AIT has a vibrant learning environment both inside and outside the campus.
AIT has relocated to a purpose built campus with state-of-the-art equipment in 2010. Our campus is conveniently located close to Sydney's Central Station, but now we are in the heart of the education district between the University of Sydney and the University of Technology Sydney. This area is also known for the many media and advertising companies that have headquarters here. Broadway Shopping Centre is a two-minute stroll away, where students can enjoy the cinema, shopping and cafes.
We are proud of our friendly and multicultural environment, and our ability to make our students feel at home on our campus. By caring for the well-being of our students, we encourage students to focus on their studies and be part of the creative bubble.
Organic Motion
AIT was the first educational institution in Australia to offer courses in motion capture technology. The recently commissioned motion capture system is designed and manufactured by Organic Motion of New York, and is the first of its kind implemented in Australia.
Motion capture is an innovative real-time solution combining hardware and software for motion tracking and real-time animation. This equipment enables animators to easily transform the motion of a person into a digital signal where the animator could effortlessly control the virtual character.
The hardware comprises of sixteen camera sensors installed around the system which detects the full range of movements by the actor and replicates the realistic human movement onto a character. The resulting animated sequences are designed to meet the insatiable public who are fascinated by films such as Avatar, Toy Story 3, or Lord of the Rings. A similar motion capture technology is also used to produce some of the best selling international video games like the Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed II.
These digitised movements may be applied to a wide range of unique functions and research such as high level game interface and virtual stage performance.
Here at AIT, we lead students through the entire Motion Capture process - from initial setup through to optimisation and post-production. This empowers students to add realistic human-like behaviour to their original games and animation work which they could proudly add to their professional portfolio. Our collaboration with other motion capture pioneers around the World allows us an endless realm of research opportunities.
3DVIA Virtools
Virtools, a behaviour engine and real-time render was introduced into AIT's curriculum back in 2003 to accelerate the understanding of the elements of complex programming.
Virtools is one of the very few commercial tools that offer a complete range of features that enable users to create virtual environments with a simple click-of-a-mouse, without the need for complex coding. A user does not have to be proficient in any specific programming language to be able to give their object behaviour and reaction to human input within its environments.
Adding physics to an object such as gravity or elasticity can easily be done on Virtools. Unusual behavior can be given to objects within a virtual environment htereby, creating an interactive world of ones own imagianation. Some examples of commercial Virtools games are: Mercury Meltdown (available on Sony PSSP and Nintendo Wii); Sarkaban Game Studio's Lazy Raiders (available on xBox Live Arcade); and Facebook's first ever 3D game called Billions, Save Them All.
This powerful technology is not simply restricted to creating games. Virtools is widely used in industry as it allows individuals to create rapid prototype through the modern visual scripting. This allows businesses to harvest their capabilities for the efficient development of complex 3D visual models or simulations.
Virtools was also used to support the first ever World Expo Online experience that brought unprecedented real-time 3D interactivity and 360-degree immersive walkthrough experience to hundreds of millions of online visitors of the recent World Expo 2010 Shanghai event.
AIT remains the sole training provider of 3DVIA Virtools in Australia.
Unreal Development Kit
Epic’s Unreal Development Kit (UDK) is no stranger to game developers and publishers, as it is responsible for producing many of the award winning triple-A game titles from the past decade.
The latest version of UDK is the backbone to many best selling games such as Epic Games’ Gears of War, Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham City, and EA’s Alice: Madness Returns which were produced for a range of popular gaming platforms like the Microsoft xBox360, Sony Play Station 3, and Apple iOS.
AIT acknowledges the relevance of UDK in today’s growing digital media industry by collaborating with game developers, industry associations and some of Australia’s top universities to develop a rich and solid curriculum that explores the tools within this powerful game engine.
The AIT curriculum puts emphasis on storytelling, game theory and games aesthetics; while ensuring students learn the industry techniques and principles needed to make a successful game on UDK. Students are also introduced to UDK’s kismet scripting language to help create an interactive environment that will offer an immersive gameplay experience to the audience.
The outcome is a cinematic showreel of a next-generation game levels design that students could proudly add to their professional portfolio. Using the most current and recognised software, along with up-to-date workflow and techniques, we aim to gear up students with solid learning experience to put them at an advantage in pursuing a game design career.
www.udk.com
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