Certificate III in Information Technology
- Specialising in Game Programming

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Course Overview

This course is designed to introduce students to the range of skills necessary to begin a pathway into a career in programming for the Electronic Games industries. The Certificate III in Information Technology is an introductory level online course that is extremely flexible allowing students to study at their own pace, in their own time and in their own place while still being fully supported in their learning.

The course contains detailed self paced tutorials, numerous exercises, an assessment task for each of its modules that develops a mini computer game over the duration of study. Course materials include a combination of text based (Adobe Acrobat) and flash based video tutorials, plus links to websites where appropriate.

Successful completion of the Certificate III in Information Technology enables students to enter directly into more intensive programming courses, such as the Advanced Diploma of Computer Games Development, specialising in Software Development at AIE.

Software Requirements:

Students will need the following software to successfully complete the online course:

• Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express
• Internet Explorer or Firefox
• Word processing software (MS Word, OpenOffice, etc)
• Adobe Acrobat reader
• The original version of the current operating system on their computer
• A 64mb or larger thumb drive

Students will also need an internet connection, preferably broadband, though dial-up would be sufficient. Beware of the downloads required for each module and ensure your download limits allow for the amounts indicated.

The course contains a series of pdf files (averaging  25kb each  - approximately 40 – 50 per module ) with some video tutes ( averaging 10kb each – there are only a few through the course). There are additional downloads for software used throughout the course and these total to approximately 900mb – split between the first and the last module.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free software package available from www.adobe.com

Open Office is a free word processing package available from www.openoffice.org

Thumb drives are a removable storage unit that is used in the final module of the course. They can be purchased very cheaply from most electrical type stores.

Hardware Requirements:

Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express is freely available on the internet and instructions on downloading and installing are available as part of the first section in the course. Click here for Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express hardware specifications.

Areas of Study

The Certificate III in Information Technology, specialising in game programming is made up of three modules of study. These modules each contain various tutorials and exercises. The modules also contain one overall project, broken down into small assignments, that involves students developing a small game project from scratch over the duration of the course.

Module One (40 hrs):
Module One focuses on teaching students the basics of computer care, OH&S, navigation of their new programming environment plus fundamental data types used in C/C++ languages and how to manipulate them.
Module One's assignment starts off the easy parts of the game project using the techniques learned during the module.

Module Two (40 hrs):
The main focus of Module Two is developing underlying game project design skills that are valuable for creating team friendly code. This module also deals with some slightly more advanced programming techniques used for decisions and branching in a project.
Module Two's assignment adds a lot to the game project using these new techniques.

Module Three (40 hrs):
Module Three focuses on basic math skills that will give students an understanding of how objects move around in a game environment, but also covers user defined storage types and a detailed look at what a game loop should do.
Also covered are some essential computer software and hardware skills needed by every programmer.

Module Three's assignment completes the project.

Each module will take approximately 8 weeks to complete, including the assignment.

This is calculated at someone spending about 5hrs a week on the course. Each tutorial set contains approximately 6 - 8 lessons covering all of the subject models.

For further information on the Certificate III in Information Technology please contact the Student Liaison, on 02 6162 5131 or email .

Course Costs

$500 per module, total courses fees $1500 for 3 modules. This cost does not include software requirements.

Pre-requisites

As an introductory level course there are no pre-requisites for entry.

How to Apply

Download the application form here