Abstract
Industry simulation is an essential part of an undergraduate games student’s education. It has been outlined by The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) as essential to developing graduate skills for the workplace. This paper highlights the importance of simulating industry practices within a games degree program, bringing attention to the need for cross-course collaboration and to provide a dynamic environment that reflects industry practice. This paper presents a case-study highlighting methods for maintaining student engagement and enhancing project management skills, as well as showcasing techniques for managing student expectations and preconceptions of their individual responsibilities. The study focused on providing small-scale projects, where students worked in cross-course multidisciplinary teams of between eight and twelve students. Academic staff have acted as executive producers for each student team, reinforcing the professional context of the project. The module has used a live-brief provided by a games industry professional or an external competition, which allowed for creative interpretation by students and challenging them from a game design perspective. The conclusion of this study shows that including cross-course collaboration between students and providing a structure mirroring industry practices has been essential in preparing students for a games industry career.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, C. (1964). Notes on the synthesis of form. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., & Bloom, B. S. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Boston: Pearson Education Group.
British Library. (2018). Off the map: Video-game and interactive fiction design competition. Retrieved August, 2019, from https://www.bl.uk/projects/off-the-map.
Cagle, K. (2019). Beyond agile: The studio model. Retrieved August 28, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/08/28/agile-and-the-studio-model/.
CIPD. (2017). The graduate employment gap: Expectations versus reality. Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/the-graduate-employment-gap_2017-expectations-versus-reality_tcm18-29592.pdf.
Deakin, M. (2018). Can the games industry be supported by UK-educated talent after Brexit? Interview with Maria Deakin. Interviewed by Marie Dealessandri for MCV.com. Retrieved August 8, 2019, from https://www.mcvuk.com/can-the-games-industry-be-supported-by-uk-educated-talent-after-brexit/.
Denton, H. G. (1997). Multidisciplinary team-based project work: Planning factors. Design Studies,18(2), 155–170.
Dring, C. (2019a). Education summit highlights divisions between UK universities and studios. Retrieved August 14, 2019, from https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-04-17-summit-highlights-divisions-between-uk-universities-and-studios.
Dring, C. (2019b). Eight ways the UK games industry can work better with education. Retrieved August 14, 2019, from https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-04-18-eight-ways-the-uk-games-industry-can-work-better-with-education.
Futter, M. (2017). The GameDev business handbook. London: Bithell.
Game Designing. (2019). How to create a game design portfolio. Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://www.gamedesigning.org/career/game-design-portfolio/.
Gómez Puente, S., van Eijck, M., & Jochems, W. (2012). A sampled literature review of design-based learning approaches: A search for key characteristics. International Journal of Technology and Design Education,23(3), 717–732.
Goodall, I. (2018). Can the games industry be supported by UK-educated talent after Brexit? Interview with Ian Goodall. Interviewed by Marie Dealessandri for MCV.com. Retrieved August 8, 2019, from https://www.mcvuk.com/can-the-games-industry-be-supported-by-uk-educated-talent-after-brexit/.
Harvey, A. (2019). Becoming gamesworkers: Diversity, higher education, and the future of the game industry. Television and New Media,20(8), 756–766.
Knight, P. T., & Yorke, M. (2004). Learning, curriculum and employability in higher education. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Oakley, B., Felder, R. M., Brent, R., & Elhaji, I. (2004). Turning student groups into effective teams. Journal of Student Centered Learning,2(1), 9–34.
Robson, J., & Tavinor, G. (2018). The aesthetics of videogames (2nd ed.). Londond: Routledge.
Salen, K., & Zimmerman, T. E. (2004). Rules of play: Games design fundamentals. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Singh, B., & Maren, E. (2019). Creative assembly: From character to animation. [EGX Careers Bar 2019], 17 October.
Stewart, K. (2014). How to get into the games industry—an insiders’ guide. Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/20/how-to-get-into-the-games-industry-an-insiders-guide.
Totten, C. W. (2017). Level design: Processes and experiences. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
UCAS. (2019). Games undergraduate course search results. Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://digital.ucas.com/search/results?SearchText=games&filters=Destination_Undergraduate.
UKIE. (2017). State of play. Retrieved May 2, 2018, from https://ukie.org.uk/sites/default/files/cms/docs/Ukie%20State%20of%20Play%20-%20March%202017_0.pdf.
UKIE. (n.d.). Game industry in numbers. Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://ukie.org.uk/research#Education.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Hurford, R., LaCombe, J. & Martin, A. The Mirror’s Edge: Creating a Dynamic Games Course That Reflects Industry Practices and Manages Student Expectations. Comput Game J 9, 29–44 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40869-020-00093-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40869-020-00093-6