LO1. Investigate where and how to research nascent forms of media that are not yet established in esports canon.
LO2. Critically evaluate new, emerging forms of emerging media and identify key trends.
LO3. Appraise complex obstacles facing the development and implementation of new media within Esports and communicate potential solutions to a range of audiences.
LO4. Situate contemporary media techniques/concepts considering wider industries, commercial opportunities, and their influences on stakeholders.

In this module, students will explore the evolving techniques being implemented within their area of specialism or interest across a rapidly developing esports industry. They will be given the opportunity to bring together extant new techniques and technologies, alongside student-led inquiry to explore and develop new experimental approaches to esports media and how they will respond to newly produced techniques. The module will cover all of the following areas:
- Augmented Reality
- Virtual Reality
- Virtual Production
- Content Creation
- Live Production
- Production Management
- Platforms & Distribution
- User Experience
- Experimental Production
- Esports Venues

The decision makers in Esports are always looking for the ‘next big thing’ to captivate their audiences, bring a new technique to their team or revolutionise their workflow. Finding it before your competitors will give you a big edge in the battle for growth in a well-populated space and help you stand out amongst the crowd. In this forward focussed module, you will analyse esports and adjacent industries to identify disruptive and emergent techniques, technologies, ideas and concepts that could be the key to success and how to appropriately respond to those found by competitors. Students will judge how effective they are, discuss how they could produce their own content featuring one of these concepts, or even propose some entirely new ideas to drive innovation in the esports industry forward.

Students will be expected to engage in a variety of learning strategies, including but not limited to:
- Tutor led formal presentations
- Workshops and group-based tutorials
- Discussion/debate centred learning
- Participation in group activities, including presentations and discussion panels
- Directed reading
- Self-directed/independent research
- Technology supported activities (e.g., use of VR facilities and Esports Hub)
- Self-lead production meetings & rehearsals
- Technology supported activities (e.g., use of VR facilities and Esports Hub)

- Armstrong, p. (2017) disruptive technologies: understand, evaluate, respond.London: kogan page. Christensen, c. (2016) the innovator's dilemma (management of innovation and change). Cambridge, MA: harvard business review press.
- Block, F., Hodge, V., Hobson, S., Sephton, N., Devlin, S., Ursu, M., Drachen, A., Cowling, P., 2018. Narrative bytes: data-driven content production in esports. ACM international conference on interactive experiences for TV and online video. (29-41)
- Bower, J.L. and Christensen, C.M., 1995. Disruptive technologies: catching the wave.
- Drushel, b. & German, k. (2011) the ethics of emerging media: information, social norms and new media technology. New york: continuum international publishing group.
- Jenny, S.E., Keiper, M.C., Taylor, B.J., Williams, D.P., Gawrysiak, J., Manning, R.D. And tutka, P.M., 2018. Esports venues: A new sport business opportunity. Journal of applied sport management, 10(1), p.8.
- Miah, A., Fenton, A. And chadwick, S., 2020. Virtual reality and sports: the rise of mixed, augmented, immersive, and esports experiences. In 21st century sports (pp. 249-262). Springer, cham.
- Pavlik, J.V. Ed., 2015. Digital technology and the future of broadcasting: global perspectives. Routledge.
- Peddle, j. (2017) augmented reality: where we will all live. Berlin: springer.
- Satell, g. (2017) mapping innovation: A playbook for navigating a disruptive age. New york: mcgraw-hill education.
- Schwab, k. (2015) the fourth industrial revolution. London: portfolio penguin.
- Steinecke, f. (2016) being really virtual: immersive natives and the future of virtual reality. Berlin: springer.
- Walsh, S.T., Kirchhoff, B.A. and Newbert, S., 2002. Differentiating market strategies for disruptive technologies. IEEE Transactions on engineering management, 49(4), pp.341-351.

VLE Learning support material to be provided for independent/self-directed learning
Module Handbooks
Open Textbook Library
Library
Esports Hub
Henrion Media Stores
Radio Rooms
VR Rooms
Specialised Teaching Labs
Media Stores

Formative 500-word feasibility discussion of a new or emerging media technique or technology for Assessment 1. Students will submit a short proposal suggesting an emerging technique that innovates in the esports sector.

Assessment 1: LO3, LO2

Assessment 1 - Presentation (Group)

“The students will present a new or emerging media technique or technique to a panel discussing the feasibility of the development and implementation of the idea. Students will be required to answers any questions from the panel and defend their reasoning.”

LO2, LO3

Assessment 2: LO1, LO4

Students will create a critical analysis on emerging techniques with respect to emerging commercial opportunities.

Appraise existing media technology, delivery or concepts that exists in the current digital media landscape and provide a proposal of how value could be added to an element of esports media either utilising new ideas or building upon an existing concept.