To ensure a strong foundation for this module, students will engage in a series of lectures and workshops covering essential topics that are critical for successful collaboration in group-based projects. These sessions may include but are not limited to:

Advanced Collaborative Group Dynamics: Exploring sophisticated techniques for team collaboration, including leadership roles, conflict resolution, and optimizing group performance in professional settings.

Strategic Communication for Industry Projects: Enhancing communication strategies to facilitate effective collaboration and engagement with industry partners, including the use of professional feedback loops.

Advanced Project Management Tools and Methodologies: A deep dive into advanced project management frameworks, such as Agile, Scrum, or Kanban, with a focus on adapting these methodologies to real-world industry projects.

Version Control and Source Management in Professional Contexts: Mastering the use of advanced version control systems (e.g., Git) to manage complex project files, maintain version integrity, and ensure seamless collaboration among team members.

Development Review and Iterative Improvement Processes: Training on conducting and participating in development reviews, including code reviews, design critiques, and iterative feedback processes, with an emphasis on continuous improvement and quality assurance.

Advanced Quality Assurance Techniques: Emphasizing rigorous testing methodologies and quality assurance practices to ensure the final product meets or exceeds industry standards.

Assessment 1 – Industry-Driven Vertical Slice Project (shared group grade) – Learning Outcomes 1,3,4 – Weighting 60% of the module

You will be working as a member of a team contributing to a live brief set by industry that is appropriate to your qualification pathway.

Student groups may be composed of individuals from various disciplines. These interdisciplinary teams will collaborate to develop a comprehensive project solution, addressing the multifaceted challenges presented by the live brief. At Level 5, students will be given a larger amount of creative freedom to explore and manage multiple elements of the live brief. Therefore, the complexity of the brief will demand a higher level of critical thinking, problem-solving, and synthesis of advanced techniques.

You will be expected to:

Implement collaborative and project management strategies in order to structure and execute the project effectively.

Engage actively with partners and project team members, utilizing professional communication and feedback to refine the project.

Produce high-quality assets and documentation that reflect industry standards and the project’s objectives.

Critically evaluate team dynamics and processes throughout the project, making adjustments and improvements as needed.

Industry will sign off the group project live brief. Industry will also give feedback on student work as part of this assessment component. It is expected that the college partner will establish an industry link to make this possible.

Assessment 2 – Individual Portfolio of Contribution – Learning Outcomes 2,3 – Weighting 40% of the module

For this assessment component you need to produce an individual portfolio. This should be produced to expected industry standards and include:

1.An introduction to you as an industry-ready practitioner
2. An iterative breakdown of documentation, showreels, and relevant artifacts that showcase your individual contributions to the industry project.
3. A critical analysis reflection of your professional practice throughout the project, evaluating the skills and techniques you employed during the project, with a focus on industry perspectives, and your continuous development based on your insights gained from the project and feedback received.

This module should include introductory lectures as well as development days per week onsite for group working.

Learning will be supported by a range of collaboration and project management tools where you will be expected to engage.

1. Implement collaborative strategies within a project team to meet the requirements of a live brief set by industry.

Critical Reasoning & Collaboration

2. Evaluate and enhance your personal and professional skills through critical reflection, focusing on contributions to the team and project outcomes.

Reflection

3. Analyse and critically assess a range of advanced techniques, selecting and adapting the most effective approaches to address complex problems within a live industry brief.

Application & Problem Solving

4. Utilise sophisticated communication strategies within a team to drive successful project completion.

Communication

Game Engine (Unreal Engine or equivalent)
Word Processing Packages
3D Modelling and Animation Packages
Version Control (GitHub or equivalent)
Digital Academy Forum (or equivalent)

Ramos, B.B. and Pimentel, K. (2023) Unreal Engine 5 shaders and effects cookbook¿: over 50 recipes to help you create materials and utilize advanced shading techniques. 2nd ed. Birmingham: Packt Publishing, Limited.

Tan, T.W. (2024) Game Development with Unreal Engine 5 Volume 1: Design Phase. 1st edn. Berkeley, CA: Apress L. P. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9824-4.

Romero, M., Sewell, B. and Cataldi, L. (2022) Blueprints Visual Scripting for Unreal Engine 5: Unleash the True Power of Blueprints to Create Impressive Games and Applications in UE5. 3rd edn. Birmingham: Packt Publishing, Limited.

Portny, S.E. and Portny, J.L. (2022) Project management. 6th Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Shi, Q. and Chen, J. (2006) The Human Side of Project Management: Leadership Skills. 1st edition. Project Management Institute.

Adams, E. & Dormans, J. 2012, Game mechanics: advanced game design, First edn, New Riders, Berkeley, Calif. ISBN 0321820274

Fullerton, T. 2014;2008;, Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games, 3rd eds, CRC Press, Boca Raton ISBN 1482217163

Mitchell, B.L. & Books24x7, I. 2012, Game design essentials, 1. Aufl.;1; edn, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Indianapolis, IN. ISBN 1118159276

You will be working in a team on implementing a live brief that has been set by industry. You will work in a development studio scenario in a group comprised of mixed disciplines. You will work together to create the project to deliver the objectives of a live brief that has been set by industry.