Students will explore the following topic areas:

Unreal Engine and the Editor

Visual Scripting and Blueprint

Fundamentals of C++ in engine

Project management techniques

Idea pitching

Portfolio development

Design/technical documentation

Iterative processes

Testing & quality assurance

Scope

Version control

User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX)

Assessment Component 1 – (Learning outcomes 1,2 and 3)

Game Development Artefact weighted at 80% consisting of:

The planning and creation of a small game, asset pack, or engine tool with a focus on the technical aspect of development.

Assessment Component 2 – (Learning outcome 4)

A Development Log weighted at 20% consisting of:

A forum development log that showcases the stages of development used to produce your proposed artefact, including a reflective critique, the use of video evidence, and version control techniques.

1x 1-hour lecture

2 x 2.5-hour lecture/tutorial sessions per week which will include demonstrations, development periods, critiques and support opportunities.

Learning will be supported by a range of video and written tutorials available online via a VLE.

1. Demonstrate games development knowledge in the creation of a portfolio piece

2. Apply technical knowledge to enhance portfolio piece though use of a games engine

3. Identify techniques and methodologies to create game related artefacts

4. Reflect upon the technical aspects of the development pipeline

Digital Academy Forum

Digital Academy Uploads

Unreal Engine

Internet access

Blackboard

Photoshop

Version Control

C++

Rose, S., 2022. Unreal Engine 5 For Beginners. Packt Publishing. ISBN: 9781800568082

Venter, H. and Ogterop, W. (2022) Unreal Engine 5 Character Creation, Animation, and Cinematics: Create Custom 3D Assets and Bring Them to Life in Unreal Engine 5 Using MetaHuman, Lumen, and Nanite. Packt Publishing. ISBN: 9781801812443

Unreal Engine 5 - Endless Runner (2022). Packt Publishing.

This module focusses on an understanding of academic principles and portfolio piece development. By begin able to include the learning from other modules is crucial in academia, this module has a focus on that. Bringing together the knowledge and skill gained in other modules over the academic year, students should be able to pitch, plan, develop, test, and publish a solo project to a level 4 portfolio quality standards. The artefact can be a small game, asset pack, or engine tool, which will be technically and suitably aligned for the course expectations of a Game Developer. It is also important to be able to communicate the development process with a potential audience, hence why the development log (DevLog) is also a requirement for this module which will need regular updates.