Make money while playing .

LOVE VIDEOGAMES? YOU CAN TURN YOUR PASSION INTO PROFIT!

OKAY, we all know videogames are tons of fun, but did you know you can make money from your hobby? Avid gamers can now work as players, developers, designers and writers or in marketing, advertising and branding.

“Gaming has come into its own as a respectable and viable career option and is no longer only a pie-in-the-sky choice for nerds hoping to make a living from their passion,” says Nola Payne of The Independent Institute of Education (IIE).

“South Africa already has a thriving and growing game development and design industry and it’s set to explode as leading institutions start offering gaming-related degrees.”

Globally the gaming industry now makes more money than the movie business. There are more than 40 independent game studios in South Africa with an annual turnover of R53 million, according to Nicholas Hall of Make Games South Africa.

Local career opportunities include software development, graphic and multimedia design as well as plot and map design and storytelling to create game plans.

As the industry continues to grow, so will the demand for qualified gaming professionals. So far only a handful of institutions have respond- ed to this demand: the University of Cape Town offers an elective game development major in its computer science degree course, Wits University offers a game design degree, and Vega School of Brand Leadership offers a degree in game design and development.

But as demand grows, so will the number of courses offered.