Digital Media: Animation and Game Design is the field of study and industry that focuses on creating animated content and designing video games using digital tools and technologies. This discipline combines creative skills, storytelling, and technical knowledge to produce engaging visual experiences for various platforms, including films, television, websites, mobile devices, and gaming consoles.
Students who gain the most from this course are those who are willing to experiment and work outside their comfort zones to create highly conceptual and imaginative works.
What you will learn:
A student successfully completing this strand will be able to:
- Locate, alter and create images using digital image editing software
- Use a range of digital devices and tools to gather content for collaborative design outcomes
- Use filmmaking techniques to combine imagery with sound for creative outputs
- Employ drawing techniques to create Toi Māori content for motion graphics
- Present game concepts and narratives for feedback to resolve a gaming solution
- Plan and create assets and characters for game design
- Manage a game development pipeline
- Use software applications to create a prototype 2D game outcome
More detail about this qualification
- Start dates:
- Tuesday 9 February, 2027
- Thursday 11 February, 2027
- Weekly commitment:
- Te Awakairangi (Petone) Campus: 9am-2:30pm (inc. 30min lunch), Monday/Tuesday
- Te Awakairangi (Petone) Campus: 9am-2:30pm (inc. 30min lunch), Thursday/Friday
- Equipment needed: Students must wear closed-in shoes.
- Travel: This is provided free, subject to students meeting MoE requirements
- Application: Students must be enrolled in a secondary school in the Wellington region and be enrolled in a WTA course by their secondary school.
- Interview: Students may be requested to attend an interview with a family member or school representative.
- Qualification: NCEA Level 2 with credit towards Vocational Pathway award.
- Credits: On successful completion of this course, students will have gained 31 credits – 21 Level 2 and 10 Level 3 credits.
- Assessment: Assessment is competency-based against unit standard outcomes and related evidence requirements. Assessments will follow the processes required by NZQA and relevant industry requirements.
Assessment criteria
Further pathways
- New Zealand Certificate in Creativity (Level 4)
- New Zealand Diploma in Screen Production (Film) (Level 5)
- Bachelor of Creativity (Digital Media & Design) and (Animation) (Level 7)
- New Zealand Certificate in Information Technology Essentials (Level 4)
- New Zealand Diploma in Information Systems (Level 5)
- New Zealand Diploma in Information Technology Technical Support (Level 5)
- Bachelor of Information Technology (Level 7)
Higher level study in:
- Graphic Design
- Animation
- Game Design
- Screen Design
- Filmmaking
- Information Technologies.
Last updated: 8/9/2026
