Recommended prerequisite for participation in the module

Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

Objectives:

This course provides students with the foundational knowledge and practices in the design and development of games such as the social and economic context of gaming and game production, the game industry, formal and dramatic elements of games, system dynamics of games, iterative game design through playtesting, completeness and balance of games, and game technologies. It is a hands-on course in which the students are expected to create actual prototypes, evaluate and iteratively redesign them.

Learning objectives

Knowledge

Students who complete the module will obtain the following qualifications:

• Discuss the structure and formal elements of games – in particular players, objectives, procedures, rules, resources, conflict, boundaries and outcome – and dramatic elements of games – in particular challenge, play, premise, character, story, world building, and the dramatic arc (understanding)
• Review the context of games, game classifications and players (understanding)
• Explain game technologies including controllers, game engines (and their components such as render engines, audio engines, physics engines, etc.), and game development tools (understanding)
• Describe the game development pipeline from idea via iterative design and development to product launch (understanding)
• Describe the game industry and game entrepreneurship including platforms for distribution, independent developers, development studios, and publishers (understanding)

Skills

Students who complete the module will obtain the following qualifications:

• Analyse and summarize (application) system dynamics of existing games
• Create, present, critique and revise original game ideas (evaluation)
• Iteratively produce (application) and evaluate key game features through playtesting of physical and/or digital prototypes
• Judge completeness and balance (evaluation) and evaluate player experience of games and/or gameprototypes with established metrics
• Produce pitch materials including game demos and design documents (application)

Competences

Students who complete the module will obtain the following qualifications:

• Plan, organize and implement a game (pre)production (application)

Type of instruction

Refer to the overview of instruction types listed in § 17. The types of instruction for this course are decided in accordance with the current Joint Programme Regulations and directions are decided and given by the Study Board for Media Technology.

Exam

Prerequisite for enrollment for the exam

• Handing in of written assignments or the like
• Completion of certain – or all – study activities

Exams