Courses in @unity3d announced this week…

We’re just about to announce new courses in Unity 3d, organised by Digital Circle and the Image Centre in South West College. They’re beginner courses – designed to turn some designers and 3D modellers into Unity developers and also allow some programmers to get their hands dirty with the visual side of Unity.

This is the sort of thing you can develop with Unity on Mobile:

But really – it’s an amazing networking opportunity for industry, teachers and academics and new entrants to the industry. We’ll be reserving spaces in each course for individuals from each group and we intend that each group will take the opportunity to learn, make contacts and maybe even gain in other ways. We would see this as an opportunity for teachers and new entrants to gain placements within local companies. We would see this as an opportunity for industry to talent-spot. We would see this as an opportunity for new entrants to seize a niche in a global market. The only cost to this course is a cost in social capital – make the commitment, in return for a days training, to network and help your fellow course attendees.

Are games really that big of a deal? The beauty of games is that they subsume every other aspect of the digital media industry. They include 2d design and 3d modelling, animation and music, camera work and storytelling, art and special effects. With modern games engines like Unity, you can achieve amazing results without a single line of code but it also provides a fertile ground for being introduced to code.

And you have to consider that it’s not just games. It’s an engine for developing experiences, for developing e-learning tools and for creating new interactive information displays incorporating real-time data.

I hope you’ll keep an eye out on the Digital Circle web site. Courses will be announced soon in Belfast, Derry, Coleraine and Enniskillen. Places will be limited in each location and the cost, other than the social capital commitment, is free.

These courses would not be happening if not for the Arts Council and the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure in their commitments to new entrants, who may not previously have been in employment, education or training. This course is paid for using the Creative Industries Innovation Fund, supported by South West College, the University of Ulster and Digital Circle.