Pre-requisites Prior study of Level 5 on Computer Games Design or Computer Gameplay Design and

1. DEMONSTRATE AN UNDERSTANDING OF GAMES DESIGN PRINCIPLES BY WORKING WITH IN A GAMES INDUSTRY PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT
Knowledge & Understanding

2. USE INDUSTRY PRODUCTION METHODS RESOLVE GAMES DESIGN CHALLENGES WITHIN THE CURRENT GAMES INDUSTRY ZEITGIEST
Problem Solving

3. COMMUNICATE INNOVATIVE GAMES DESIGN IDEAS AND MECHANICS WITHIN AN INDUSTRY SETTING
Communication

4. APPLY ADVANCED GAMES DESIGN THEORY AND TECHNIQUES TO SOLVE INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
Application

ASSESSMENT DETAILS
Please indicate Assessment Type e.g Essay and give % weightings where applicable
(Link Assessment to Learning Outcomes listed above)

COURSEWORK weighted at 100%

Complete a Game project making use of an industry production pipeline showing understanding of complex design documentation, production methodologies and online tracking technologies (Learning Outcomes 1-4).

In this module, students will focus on the completion of game prototype within a modern industry setting.

Students will learn the practical and theoretical techniques necessary to produce sound documentation, excellent prototypes and community-designed topics. Topics include:

Production Topics

- Production tracking software
- Production methodologies
- Online collaboration methodologies
- Indie development techniques
- Game demographics and Marketing
- Working with publishers
- Marketing and demos
- Platforms
- Game funding

Games Design Topics

- Design philosophies for indie games
- Onboarding, Core loop and Player Journey
- Player Persona (Risk Rewards, Pain Points, User Experience)
- Reward Psychology, Operant Conditioning, Montessori, Constructivism
- Lean Analytics (understanding players)
- Indie play styles, business model, monetisation, kpi, loot boxes
- Progression and development, evolving three hooks to the Hayashida method

1 x 2 hour interactive lecture per week.

Chandler, C. (2013), The Game Production Handbook, Jones and Bartlett; 3rd Revised edition edition ISBN: 1449688098

Hill-Whittall, R. (2017), The Indie Game Developer Handbook, Focal Press, ISBN: 1138428191

Bond, Jeremy. (2014), Introduction to Games Design, Prototyping and Development, Addison Wesley, ISBN: 0321933168

Nystrom, R. (2014), Game Programming Patterns, Genever Benning, ISBN: 0990582906

Unreal Engine / Unity
Autodesk Suite
Photoshop
Microsoft Office
Trello / Jira
Digital Academy

In this module, students will focus on the completion of game prototypes within a modern industry setting. Students will learn the practical and theoretical techniques necessary to produce professional documentation, excellent prototypes and community-designed topics.