Study Game Design in Malaysia: 8 Fun Hacks To Up Your Game

Posted on by Uni Enrol
game design

Gaming is a multibillion-dollar industry. Today, the number of gaming consoles, devices, and games out in the market is proof of the global popularity of video games among many.

In Malaysia, there are plenty of game studios making waves on the gaming scene. Some of the award-winning games produced by Malaysian studios include

  • Police Sentri
  • Postknight, and
  • Gigabash!

Calling all passionate gamers who aspire to create their own game one day, we will be sharing with you some of the Game Design courses you can take through this article.

Let us give you an in-depth look at the field and its potential career opportunities before you begin to study Game Design in Malaysia.

What is Game Design? 

Game design is the art of creating visuals and animation for games for

  • entertainment,
  • education, 
  • exercise, or 
  • experimental purposes. 

This field of study provides students with the skills and tools to create games for laptops, PCs, mobiles, and tablets. It is a design specialisation that is also a subset of the field of video game development.

Game Design requires game designers to apply 

  • design elements, 
  • design aesthetics, and 
  • programming principles 

to provide users with an interactive gaming environment. 

Why Should You Study Game Design in Malaysia?

why study game design in malaysia

Why do you want to study Game Design in Malaysia? We present you with 3 reasons why Malaysians are eager to pursue this exciting field.

Passion for gaming

If you are a gamer, then you might know what gamers want in a game: Beautiful graphics with amazing-looking characters, weapons, backgrounds, and items. All while being supported by smooth operations.

To create a game, designers need to visualise characters, creatures, as well as backdrops for it to be engaging.

A Game Design course will enable you to design the game from all the avatars, items and effects from scratch. Thus, passion, patience, and persistence are essential in this line of work (and study). As such, you will need all three of these to sustain you during peak working periods.

Stickler for details

With anything art-related, designers begin with a concept. Then, these raw ideas will grow into a storyboard. At every step of a project, they must have eagle eyes to spot tiny flaws that might disrupt any gamers’ entertainment experience.

In addition, game designers also consider other working details, such as

  • target audience, 
  • requirements,
  • deadlines, and 
  • budgets. (oof)

In short, video game designers typically look at the planning and definition of all the game elements. Be it a structure, a costume design, or characters, they will have to keep an eye out for all of them.

Desire to showcase creativity

Every game studio is racing to put the Next Best Game out.

To do that, the best game designers are hired and their creativity plays a key role in attracting people to play their game.

Do you have the Next Best Idea for a game? Enrol and study Game Design in Malaysia to bring your idea to real-life.

What Do You Study in Game Design?

Game design is a field of study that encompasses 

  • Mathematics, 
  • Graphic Design, 
  • Computer Science and Programming, 
  • Creative Writing, as well as
  • Psychology.

When you study Game Design in Malaysia, you will learn industrial trends and practices in 

  • 3D, 
  • Experiential Design, 
  • various gameplay elements, as well as 
  • Game Development Concepts.

This in-depth knowledge will allow you to design:

  • characters/ avatars 
  • game rules, 
  • game environments, 
  • puzzles, 
  • art and animation.

The four common subjects you can learn when you study Game Design in Malaysia are as follows:

Games Development

In a Game Design course, your ‘masters’ will teach you game-specific design issues and basic game concepts. There, you will learn many skills, such as

  • how to design game assets, 
  • how to choose and design the suitable sound effects for a game, and
  • how to present your game story. 

This course also covers 

  • designing principles specifically for the gaming industry,
  • the concept of ‘playability’, as well as 
  • how to use industry-standard authoring software such as Unity Development Engine.

Game Studies

This chapter scrutinises the common gameplay elements in various games.

You will learn all about the playable features of analogue and digital games and what makes the games fun to play.

Among the skills you will obtain from this course are 

  • Programming Concepts, 
  • Data Structures, 
  • Online Networking, 
  • Game Graphics Programming, 
  • Virtual and Augmented Reality, as well as
  •  Fundamental Game Art and Design subjects.

Experiential Design

The concept of ‘experiential’ design refers to user interaction that physically takes place in a computer-controlled environment.

The tools used to record these interactions include

  • pressure pads,
  • microphones,
  • webcams, or
  • other external devices.

All these gadgets are tools that control the user experience and interaction. This course will prepare you with the ability to design and create laboratory physical user experiences for abstract or ‘real-world’ applications or uses.

Game Art

Game Art handles the visual components of games, both in 3D and 2D.

Gone are the days of grainy and pixel-based graphics. Nowadays, most games that catch the public’s eye have high-resolution graphics.
Here, you will dabble in the concepts and practice of the 3D modelling pipeline that goes into the production of games, animations and interactive media.

Your mentors will share in-depth knowledge of 3D tools used by the industry and learn how to apply them to their proposed final visual aesthetics.

how to study game design in malaysia

Before you start to study Game Design in Malaysia, you will need to complete your secondary education (SPM/ O-levels or equivalent studies). Then, you may study Foundation in Science or Arts for 1 year or a Pre-University (A-Level, SACE, STPM, etc.) course for up to 2 years.

You can then continue to do a Bachelor’s Degree in Game Design.

Alternatively, you may also pursue a Diploma in Game Design for 2.5 years, where you will be able to immediately enter into employment or continue with a degree course in Year 2. 

So what does your pathway to study Game Design in Malaysia look like?

Level-up with this read: Must Knows Before Choosing a Pre-U, Diploma or Degree

Diploma in Game Design

To qualify for a diploma course, you only need to have:

  • SPM / O-Level: min. of 3 credits, including a pass in Bahasa Melayu and History.

Diploma courses usually take between 2 to 2.5 years to complete and can cost RM 23,000.

After graduating, you have the choice to continue studying or look for a job.

Bachelor’s Degree in Game Design

For degree courses, you will need to have SPM/O-Level qualification and one of the following pre-university courses:

  • STPM: min. of 2Cs
  • A-Level: min. of 2Es
  • CIMP: min. average of 55% to 60% in 6 subjects
  • Relevant Foundation: min. CGPA of 2.00
  • AUSMAT/SACEi: ATAR of 55 – 60

A pre-university course can take up to 2 years to complete and cost you RM 16,000.

Once you have completed your pre-university course, you can move on to the degree course. This pathway takes 3 years to complete and can cost RM 69,000.

Diploma students who want to continue their studies can do so with a degree course, where they will begin their studies as Year 2 uni learners.

You can contact an advisor through a Live Chat function for further assistance and information before you decide to study Game Design in Malaysia.

What Are the Skills Required in Game Design?

Creativity and imagination

In Game Design, creativity is everything. To fuel your creativity, having the ability to imagine the game scene is critical. Once you can picture the scenario in your head, you need to turn that idea into a story.

In video games, storytelling helps the players immerse themselves in the game. The visuals and audio combine to make gameplay more compelling, as evidenced by the success of games like Valorant, Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.

Teamwork

Video games are a perfect example of the importance of teamwork.

Developing a video game requires cross-discipline skills and knowledge that cover design, development, and production. As a game designer, you must also ensure that you can turn your idea into reality in real-life and reach a mass audience.

With that, you need aides to help you materialise your idea. Thus, a development team can consist of programmers, designers, and other departments. As such, having strong teamwork will ensure smooth completion on time.

Programming Skills

To succeed in the world of video game design, you need to anchor your knowledge in software design and programming.

Beyond coding, you need to have a flair for design. Graphics and animation play a huge role in video games. Therefore, having artistic and technical chops in these areas will give you an edge in creating a vivid and realistic game.

As such, game designers need to be familiar with many related areas. These topics include character design, scenery design and user interface design.

Top Universities to Study Game Design in Malaysia

UOW Malaysia KDU University College 

UOW Malaysia KDU is part of the University of Wollongong Australia’s global network that has been operating for over 38 years in Malaysia. This academy is committed to becoming one of the nation’s pre-eminent higher education providers.

Its syllabus is the same as the programmes offered at the main campus in Australia.

Up your game by choosing one of these UOW Malaysia KDU courses to study Game Design in Malaysia:

  • Foundation in Arts 
  • Foundation Studies (Art & Technology – Communication)
  • Bachelor of Game Development (Hons) specialised in Game Art/Design

Asia Pacific University of Technology & Information (APU)

APU has been given a 5 star SETARA rating by the Ministry of Higher Education and a Premier Digital Tech University status by MDEC.

Students who are under a Bachelor’s Degree Programme will have the option to opt-in for the APU-De Montfort University Dual Degree Scheme. 

Up your game by choosing one of these APU courses to study Game Design in Malaysia:

  • Foundation Programme (Computing & Technology Pathway)
  • BSc (Hons) in Computer Games Development

UCSI University and College

UCSI ranked 77 in the QS Asian University Ranking 2023. Its co-op programme works with 4,200 companies for industry placement annually.

Degree students will get exposure to at least 3 organisations throughout their course.

Up your game by choosing one of these UCSI courses to study Game Design in Malaysia:

  • Foundation in Arts (Arts & Design) 
  • BA (Hons) Game Design

Things You Need to Know About Game Design Career

Game design is an exciting, rewarding and multi-faceted field with promising job prospects. However, becoming a game designer can be a challenging journey.

It takes a lot of effort and skill to produce a video game. Thus, a solid basic understanding of

  • programming,
  • animation,
  • visual design, and
  • storytelling.

Can turn a decent game into an excellent one.

After completing your education in game design, you can work as a game artist, game designer, game developer etc.

According to Payscale, a fresh graduate game designer’s average monthly salary is RM 1,167, accumulating to an average annual pay of RM 35,000. 

However, Glassdoor states that the median pay for a game designer graduate in Malaysia is even higher. They can an estimated total pay of RM 7,000 per month. Moreover, the average salary is RM 3,000 per month with an estimated additional pay of RM 4,000 per month, that includes a cash bonus, commission, tips and profit sharing.

If you want to study Game Design in Malaysia, a quick browse on JobStreet, can show some listed game designer jobs for you to venture into:

  • Game Artist 
  • Game Designer

For more details about available courses to study Game Design in Malaysia, feel free to reach out to us on WhatsApp or message us on our social media. 

We will be happy to assist you.