development program is also endorsed by codemasters studios. The collaboration entails the adoption of industry benchmarking and standards for curriculum and assessment methods in the program delivery. Codemasters is one of britain’s oldest video game development companies and is considered europe’s largest independent games company with nearly 700 employees in the uk alone. The bachelor of game development program is also one of the first programs  outside north america and europe to be an unreal academic partner. The unreal academic partner program recognizes universities and schools that have committed to providing high-quality educational opportunities with an experienced faculty, proven curricula, sufficient facilities, and resources to meet the demands of the global game development industry. 

The Best Lecturers

• To Study Games, You Must Learn From People Who Produced Games. All Of Uow Malaysia’s Game Development Lecturers Have Worked Or Are Still Actively Involved In The Video Game Industry; And Are Experts At Their Respective Fields. Learning From Their Insights And Industry-experience Would Greatly Enhance Your Learning Experience. The Lecturers Include A Healthy Mix Of Full-time And Part-time Staff, Some Of Whom Are Currently Ceos And Ctos Of Their Respective Game Studios But Have Dedicated Their Time To Ensure That The Degree Program Is Of The Highest Standards. Our Teaching Staff Includes People Who Has Worked On Games On The Ps3 Such As Sega All Stars Racing And Afro Samurai; Stormriders Online (one Of Malaysia’s First Mmo); Concept Artist For Dark Souls; One Of The Founding Members Of The Women-in-games Malaysia (wigout); The Founding Chairman Of The Game Development Association Of Malaysia And Many More. 

Our Students Have Or Are Working In The Following Studios:

• Cd Project Red, Poland
• Codemasters Studios Malaysia (international Studio)
• Playstation Studios Malaysia (international Studio)
• Double Eleven Malaysia (international Studio)
• Streamline Studios (international Studio)
• Larian Studios Malaysia (international Studio)
• Namco Bandai Studios Malaysia (international Studio)
• Virtuos Studios (international Studio)
• Passion Republic
• Lemonsky Games
• Metronomik Games
• Kaigan Games
• Appxplore
• Forust
• Magnus Games Studio

In line with malaysian government aspirations

• In 2012, the prime minister’s office and pemandu (performance management and delivery unit) awarded uow malaysia with an entry point project (epp14) initiative under the economic transformation plan and the national key economic area (education) to spearhead the game development industry in malaysia, focusing on awareness and talent building activities. This game development cluster represents the start of a strategic collaboration between educational institutions and the game development industry to create a high-income, sustainable creative economy in the area of game development. 
• In 2019, uow malaysia once again spearheaded the formation of the game development council of malaysia (gdcom) under the ministry of higher education, malaysia. The council which has three broad-based objectives; to provide academic leadership and academic excellence in higher education; to create awareness of the game development industry; and to develop talent development initiatives to sustain the ecosystem; reports directly to moe. 

In other words, uow malaysia is recognised by both the industry and the malaysian government as one the premier game development institutions in the country. 

Year 1

• Oral Communication
• Fundamentals of Game Design
• Fundamentals of Game Technology
• Fundamentals of Game Development
• Fundamentals of Game Art
• Professional Development and Leadership Skills
• Specialisation (4 Subjects)

Year 2

• Game Project Studio 1
• Game Project Studio 2
• Human Computer Interaction for Games
• Game Business & Marketing
• Research Methodology
• Specialisation (6 Subjects)

Year 3

• Final Year Project 1
• Final Year Project 2
• Internship
• Electives (4 Subjects)

Specialisations
Game Art

• Digital Drawing
• Digital Imaging
• Animation Principles
• Introduction to 3D Modeling
• 3D Game Modelling and Texturing 1
• 3D Game Modelling and Texturing 2
• 3D Game Animation 1
• 3D Game Animation 2
• 3D Game Art Development
• Advance 3D Game Art

Game Design

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

Game Technology

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

Electives
Digital Audio for Games

• Concept Art for Games
• 2D Game Art Development
• Artificial Intelligence for Games
• Game Engine Architecture and Design
• Integrated Game Commercialisation Project 1
• Integrated Game Commercialisation Project 2
• Presentation Skills
• Motion Graphic Design

MPU
Penghayatan Etika dan Peradaban (Malaysian Students)

• Bahasa Melayu Komunikasi 2 (International Students)
• Falsafah dan Isu Semasa
• Entrepreneurship
• Integrity and Anti-Corruption
• Global Social Responsibility
• Bahasa Kebangsaan A