Module details for Professional Project

Description

For this module, students will be required to work together on an interactive media project as part of a multidisciplinary team. Individual students will be expected to contribute to their team by taking on a professional role suited to their area of study. As part of the module, all students will be expected to: communicate with clients and relevant stakeholders; participate in pitching and presentations; research and test technical pipelines; create project documentation and planning materials; and contribute to the iterative design and development of a final interactive prototype.

Aims

The aim of this module is to provide the student with the ability to operate professionally as a subject specialist within a multidisciplinary development team, contributing to planning, presenting, prototyping, and production.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module the student should be able to:

1.  Contribute to the development, testing, enhancement, and completion of a defined interactive media project

2.  Demonstrate the ability to fulfil and appraise their own defined professional role within a team, evaluating their contribution in relation to expectations of the comparable role in industry

3.  Demonstrate teamwork, communication, and professionalism through collaboration on- and delivery of- a team project

Indicative Content

1 Team Organisation and Management

Attend and participate in team meetings, keep meeting minutes, and assign roles and responsibilities; Identify and overcome team problems, understand conflicts and approaches to conflict resolution, and engage with team building.

2 Communication and Professionalism

Demonstrate the ability to communicate within the team, with tutors, with clients/mentors, and with other stakeholders in a professional and respectful manner.

3 Development Methodologies

Understand and apply appropriate development methodologies framed by the requirements of a project and balance of a team, e.g. agile, scrum, lean, spiral, feature-driven, waterfall/traditional.

4 Research and Concept Development

Research similar products and competitors; Research and interpret the product marketplace, considering platform, user profiles, costs, regional differences etc; Conduct visual and audio research; Iteratively develop design concepts in response to a given brief.

5 Technologies and Pipelines

Research software and hardware technologies; Develop a technical plan for game development; Research, develop, test and document production pipelines.

6 Style and Branding

Develop a brand for the team and the project; Research, develop, document, and communicate a defined visual and audio style; Produce marketing and promotional materials.

7 Pitching and Presentation

Develop and deliver a project pitch in response to a supplied creative brief, and deliver presentations to clients, tutors, and other stakeholders; Respond to client and tutor feedback, revising aspects of the project design.

8 Prototype Development, Testing, and Iteration

Use appropriate software, hardware, game engines, and other tools to deliver a working digital prototype; Engage with regular user testing to inform design iteration, demonstrating an appreciation of user experience.

9 Release Management

Manage the software development process using source control, defect tracking, and build processes.

10 Project Delivery

Consider the methods for delivering products to the market, including market cycles, digital distribution, and the publisher-developer relationship; Deliver a complete prototype with accompanying press kit.

Teaching and Learning Work Loads