Hundreds of school children from all around the state descended on Ballarat’s Mining Exchange on Friday for the 11th annual games expo which gives youngsters an opportunity to hear from the leaders in the field of gaming.

The Get into Games (GIG) initiative seeks to promote Information Technology (IT) and associated creative industry career paths to both secondary and higher education students by highlighting the opportunities that exist in the gaming industry.

And while there was plenty of opportunity for the youngsters to play some of the latest games and experience virtual reality, the day also showcased notable national and local games developers by including interactive discussions on design, art, programming, and production management as well as a panel discussion with experts about the role Ballarat can play in Australia’s growing development industry.

Federation TAFE student Cameron Strachan said from playing games growing up, he was now keen to develop his 3D modelling.

“It’s basically just started from me playing games, turning into making games and all the aspects of it, and the 3D modelling was just something I became really attracted to,” he said. 

“3D modelling can go into working in games, movies, advertisement, even doing some basic design and engineering, 3D printing, and anything related to media.”