Media Design School

Media Design School is a private tertiary institution that provides specialist industry training in 3D animation and visual effects,[1] game art,[2] game programming,[3] graphic and motion design,[4] digital media artificial intelligence,[5] and creative advertising.[6] It is currently the most awarded private tertiary provider in New Zealand for digital and creative technology qualifications.[7] In 2020, the school was also ranked as New Zealand's #1 Animation School by Animation Career Review[8] and among the top three creative media and entertainment schools in the Southern Hemisphere by The Rookies.[9]

The school is located in central Auckland, New Zealand and was established in 1998. Its qualifications are approved by New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). It offers courses from Level 6 and 7 diplomas through to Level 8 and 9 postgraduate certificates and a Masters programme.[10]

Game development

Media Design School is the only tertiary institute in New Zealand where students can develop for PlayStation platforms with console development kits, due to an exclusive partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.[11] Graduates have gone on to work at a variety of game development studios,[12] such as PikPok, Bohemia Interactive, Rainbite, Grinding Gear Games, Gameloft, EA Digital Illusions CE, RocketWerkz and CerebralFix. Ninja Kiwi, who developed the popular Bloons Tower Defense game, was also founded by a graduate of the game development course.

The joint game development department also runs an annual national initiative called Girls in Games, focused on providing experience in programming and game art for high-school aged female students based in the North Island.[13]

In 2015, Media Design School Studios was established as the first games focused accelerator programme in a New Zealand tertiary institution.[14] This programme has resulted in commercial releases such as Split (Itsfine Games),[15] Dolly (MA Studios)[16] and Tons of Guns (Voidworks)[17] on Valve's Steam platform.

Animation and visual effects

Student short films and productions have received major international accolades, with titles such as Accidents, Blunders and Calamities being awarded Best Animated Film at San Diego Comic-Con's independent film festival in 2016.[18]

Graduates from the program have been employed by Weta Digital to work on blockbuster projects such as Avatar and The Lord of the Rings,[19] and other animation studios such as Pukeko Pictures and Oktober.

Notable productions include:

  • Accidents, Blunders and Calamities (2015)[20] – San Diego Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival Best Animated Film 2016, Show Me Shorts People's Choice & Best Editor 2015[21]
  • Escargore (2015)[22] – SIGGRAPH Asia Official Selection 2015, Idaho Horror Film Festival Best Animated Film 2015, Columbus International Film & Video Festival Official Selection 2015, Animago Awards Best Character 2015[23]
  • Shelved (2012)[24]
  • Funeral Home Pinatas (2012)[25]
  • Dr Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game (2011)
  • Rotting Hill (2011)[26] starring Anna Hutchison
  • Das Tub (2011)[27]
  • First Contact (2010)[28]
  • Time for Change (2010)[29]

Other departments

The AdSchool at Media Design School was named fourth best creative school of the decade by YoungGuns Awards, which recognises the world's hottest creative talent under the age of thirty.[30]

Student games

Graduate Diploma of Game Development:

  • Discord[31]
  • Sklum Lord[31]
  • Dead Steel[31] – IGF China 2010, Excellent Student Award,[32] IGF 2011 Student Competition Entrant,[33]
  • No More Gentlemen [34] – IGF 2011 Student Competition Entrant [35]
  • Guardians of Eldvery [34] – IGF 2011 Student Competition Entrant [36]
  • Nightfall[37][38]
  • Roadblock[39]
  • Affliction – IGF Student Showcase, 2008 [40]
  • Shear Factor – Crowbar Awards 2007, Bronze Medal Winner [41]
  • Goliath[42] – Crowbar Awards 2006 Silver Medal Winner, IGF Student Showcase Winner 2006 [43]

Diploma of Interactive Gaming:

  • Cygni
  • Total Cube Domination
  • Interstellar Excavation
  • The Uprising[44]
  • Harvest[45]
  • Battleballs[45]
  • Loop Troops[46] – Bronze Medal Winner, Crowbar Awards, 2009[47]
  • Oddballs – Silver Medal Winner, Crowbar Awards, 2008 [48]
  • Happy Traps – IGF Student Showcase, 2008.[49][50]
  • Rash

References
  1. "3D Animation & VFX | Media Design School New Zealand | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. "Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art) | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  3. "Bachelor of Software Engineering (Game Development) | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  4. "Bachelor of Media Design | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  5. https://www.mediadesignschool.com/courses/undergraduate-studies/bachelor-software-engineering-artificial-intelligence
  6. "Creative Advertising | Media Design School New Zealand | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  7. "MDS ranked world's 4th best VFX/Animation school". screenz.co.nz. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  8. https://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-10-animation-schools-australia-new-zealand-2020-college-rankings Animation Career Review
  9. https://discover.therookies.co/2020/10/07/school-rankings-2020-announced-today/
  10. "Current Courses | Media Design School New Zealand | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  11. Archived April 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Alumni | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  13. "Girls in Games 2016 | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  14. "Media Design School Studios | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  15. "Split on Steam". store.steampowered.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  16. "Dolly on Steam Greenlight". steamcommunity.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  17. "Tons of Guns on Steam Greenlight". steamcommunity.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  18. "iwi film Accidents, Blunders and Calamities wins award at Comi-Con". stuff.co.nz. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  19. "Bachelor of Art and Design | Media Design School New Zealand". mediadesignschool.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  20. "Accidents, Blunders and Calamities | Vimeo". vimeo.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  21. "Previous Winners | ShowMeShorts". showmeshorts.co.nz. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  22. "Escargore | Vimeo". vimeo.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  23. "Escargore: A snail horror comedy". scoop.co.nz. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  24. "Shelved on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  25. "Funeral Home Piñatas on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  26. "Rotting Hill on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  27. "Das Tub on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  28. "First Contact on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  29. "Time For Change on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  30. "Media Design School named in the Top 5 Creative Schools in the World | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  31. "Play Our Games | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  32. "Game Developers Conference China | November 12–14, 2011 | Shanghai Exhibition Center | Shanghai, China". Gdcchina.com. 12 November 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  33. "The 14th Annual Independent Games Festival – Dead_Steel". Igf.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  34. "Play Our Games | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  35. "The 14th Annual Independent Games Festival – No_More_Gentlemen". Igf.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  36. "The 14th Annual Independent Games Festival – Guardians_of_Eldvery". Igf.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  37. "Nightfall – Production Blog". Gdfeb08.blogspot.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  38. Resumes by Name (3 July 2009). "Media Design students launch Nightfall game | The Big Idea | Te Aria Nui". The Big Idea. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  39. Archived June 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  40. "The 14th Annual Independent Games Festival". Igf.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  41. "The Crowbar Awards 2006 : Advertising" (PDF). 4as.org.sg. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  42. "Goliath – What The Apocalypse Didn't Kill, Goliath Will". Goliathgame.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  43. "The 16th Annual Independent Games Festival". Igf.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  44. "Game programming students to present The Uprising | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  45. "Game coders are blogging | Media Design School New Zealand". Mediadesignschool.com. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  46. "IGAPR08". Igapr08.blogspot.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  47. "The Crowbar Awards 2009 : Best of Show" (PDF). 4as.org.sg. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  48. "Oddballs". GameCareerGuide.com. 23 April 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  49. "The 14th Annual Independent Games Festival". Igf.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  50. "Student Postmortem: Happy Traps". GameCareerGuide.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
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