Assignment 1 – Group Presentation 50% [Learning outcomes 2 & 3]

Student will meaningfully contribute to a group presentation (pitch) that discusses their experience in the develop of a video game artefact. As part of the pitch, the group will be expected to demonstrate the game they have implemented, highlight the work that each member has contributed to the group, and how they collaboratively worked together.

Assignment 2 – Development and Career Plan 50% [Learning outcomes 1 & 4]

A development and career plan that discusses their discipline-specific role within the wider games industry, alongside their strengths and opportunities for further development of skills during their degree as games developer in training. This will feed into a defined development/career plan appropriate for the student’s course/area of study and individual interests, over the remainder of their course.

Topics will indicatively include, but are not limited to:

- Research skills
- Resource management
- Project planning
- Legal, Ethical, Social, and Professional issues in the Games Industry
- Conflict Resolution
- Prioritisation
- Communication
- Video Games Evaluation and Testing
- Effective Teamwork
- Reflective models
- Career planning

1. Review the requirements and best practices of game development and have an understanding of the key tools, trends and techniques when developing pitches for games.

Programme Learning Outcome: Digital Literacy

2. Reflectively communicate on your role within a team and understanding of collaborative group work.

Programme Learning Outcome: Reflection, Communication

3. Collaborate with your team to create and deliver agame pitch that communicates the game’s concept, mechanics, and industry relevance.

Programme Learning Outcome: Critical Reasoning and Collaboration

4. Demonstrate your understanding of your discipline-specific role within a multidisciplinary team and your career aspirations within the wider games industry.

Programme Learning Outcome: Personal Development and Entrepreneurship

Blend of scheduled and independent study designed to support a coherent learning journey. Scheduled sessions will typically include lectures that introduce core concepts and workshops/tutorials that allow students to apply techniques, engage in facilitated discussions, and undertake activities focused on problem solving and peer learning. Independent study will involve research tasks, design tasks, and ongoing development of project work supported by the resources provided.

- Game Engine (e.g. Unreal)
- 3-D modelling software
- Image editing software
- Audio Editing software
- Productivity software (e.g. MS 365)
- Digital Academy Forum
- Data Projection Resource

Jelphs, K. (2016). Working in teams (Better Partnership Working). Policy Press.

Wysocki, R. K. (2019). Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme. Wiley.

Macklin, C. & Sharp, S. (2016). Games, Design and Play: A Detailed Approach to Iterative Game Design. Addison-Wesley.

Keogh, B. (2023) The Videogame Industry Does Not Exist: Why We Should Think Beyond Commercial Game Production. MIT Press. (open access)

Video games are highly interdisciplinary and require a range of specialist skills. Thus, games developers rarely work alone and most of the games that you have played will have been developed by a team of people in a variety of different creative and technical roles. In this module, you will begin your journey as a games developer in training as part of a team tasked with developing and pitching a new video game artefact. At the same time as this collaborative development, you will individually develop a deeper understanding of the specific roles and future career opportunities within the games industry and beyond.