Games design

Personalised by

Use this icon to personalise the page to your pathway, preferred campus and study level.

Personalisation is not available through private browsing.

Start study from home in Trimester 2, 2020

For Trimester 2, 2020, you will be able to start your study from home. If restrictions are lifted we will continue to offer our students the flexibility to study online or a combination of online and on campus for the rest of the Trimester.

Prepare for professional success in the games industry

Bringing an idea to life on screen requires creativity, practical skill, and a thorough understanding of the games design production and distribution industries. If you have a passion for this field, or if you want to take your existing career in the industry to the next level, Griffith's Master of Screen Production is your best choice for postgraduate study.

In the Masters, you will undertake practical and theoretical work that will place your learning in a craft and creative context. The degree includes a strong collaborative component, which will help you develop a sound understanding of how your specialist role fits into the production process. Learn through a problem-based curriculum with active learning in small groups and practical work placements.

Skip to degrees

Virtual Open House

Explore Griffith from home with access to study and support info, live chat and everything you need to find the degree for you.

Find out more

Study games design at Griffith

Games entertain and challenge

Experiment and specialise

You can specialise in concept art, 3D computer imagery, interactive animation and interactive player experience design, while having the freedom to explore contemporary developments in the practice of interactive game design and related disciplines such as computer programming, narrative and character development, audio and more.

Whether your interests are commercial game development for Oculus, Playstation, Xbox, smart phones or home computer platforms, you’ll learn the fundamentals of game design in your first year, before developing a focus of specialisation in your second year. Choose from majors in:

Animating
Art Direction
Computer Generated Imagery
Game Audio
Player Experience

In your third year, you’ll embark on a major team-based capstone project, strengthening your practical skills and building your portfolio. While you’re focussed on your specialty, you'll also graduate with broad skills in all aspects of the industry, something employers are looking for.

Learn from the best

You’ll be taught by some of the country’s leading designers, people who are already extending the parameters of visual and creative arts.

You’ll also have fantastic opportunities for collaboration with Griffith Film School filmmakers and animators, Queensland College of Art illustrators, 3D designers and artists, and musicians from Griffith University’s Queensland Conservatorium.

Practical experience

As part of Australia’s largest film school, you’ll have access to an exciting calendar of on-campus exhibitions, guest lectures, master classes and artist talks. Build your portfolio and develop vital contacts and networks through our key industry links. Work on games design projects for real clients through our commercial multimedia production arm, LiveLab.

Games Design show reel

Study Games Design at Griffith to create the next wave of games and virtual worlds.

Henrik Pettersson: Game of the Year for 'The Gardens Between'

Henrik Pettersson is one of the country’s hottest games designers. His latest title, The Gardens Between, took out Game of the Year at the Australian Game Development Awards and was recognised by Apple as the year’s Best Mac Game. Most recently, at Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference the game won a prestigious Apple Design Award for outstanding artistry, technical achievement, user interface and application design. ‘I’ve spent the past four years of my life designing this game, so it is a thrill to pick up these awards and to see people enjoying it.’

Henrik moved half way around the globe to enrol in the Bachelor of Games Design—relocating from his home in Sweden to study at Griffith. ‘The degree was quite new and the fact that it was based at an arts college with a film school meant that we had quite a wide breadth of artistic craft, skills and knowledge. It was only possible to create something like The Gardens Between because of my time at Griffith —I had that artistic background, which allowed me to communicate better with my team of artists, designers and composers.

Study options

{"executionContext":"Public","query":null,"originalQuery":null,"collection":{"id":"gu-study-programs","profiles":{"_default":{"id":"_default","facetedNavConfConfig":{"facetDefinitions":[],"metadataFieldsUsed":[]},"padreOpts":null}},"facetedNavigationConfConfig":null,"facetedNavigationLiveConfig":null,"metaComponents":[],"type":"local"},"profile":"_default","clive":null,"form":"simple","cnClickedCluster":null,"cnPreviousClusters":[],"metaParameters":["+discipline:0157|T:Single|B:|W:|J:"],"systemMetaParameters":[],"additionalParameters":{"personalise":["yes"],"city":[""],"num_ranks":["1000"],"origin":["-33.861496,151.2055"],"REMOTE_ADDR":["103.1.192.0"],"REQUEST_URI":["/s/search.json"],"fmo":["on"],"sort":["title"],"REQUEST_URL":["http://search.griffith.edu.au/s/search.json?personalise=yes&num_ranks=1000&city=&sort=title&collection=gu-study-programs&query_and=discipline%3A0157%7CT%3ASingle%7CB%3A%7CW%3A%7CJ%3A&location=&fmo=on"],"HTTP_HOST":["search.griffith.edu.au"],"location":[""]},"environmentVariables":{"REMOTE_ADDR":"103.1.192.0","REQUEST_URI":"/s/search.json","HTTP_HOST":"search.griffith.edu.au","REQUEST_URL":"http://search.griffith.edu.au/s/search.json?personalise=yes&num_ranks=1000&city=&sort=title&collection=gu-study-programs&query_and=discipline%3A0157%7CT%3ASingle%7CB%3A%7CW%3A%7CJ%3A&location=&fmo=on"},"dynamicQueryProcessorOptions":["-qlog_file=/opt/funnelback/data/gu-study-programs/live/log/queries-griff-search01.log"],"userKeys":[],"selectedFacets":[],"selectedCategoryValues":{},"facetsQueryConstraints":[],"facetCollectionConstraints":null,"facetsGScopeConstraints":null,"impersonated":false,"requestId":"103.1.192.0","logQuery":null,"rawInputParameters":{"personalise":["yes"],"query_and":["discipline:0157|T:Single|B:|W:|J:"],"HTTP_HOST":["search.griffith.edu.au"],"city":[""],"num_ranks":["1000"],"REMOTE_ADDR":["103.1.192.0"],"REQUEST_URI":["/s/search.json"],"fmo":["on"],"location":[""],"sort":["title"],"collection":["gu-study-programs"],"REQUEST_URL":["http://search.griffith.edu.au/s/search.json?personalise=yes&num_ranks=1000&city=&sort=title&collection=gu-study-programs&query_and=discipline%3A0157%7CT%3ASingle%7CB%3A%7CW%3A%7CJ%3A&location=&fmo=on"]},"inputParameterMap":{"city":"","fmo":"on","personalise":"yes","sort":"title","collection":"gu-study-programs","query_and":"discipline:0157|T:Single|B:|W:|J:","location":"","REQUEST_URL":"http://search.griffith.edu.au/s/search.json?personalise=yes&num_ranks=1000&city=&sort=title&collection=gu-study-programs&query_and=discipline%3A0157%7CT%3ASingle%7CB%3A%7CW%3A%7CJ%3A&location=&fmo=on","HTTP_HOST":"search.griffith.edu.au","REMOTE_ADDR":"103.1.192.0","REQUEST_URI":"/s/search.json","num_ranks":"1000"},"questionType":"SEARCH","locale":"en_US","location":{"areaCode":0,"city":"Sydney","countryCode":"AU","countryName":"Australia","dmaCode":0,"latitude":-33.861496,"longitude":151.2055,"metroCode":0,"postalCode":"1001","region":"02"},"hostname":null,"funnelbackVersion":{"major":15,"minor":20,"revision":0},"customData":{},"queryStringMapCopy":{"personalise":["yes"],"query_and":["discipline:0157|T:Single|B:|W:|J:"],"city":[""],"num_ranks":["1000"],"fmo":["on"],"location":[""],"sort":["title"],"collection":["gu-study-programs"]},"extraSearch":false}

Degrees	Campus	OP
Bachelor of Creative and Interactive Media	Gold Coast Nathan South Bank	15
Bachelor of Games Design	South Bank	15
Bachelor of Games Design (Honours)	South Bank
Doctor of Visual Arts	South Bank
Master of Arts in Visual Arts	South Bank
Master of Visual Arts	South Bank

{"executionContext":"Public","query":null,"originalQuery":null,"collection":{"id":"gu-study-programs","profiles":{"_default":{"id":"_default","facetedNavConfConfig":{"facetDefinitions":[],"metadataFieldsUsed":[]},"padreOpts":null}},"facetedNavigationConfConfig":null,"facetedNavigationLiveConfig":null,"metaComponents":[],"type":"local"},"profile":"_default","clive":null,"form":"simple","cnClickedCluster":null,"cnPreviousClusters":[],"metaParameters":["+discipline:0157|T:Double|B:|W:|J:"],"systemMetaParameters":[],"additionalParameters":{"personalise":["yes"],"city":[""],"num_ranks":["1000"],"origin":["-33.861496,151.2055"],"REMOTE_ADDR":["103.1.192.0"],"REQUEST_URI":["/s/search.json"],"fmo":["on"],"sort":["title"],"REQUEST_URL":["http://search.griffith.edu.au/s/search.json?personalise=yes&num_ranks=1000&city=&sort=title&collection=gu-study-programs&query_and=discipline%3A0157%7CT%3ADouble%7CB%3A%7CW%3A%7CJ%3A&location=&fmo=on"],"HTTP_HOST":["search.griffith.edu.au"],"location":[""]},"environmentVariables":{"REMOTE_ADDR":"103.1.192.0","REQUEST_URI":"/s/search.json","HTTP_HOST":"search.griffith.edu.au","REQUEST_URL":"http://search.griffith.edu.au/s/search.json?personalise=yes&num_ranks=1000&city=&sort=title&collection=gu-study-programs&query_and=discipline%3A0157%7CT%3ADouble%7CB%3A%7CW%3A%7CJ%3A&location=&fmo=on"},"dynamicQueryProcessorOptions":["-qlog_file=/opt/funnelback/data/gu-study-programs/live/log/queries-griff-search01.log"],"userKeys":[],"selectedFacets":[],"selectedCategoryValues":{},"facetsQueryConstraints":[],"facetCollectionConstraints":null,"facetsGScopeConstraints":null,"impersonated":false,"requestId":"103.1.192.0","logQuery":null,"rawInputParameters":{"personalise":["yes"],"query_and":["discipline:0157|T:Double|B:|W:|J:"],"HTTP_HOST":["search.griffith.edu.au"],"city":[""],"num_ranks":["1000"],"REMOTE_ADDR":["103.1.192.0"],"REQUEST_URI":["/s/search.json"],"fmo":["on"],"location":[""],"sort":["title"],"collection":["gu-study-programs"],"REQUEST_URL":["http://search.griffith.edu.au/s/search.json?personalise=yes&num_ranks=1000&city=&sort=title&collection=gu-study-programs&query_and=discipline%3A0157%7CT%3ADouble%7CB%3A%7CW%3A%7CJ%3A&location=&fmo=on"]},"inputParameterMap":{"REQUEST_URL":"http://search.griffith.edu.au/s/search.json?personalise=yes&num_ranks=1000&city=&sort=title&collection=gu-study-programs&query_and=discipline%3A0157%7CT%3ADouble%7CB%3A%7CW%3A%7CJ%3A&location=&fmo=on","city":"","fmo":"on","personalise":"yes","sort":"title","collection":"gu-study-programs","query_and":"discipline:0157|T:Double|B:|W:|J:","location":"","HTTP_HOST":"search.griffith.edu.au","REMOTE_ADDR":"103.1.192.0","REQUEST_URI":"/s/search.json","num_ranks":"1000"},"questionType":"SEARCH","locale":"en_US","location":{"areaCode":0,"city":"Sydney","countryCode":"AU","countryName":"Australia","dmaCode":0,"latitude":-33.861496,"longitude":151.2055,"metroCode":0,"postalCode":"1001","region":"02"},"hostname":null,"funnelbackVersion":{"major":15,"minor":20,"revision":0},"customData":{},"queryStringMapCopy":{"personalise":["yes"],"query_and":["discipline:0157|T:Double|B:|W:|J:"],"city":[""],"num_ranks":["1000"],"fmo":["on"],"location":[""],"sort":["title"],"collection":["gu-study-programs"]},"extraSearch":false}

Expand your qualifications and your career options with our range of double degrees. As a double degree graduate, you’ll have a special skill set that will help you stand out with future employers.

Double Degrees	Campus	OP
Bachelor of Design/Bachelor of Business	Gold Coast Nathan South Bank	15

It is important to check the degree requirements including placement requirements, before you apply.

Bleach festival

Three-year partnership with Bleach* Festival to provide extensive practical experience to Griffith students from 2019

Find out more

Career outcomes

Skills to take you anywhere

Graduate with great connections to Brisbane's thriving game development community

Become equipped to join the ranks of those working locally and internationally as game designers, game programmers, 3D artists and concept artists. You'll have a valuable grounding in industry-quality design practice, and the knowledge and experience to make your games design dreams a reality. Griffith graduates have a strong tradition of forming their own independent game development studios. Many also find success in areas such as mining, medical simulation and training and educational software development.

Download a study guide

Explore what Griffith has to offer

Get started

Life at Griffith

You can gain more than just a degree at Griffith. With plenty of opportunities to balance life and study, you can make memories and mates to last a lifetime.

Learn more about life at Griffith University

News

View all news articles

07 Jul 2020

Art graduates selected for national exhibition

30 Jun 2020

Film graduate wins spot in star-studded mentoring program

Key dates

View all key dates

Monday 13 July — Saturday 17 October

Trimester 2: Teaching and exams

Includes study and exam period from Thursday 1 October to Saturday 10 October.

Find out more.

Saturday 18 July — Sunday 19 July

Tertiary Studies Expo (TSXPO) - CANCELLED

TSXPO is for anyone considering further study. Talk to our academic and professional staff about our degrees, flexible study options, admission pathways, how to apply, scholarships and support services. Entry is free.

Find out more.

Tuesday 21 July — Tuesday 21 July

Sunshine Coast Daily Careers Expo - CANCELLED

Visit the Griffith University stand at the Sunshine Coast Daily Careers Expo to talk to our expert advisers about your study goals, life at Griffith, online study options and more.

Find out more.

Monday 3 August — Monday 3 August

Townsville Careers Expo

Visit the Griffith University stand at the Townsville Careers Expo to talk to our expert advisers about your study goals, life at Griffith, online study options and more.

Find out more.

Sunday 9 August — Sunday 9 August

Open Day

On Open Day, you’ll find general information about all our degrees at each campus, as well as essential information about student support services, admissions, scholarships and postgraduate studies. It’s a great time to get to know our campuses, experience life at Griffith, explore your study options and find the information you need to make a decision about your future.

Find out more.

Monday 14 September — Thursday 17 September

Mature Student Open Evenings

No matter whether you’re returning to university after a few years off, starting study for the first time or looking for a postgraduate degree to further your career, we can help you find the right study path.

Find out more.

Monday 19 October — Friday 23 October

Trimester 3: Orientation

Get the right start and find out everything you need to know about starting at Griffith.

Find out more.