Videogame Production

Objectives

In this course, we will explore the fundamentals of game production. Digital games are some of the most complex digitals artifacts that can be created, as they need a wide range of specialists (designers, artists, programmers, etc) and require careful planning. Taking a game from an idea, into an actual product involves following a series of phases to ideate and conceive the basis of a game, check its viability, and work through a series of milestones that take the idea closer to the final product in each step.

This module is designed in order to provide an overview of the main phases, stages and tasks involved in the production of a digital game. Students will learn about different techniques used to ideate and conceive digital games, to foresee and plan the amount of work needed for particular milestones, and will learn about the key management and organizational decisions related to the production of a digital game. The module will involve both looking at cases of existing digital games, as well as working throughout the module on the production plan of a hypothetical game conceived by the students themselves.

The course requires regular reading, writing and presentation exercises.

Learning outcomes

• Learns to plan and manage time during the development of a video game.
• Knows the basic tools of development and management.
• Knows how to market the product from a professional point of view.
• Testing and releasing of a product.

Competencies

General skills

• Desire to take part in lifelong learning, innovate, create value and acquire new knowledge.

Specific skills

• Conceptualise, design, implement and assess interfaces and interaction schemes, putting into practice standard models of assessment.
• Know about theory, requirements and basic aspects for conceptual design of games.

Basic skills

• Students can apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and have competencies typically demonstrated through drafting and defending arguments and solving problems in their field of study.
• Students have developed the learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of independent learning.

Core skills

• Display professional skills in complex multidisciplinary contexts, working in networked teams, whether face-to-face or online, through use of information and communication technology.
• Use oral, written and audiovisual forms of communication, in one's own language and in foreign languages, with a high standard of use, form and content.

Content

• Game design and creativity fundamentals
• Game production phases
• Proofs of concepts and prototypes
• Production methodologies
• Game monetization models
• Playtesting and user research
• Business basics
• Case analysis of released video games and their production process

Evaluation

• Attendance and participation (individual): 10%
• Tasks, projects and presentations (individual): 70%
• Video game jam project (individual and team-based): 20%

The students that do not pass the course will have the opportunity of recovering the 40% of the final mark by means of a second chance submission, corresponding to some of the tasks seen in the module.

Methodology

The course is organised in both seminar lectures and workshop sessions.

Seminar lectures cover the main theoretical topics related with the course, and students are expected to participate actively during the lesson by resolving doubts, carrying out exercises, sharing projects, etc.

In workshop sessions, some of the topics covered in the theoretical lectures will be put in practice in individual and team-based activities.

As part of the module tasks, the students will be asked to ideate a digital game and will need to consider how some of the key stages in the game production cycle would apply to their game. This will involve reading, writing and presenting some of their results to their classmates.

Bibliography

Further reading

Teachers will provide complementary bibliography and compulsory reading throughout the course via the Virtual Campus.