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So I finished college last year and decided I would look for a job this year, no luck so far, and work on my art and games in my spare time with my mate.

It's recently come to my attention that my local university (UTAS, which is only 30 minutes away) is starting a 3 year game design and productions course which begins in a few weeks.

Here's some info from the site:

"This unit introduces students to the fundamentals of games development, and the role of interactive entertainment in modern society. Computer games are becoming increasingly important not only for entertainment, but also for education and training, advertising, gambling, social and psychological research, and as a stimulator for hardware innovation. Students will explore these roles through the study of different game genres, the history of computer games, the demography of the games industry, and through critical review of individual games. In addition, the unit will provide students with the necessary skills to develop a simple 2D game. Students will gain these skills in a hands-on learning environment through the development of a game of their choice using a game development environment. Topics covered will include real-time programs, image representation, and animation. Students will also become proficient in basic image processing using popular image manipulation software."

My plan was to find some full time work so I could move out, pay for a new dev PC and Unity 4 Pro and spend my free time working on my games, hopefully completing one and selling it. If I do this course I won't be able to work full time and will have to find a part time or casual job. That will be enough for a new PC and all but not enough to move out, not that I'm in a rush.

The government will give me a small amount of money every fortnight if I'm doing full time study but that would require me to choose more classes and I have no interest in anything other than art, writing and game design and I don't have the money to pay for more classes. I also don't have the money to move Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane and don't quite fancy living in a city where I have no friends

So I was wondering if anyone has done a course like this or been in a similar situation.

I can either do the course and have limited or no money for 3 years or get a full time job and use my spare time for game dev.

I'm only young (19 next month) but this is a pretty important time in my life and game development is important to me and what I want to do with my life.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

you are not alone

@mr Handy-

To be fair, she was just going to be a spokesmodel essentially. I'd say "wanted to design video games" is a bit of a stretch.

Funny story, though. It really says something about the economy.

@Fuzz-

Sorry I can't offer you any advice. You could just try making and selling games through some website (AppUp or some e-commerce site). If DarkBASIC isn't your thing, you could try QB64. Of course, it's understandable if you already know how to use Unity.

@Fuzz - There are a few things you could do. I was in a similar position to you when I finished college in Tassie. I had been round these forums making stuff since I was 12, and all I wanted to do was make games. For me though, that wasn't an option. UTAS had nothing in that field, and like you, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne were all a world away. I studied English Lit for a few years, then bummed around with a few 3D jobs in Launceston, before finding a Bachelors in Games Design in Brisbane. Jumped into that, and it kick-started my career. I didn't finish it mind you, but made some friends that are my new family.

The life of a designer is all about absorbing as much of the world as you can, seeing as many sides of it, and letting that all sink in. If you have the will, get into it. Either take that course at UTAS, or just make the move over to one of the bigger centres. I live (well, normally) in Melbourne, and the game culture there is amazing. Every month there is an IGDA meetup, everyone comes along and talks games, drinks beer, eats burgers, and generally has a great time. Immersing yourself in that culture gives you such a creative boost, man, you gotta experience it. You should come over for Freeplay this year. It's in September I think, and it's a really cool independent games festival. Lots of indies, good vibes, and great networking.

Studying games at Uni is really good, and it's worthwhile, but you get the real experience from getting out there and letting the world sink in. Make games, push boundaries, get out of your comfort zone. You are at a great time of life where you have so few responsibilities and so much potential. You can do that while at Uni (seriously, it's a good life), but you can also do that outside of it. In Brisbane, I moved into a house with 4 strangers, all who studied the same course as me. We made games, got drunk, and learnt a lot about life over those three years. They are some of my closest friends.

Games, man. It will change your life. Whatever brings you closer to that dream - go for it.

All this rambling doesn't really give much advice, but you are in such a similar position to me. You have all the power here, and there is an amazing world right on your doorstep.

Greenlig