| Unit name | Game Design Portfolio |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HUMSM0029 |
| Credit points | 60 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Dr. Samuel |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | School of Humanities |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
The Game Design Portfolio collates the skills and attributes required for success in narrative design into a choice of one of four focused group projects: Pitching a Game; Meeting an Industry Brief; Industry Placement; and Developing a Serious Game. Whichever option your group chooses, you will engage your academic, creative, and technical skills to work independently and as part of a team to create a narrative game demonstrator that showcases your strengths across narrative design. The unit culminates in a showcase event where you will exhibit your narrative demonstrator and accompanying showreel to a professional audience. The portfolio and showcase will act as a springboard into work. You will be expected to pitch to industry professionals at the showcase, highlighting your contributions and collective achievements. The portfolio will also form the backbone of future job applications.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit represents the capstone project of the MA Games Design (Narrative) programme, spanning the length of the summer term. It follows the four core taught units and presents you with the opportunity to bring together the knowledge and experience acquired in the form of a portfolio demonstrating your skills in narrative design. You will be expected to self-organise into portfolio groups before the unit and make the case for your first, second, and third project preference. Projects will be allocated on the basis of the case made and the options available each year.
An overview of content
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
The MA Games Design (Narrative) programme was designed in response to a call from professional narrative designers for a training framework in this complex, creative-technical role. Narrative design requires expertise in a common grouping of four skills: teamworking, storytelling, technical implementation, and critical thinking. Through this unit, you will apply all four key skills as you work towards the creation of a game. At the same time, you will inculcate an entrepreneurial mindset and be well positioned to work in narrative design for the games industry with confidence and conviction in your skills, reinforced through the programme end-of-year showcase.
Learning Outcomes
The Game Design Portfolio promotes collaborative learning within groups. Groups will meet with their dissertation tutor on a regular basis to discuss progress and set milestones. As each project option presents distinct challenges and opportunities, groups will be allocated an additional mentor relevant to their choice. For Pitching a Game, groups will be allocated a mentor from the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship who will help them develop the business side of their pitch. For Meeting an Industry Brief, groups will receive constructive feedback from outside academia in the form of critical commentary from the industry partner who set the brief. For the Industry Placement, groups will be supported by the University’s Professional Liaison Network to ensure they gain the most from their placement. For Developing a Serious Game, groups will have access to experts in the Bristol Digital Game Lab who will share insights into the development of research-inspired serious games. There may also be opportunities to collaborate with Masters students on other programmes to build out aspects of your game, such as the soundscape.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Groups will have regular meetings with their supervisor to prepare the necessary summative assessments that make up the Game Design Portfolio. A bootcamp will be scheduled early in the summer to allow teams to come together and strategize their approach, allocate resources, and engage in project management training. At the end of the bootcamp, groups will submit a game design document or workplan and gain feedback from tutors. There will also be masterclasses over the summer in key skills such as constructing a showreel, as well as CV clinics facilitated by the Faculty Employability Consultant and the University of Bristol’s Careers Service.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Narrative game demonstrator made up of game design documentation, playable experience, and individual contribution logs or report from placement mentor (total of 8,000 words or equivalent) (60%) [1-3] (group project)
15-minute showreel for the game showcase (20%) [1, 4] (group project)
2,000-word critical commentary and reflection (20%) [5] (individual)
Group assessment marks will be individualised through contribution logs and your reflections on the particular aspect of the narrative design process that you take on within your group.
When assessment does not go to plan
Reassessment for the individual components will take the same form as the original briefs. For the group elements, if you are unable to contribute at all, the reassessment will require you to reflect on what the group has done, add to your group’s submission, and then consider how your contribution affects the outcome
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HUMSM0029).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
