Higher education is not in a great place in South Africa at the moment.<\/p>\n
While there are thousands of people who want to pursue a career in gaming-focused fields in South Africa, finding the right course or degree can be daunting.<\/p>\n
We sat down with Wits lecturer Stephen Cloete and discussed the best route to take:<\/p>\n
Wits University is currently the only University in the country that offers degrees focused on gaming.<\/p>\n
“There are actually currently two degrees, one focused on the more technical aspects (BengSc<\/a><\/strong>)\u00a0<\/strong>and the second on the more artistic side (BA PVA<\/a><\/strong>),”\u00a0<\/strong>said Cloete.\u00a0<\/strong>“And the demand is huge.”<\/p>\n “We’ve seen a downtrend due to the recent protests, but it’s still very clear that this is something that people are interested in.”<\/p>\n To give you an idea of the numbers Cloete is talking about, in 2014\u00a0they\u00a0had 450 applications for the arts degree and 900 for the engineering.<\/p>\n Wits can only accommodate thirty places, fifteen from each discipline.<\/p>\n Cloete believes this number will only grow in the future.<\/p>\n “Gaming is a very current thing,” she said.\u00a0“Like music and movies, this generation expresses itself through game design”.<\/p>\n The demand is not purely academic either.<\/p>\n “Going 10 or so years back, there were only 4-5 indie game developers in the whole of South Africa and the majority of them were based either in Johannesburg or Cape Town.”<\/p>\n Today, that numbers increased to between 40 and 50 studios spread out across the country and there is a greater international demand for higher accreditation.<\/p>\n Why choose a degree at Wits though, specifically over a more specialised institution?<\/strong><\/p>\n “It’s the only place in South Africa that actually offers a degree <\/strong>in a gaming field,” said Cloete.\u00a0“UCT offers a course<\/strong> in game design, <\/strong>but the degree is non-specific.”<\/p>\n “Likewise colleges are also an option to look at but none of them have the weight of a degree behind them.”<\/p>\n And it’s not all just design and coding that are on offer.<\/p>\n “Game theory is a hugely expanding field and we have many ties in many other faculties including Archeology, Humanities and Psychology.”<\/p>\n “We look at the gamification of every day life and how games impact us.”<\/p>\n “This really is the best place to study if you’re at all interested in gaming in South Africa.”<\/p>\n Kaby Lake vs Skylake vs Broadwell \u2013 performance and specifications<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
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