Hello,
My name is Brandon and I am currently in my second year at Flinders University studying a Bachelor of Computer Science (Simulation and Serious Games).
Throughout high school I always had a strong interest in both gaming and computer programming. When I was in Year 12, I knew I wanted to aim for jobs in the I.T industry, and I had high ambitions for a career in game development. After searching for suitable courses to support my future career, I found the best degree to get me into this field was the Simulation and Serious Games degree at Flinders. Choosing this degree was the right choice.
This course incorporates a fair amount of maths, which some people can be wary of. But learning these levels of math helps to produce more efficient and accurate code within simulation and games. In second year mathematics, we are studying several variable calculus, which helps to calculate changes in three dimensions – this is what most games are made in! This is fundamental for physics engines used within most games on the market.
Computer programming is another large part of this degree and something I do every day. Programming is for anyone who is good at problem solving, and I recommend anyone interested in problem solving to consider the area. Within the degree so far, we have programmed different types of calculators, an Arabic number to Roman numeral converter, and a basic paint program.
As is expected for a Computer Science degree, many of our classes revolve around the use of computers. Tonsley campus is well built for this purpose. The Tonsley lecture theatres allow for the space and charging needs of computers, which means more hands-on and practical classes. Instead of listening to the theory of programming, Tonsley classes allow for students and lecturers to do programming examples together in class, helping us to put the theory into real-world application.
This degree combines the best of Computer Science and Engineering to produce graduates to build, work on, and work with interactive programs of any kind. The jobs available from this degree are varied and exciting. They range from building and designing games for both entertainment and educational purposes, to building medical sims or flights sims that can train medical professionals and pilots, which could potentially save lives in the future. For anyone interested in a good problem solving challenge, or developing the latest and greatest games, this is the perfect course to get the practical and theoretical experience required.
I wish you all the best with your studies, and I hope to see you at Flinders University in the future.
Brandon.