1. DEMONSTRATE A COHERENT GRASP OF PRACTICAL AND THEORETICAL ASPECTS IN RELATION TO GAMES COMMUNITIES.
Knowledge and understanding

2. FIND, EXAMINE AND EXPLORE INFORMATION IN RELATION TO GAMES COMMUNITIES.
Enquiry

3. UNDERSTAND HOW TO EVALUATE AND IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF GAMING COMMUNITIES. Analysis

4.DEMONSTRATE ACCURATE USE OF APPROPRIATE SKILLS, TECHNIQUES, IN CREATING A COMPREHENSIVE DASHBOARD OF DATA FOR DEVELOPERS
Application

5 REFLECT CRITICALLY, ACCURATELY, CONSTRUCTIVELY AND PRODUCTIVELY ON GAME DEVELOPERS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
Reflection

Case study on a developer and its community LO 1,3 and 5 - 2000 words

Dashboard of player metrics and a narrative analytical report LO 2, 3 and 4 - 1000 words

Introductory module to managing a gaming community for a developer from the perspective of the Developer and the Players in the Community.

Understanding the Developer
• How Developers work and the Production Cycle
• Analysis of the Game Product Lifecycle
• How to engage the Developers with community in feedback and which feedback to engage in.
• How to bridge Community Management and Customer Support for a better community experience
• How to keep community momentum when working on just one title over a longer period

Understanding the Players in the Community

• Understanding how players play and why
• The use of modding in community content creation
• Fan sites and there uses
• How to you get fans to follow the developer as well as the game
• Developing Personas of players
• Creating player databases in SQL and Excel

Metrics for Developers
• Basic Metrics
• Monetisation Metrics
• In-Games Metrics
Reporting
• Creating dashboards with tools such as Power BI/GameAnalyics
• Developing a narrative with analytical reports

24 x 3hr interactive sessions to introduce, outline and examine community management for developers. These sessions will be a combination of guest lectures, interactive discussions and IT sessions to develop skills in dashboard creation

• GameSutra: ‘Online Community Management’ - www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3603/online_community_management_.php?print=1
• Game Industry Career Guide - https://www.gameindustrycareerguide.com/how-to-become-a-video- game-community-manager/
• Corneliussen, Hilde G., Rettberg, Jill Walker, Digital Culture, Play and Identity,: A World of Warcraft Reader (London: The MIT Press, 2008)
• Foulston, Marie, Volsing, Kristian, Videogames, Design / Display / Disrupt (London: V&A, 2018)
• The History of Gaming: An Evolving Community – Techcrunch
• MCV - www.MCV.com
• Gamesindustry.biz - gamesindustry.biz/

University library: 24/7 access, for books, journals (PR Week and www.prweek.com a recommended window to the industry) and electronic resources including access to www.cipr.co.uk the industry-standard and professional portal for PR practitioners.

Blackboard: 24/7 access online, for course information, notes, links to publications and updates.

The Media Centre: Editing suites and studios and free loans of all equipment including audio kit, video and stills cameras.

Social analytics software.

Mac computers / use of IT Labs.

This module introduces students to managing a gaming community for a developer, from the perspective of the developer and the players in the community. Areas explored include how developers work, the production life-cycle, how to engage developers with community feedback, and how to bridge the gap between community management and customer support.