Here is a guide to the topics that will be covered in this module:

Prototyping Techniques.

Game Balance Methodologies.

Principles of Game Feel.

Advanced Game Design Approaches.

User Experience Design.

Considerations for Accessibility.

Assessment Component 1 - (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, and 4)

Design & Production of Portfolio-Ready Gameplay Experiences 100% consisting of:

Accompanied with the skills you’ve accumulated over your university experience; you will improve your understanding of designing and producing gameplay experiences in a rapidly iterating environment. Development for this will be journalised over a series of weeks on the Digital Academy Forum. This includes planning documentation, practical development, testing, polish, and regular personal reflection on the production process.

2 x 3-hour lecture / workshop mixes per week.

1. Identify development obstacles by completing games design & development research to determine prompt resolutions that would function within a professional environment.

2. Implement game concepts through an industry pipeline that applies the methods and techniques learned to take an initial concept through to a polished artefact.

3. Analyse game production strategies in an industry setting to help maximise production & development milestones.

4. Reflect on the various strategies inherent during game production by exercising time management, applied initiative, personal responsibility and transferable skills necessary for employment within the games industry.

Capture Editing Software

Digital Academy Forum

Microsoft Office

Unity

Unreal Engine

Gazaway, D., 2021. Introduction to Game Systems Design. Pearson.

Schreiber, I. & Romero, B., 2021. Game Balance. CRC Press.

Zubek, R., 2020. Elements of Game Design. The MIT Press

Engelstein, G., 2019. Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms. Routledge.

Fullerton, T., 2019. Game Design Workshop. CRC Press, 4th ed.

Schell, J., 2019. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. CRC Press, 3rd Ed.

Kramarzewski, A. & De Nucci, E., 2018. Practical Game Design. Packt.

Sellers, M., 2017. Advanced Game Design: A Systems Approach. Addison-Wesley Professional.

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

Norman, D., 2013. The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, 2nd Ed.

Swink, S., 2008. Game Feel: A Game Designer’s Guide to Virtual Sensation. Routledge.

It’s time to get ready for the workplace, and for that you’re going to need a portfolio of projects that showcase your skills. This module will provide you with opportunities to bolster that portfolio by creating highly polished short playable gameplay experiences. The development platform will be yours to decide, whether your skills reside within Unreal, Unity, or even on Tabletop, you will perform development cycles that are supplemented with agnostic game design theory that can be applied to any player experience.