1. Critically appraise your personal strengths and your professional areas for development by systematically integrating and evaluating feedback from industry experts, mentors, and peers to identify nuanced skill gaps and opportunities for advancement.

Analysis¿

2. Formulate and implement a strategic career development framework by synthesising advanced self-reflection, peer discourse, and industry insights to address complex professional challenges and enhance career progression.

Problem Solving

3. Employ advanced research methodologies and digital tools to critically investigate evolving industry trends, professional standards, and career pathways, ensuring an evidence-based approach to continuous skill enhancement.

Learning

4. Demonstrate a comprehensive and critically reflective professional narrative that synthesises industry perspectives, academic theories, and peer insights to articulate a clear, strategic direction for ongoing professional development.

Reflection

Assessment Component 1 - Personal Development Plan - [Learning Outcomes: 1,2,3]

You will critically appraise your personal competencies and professional trajectory by integrating feedback from industry experts, mentors, and peers. In the Personal Development Plan (PDP), you will assess your strengths, identify skill gaps, and outline areas for growth. You will formulate and implement a strategic career development framework by synthesising self-reflection, peer insights, and industry feedback. You will then create an actionable plan within the PDP to address skill gaps and enhance career progression. You will employ advanced research methodologies and digital tools to investigate evolving industry trends and career pathways critically.

In the PDP, you will use evidence-based research to make informed decisions about your professional development, incorporating industry reports and digital resources. You will construct a comprehensive and critically reflective professional narrative, synthesising industry perspectives, academic theories, and peer insights. In the PDP, you will deeply self-reflect to assess your career journey and establish strategic goals.

Assessment Component 2 – Industry Case Study - [Learning Outcomes: 1,2,4]

Through the Industry Case Study, you will examine real-world industry expectations and compare your skills and experiences to the requirements of professional roles. This analysis will assist you in aligning your development with industry standards. The case study will challenge you to assess how professionals manage career challenges, utilizing problem-solving techniques to create adaptive strategies for your professional growth. Additionally, it will offer a chance to reflect on industry practices, enabling you to place your professional development within the broader context of your field.

This module provides an opportunity for you to critically reflect on your career by assessing your current skills, career trajectory, and avenues for professional development. A significant aspect of this process is seeking feedback from senior business mentors, industry professionals, and peers, which allows you to gain insights directly from your workplace environment. By incorporating peer perspectives alongside academic insights, you will enhance your understanding of your professional standing and identify actionable goals for future growth. The outcome of this journey will be a structured reflection that helps you set a clear direction for continued development.

In this module, you will learn:
Personal skills auditing methodologies.
Reflective practitioner techniques.
Methods for creating and implementing a career development strategy.
Professional analysis frameworks.
The impact of networking on career advancement.
The role of lifelong learning in career sustainability.
Strategies for developing skills and maximising CPD within a professional setting.
Methods for objectively assessing portfolios.
Methods for identifying and overcoming career roadblocks.

The Professional Careers in Games Development module provides you with a comprehensive framework to evaluate and shape your career in the fast-paced and dynamic games industry. Through self-reflection, industry analysis, and professional development exercises, you will critically assess your strengths, weaknesses, and career goals. Additionally, you will learn from the career trajectories of established industry professionals, gaining insights that can help guide your own path in this exciting field.

Most of your time will be spent in self-managed learning. You will be expected to manage the project by using a suitable project methodology and use this to manage your time and reflect on your progress.

An important part of the learning strategy is the direct one-to-one supervision of your project by a supervisor. Contact hours would typically be 60 minutes per week.

Workshops based around writing, professional analysis, and Personal Development Planning.

Due to the industry practice focus of the course, online sources are often more applicable; they will be suggested by supervisors during study.

Bailey, S. (2024). Academic Writing: A practical guide for students. Nelson Thornes.

Barzun, J., & Graff, H. F. (2003). The Modern Researcher (6th ed.). Wadsworth Publishing.

Berry, R. (2004). The research project: How to write it, edition 5 (5th ed.). Routledge.

Marshall, L. A., & Rowland, F. (2013). A guide to learning independently (5th ed.). Pearson Education.

Cote, A.C. and Harris, B.C. (2023) ‘The cruel optimism of “good crunch”: How game industry discourses perpetuate unsustainable labor practices’, New media & society, 25(3), pp. 609–627.

Reference to the Module welcome page for study guidance.¿¿¿¿

Access to Staffordshire University library¿¿¿¿

Access to internet sources through Staffordshire University library.¿¿¿¿

Provision as appropriate of case materials by tutor and / or external organisations.¿¿¿¿

The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available to support this module.¿¿¿¿

Details will be supplied on the Module Welcome page.¿¿¿¿



Software

Games Development Software (Autodesk, Creative Suite, Blender, ZBrush, SpeedTree, Substance Suite)

Game Engine Software (Unreal Engine, Unity, etc

Image Editing Software (Photoshop, Krita, etc)

Video Editing Software (Adobe After Effects, etc)

Simulation Software (Houdini, Marvelous Designer)

Photogrammetry Software e.g. Meshroom

Suitable IDE (Visual Studio, Rider, etc).

Microsoft Office

Digital Academy Forum

Digital Academy Upload System