| Category | Dissertation | Subject | Computer Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| University | University of Bradford | Module Title | GAV5010-B Game Appreciation and Industry Analysis |
| Word Count | 1500 Words |
|---|---|
| Assessment Type | Report |
| Assessment Title | Module Handbook |
|
Mode of Assessment |
||||
|
Method |
Description |
Length |
Weighting |
|
|
Presentation / Digital Presentation |
A group presentation on a contemporary games industry issue and how it might affect the group as future developers |
20 Minutes |
50% |
|
|
Coursework |
A 1500-word report critically analysing and deconstructing a computer game within the commercial context of games |
|
50% |
|
|
Coursework |
Report: repair deficiencies in original report. Presentation: additional industry research report, 1500 words on an “in Vogue” games industry issue |
|
100% |
|
There are two assessment components for this module: The individual report assesses your ability to analyse a game and its mechanics or related aspects of the games industry within the context of the current commercial development environment. The group presentation assesses your understanding of a current industry issue in the context of your own career prospects and preparations for entering the games industry after graduation.
You are required to write a report of 1500 words or more (1500-word target), setting your own topic, and critically deconstructing and analysing an element or elements of a computer game that you have played. This can be any game of your choice - either a contemporary title or an older game - the only games you cannot use as your main focus are the ones we will be using as in-depth case studies throughout the module. A list of these is provided on Canvas in the Module Handbook under the section “Banned Content List”. You may use the titles in the “Banned Content List” for comparison or contrast in your arguments if you wish, but they cannot be the main focus.
Your report must focus on a single game, not a genre or series, and should critically deconstruct one or more of the main elements of the game. Examples of the elements you might want to cover include, but are not limited to:
You are expected to analyse aspects of the game and to judge the impact or relevance of the design on the player, the market, the industry or other interested parties. You may want to compare and contrast other similar titles to validate your claims and make reference to other media where appropriate. You may also want to include charts, graphs or other references: This is permitted and as such this report is classed as a nontraditional report.
The best way to find a focus for your report is to ask a research question in the title (either a deposition or supposition - see below) and then to address that question in detail in the report itself. For example: "What impact did Super Mario have on the platform game genre?" or "AI behaviour in Final Fantasy VII - success or failure?" You must not choose either of these titles for your report; this was just for clarification.
This report forms 50% of your mark for this module. The report will be assessed on the following criteria
|
Report Criteria |
Weighting |
|
Quality & relevance of research question |
20% |
|
Success in addressing the research question |
30% |
|
Depth & Quality of analysis |
25% |
|
Academic rigour (structure, citations, word count, language, grammar) |
25% |
You are required to create and deliver a 20-minute fully digital presentation showcasing your group’s interpretations of and reflections on one of the topics on the games development industry, focusing on examples pulled from in-vogue media articles, events, expos or tech blogs. This should take the form of a semi-autobiographical research project, where you undertake further research into the subject on a wider scale, interpret your findings as a team, and reflect on how this relates to each of the group members as potential future game developers and the wider industry as a whole, and your topics effects evident now and the potential effects for the next 3 to 5 years. Your perspective must be that of future game developers, based on the various job roles the members of your team are interested in:
We do not want to hear about you and your team as gamers! This is industry-focused, not consumer-focused!
General ideas to get you started
Pick an idea, a concept, or something that interests you from the standpoint of a developer or creative in the games industry.
How does each of you feel about this issue?
How does it affect the variety of roles present in your group differently?
What can you add to what's been said, either from your own experiences or research you have undertaken?
What do other industry figures and the press say about this, and do you agree or disagree? Why?
Depth and Quality of Arguments Regarding Current Effects on the Group
How is this issue affecting the group members now?
Are there hard facts and figures on the effects, or is it anecdotal or just conjecture?
What does the industry press have to say about related current events?
How might this issue affect you/and your group in 3 to 5 years, when you are in the industry?
What are the best- and worst-case scenarios?
What is the most likely outcome and why?
What would you do to change the future in this respect? What can practically be done?
Are there any upcoming events you know of that might affect future outcomes?
What might the knock-on effects be?
Specific Marking Criteria Considerations for Presented Content
Consideration of wider industry Implications
How could this affect the rest of the industry? How is it affecting it now?
What about in the UK, Europe, the US and Asia or South Asia?
How is this influenced by other industries or media, or does this influence outside of games?
What about wider political, technical, socio-economic factors?
Organisation, Planning and Structure of the Presentation
Is the presentation well planned and structured? Does everyone get a say?
Is there a clear overview, introduction and summary?
Is individual input clear? Who contributed what, and what is their specialist area?
Have you referenced external input and sources correctly?
Are subjects collected into relevant headings that flow well? Is the timing right?
Are the slides clear and relevant?
Communication and Presentation Skills
Was the presentation rehearsed well as a team?
Is the delivery clear, audible and confident?
Are the slides working and effective?
The presentation itself should be made using standard presentation software, such as MS PowerPoint, Keynote for Mac or a freeware equivalent. A visual accompaniment to the oral presentation is expected content as this will be viewed over the Zoom platform. Presentations should be 20 minutes long. Initialisation time and question time is not included and will be calculated separately on the day.
Presentation Marking Criteria (50% of the module grade)
|
Group: Depth and quality of arguments regarding current effects on the group as future developers |
20% |
|
Group: Depth and quality of arguments regarding potential future effects on the group as future developers |
20% |
|
Group consideration of wider industry implications |
20% |
|
Group organisation, planning and structure of the presentation |
20% |
|
Group communication and presentation skills. |
20% |
Expectations
Students will be given theory lectures, demonstrations and practical sessions on a weekly basis. Students will also be set homework linked to the sessions. Students are expected to spend an average of 16.5 hours per week on this module: 2 hours in taught sessions & 14.5 hours directed learning. This equates to around 200 hours in total.
Students must attend taught lectures and carry out directed learning outside of class to attain a good educational experience. Previous years have resulted in well-educated students who adhere to this philosophy. These students attain deep practical skills, portfolio work/breakdowns, theory-based knowledge and in some cases placements.
Developing Good Academic Practice
Identifying what forms the basis of your ideas is important. We are looking to see that you have read and understood the ideas and theorists we have introduced you to as part of the module. You may have a good idea, but how have you arrived at it? Do you understand the arguments for and against the position you are taking? For that reason, we need to see that you have read and understand the books (or more likely chapters) we have identified for you. You may want to compare a film with another film that you have seen or compare an idea with the views of another writer. For all these reasons it is important to cite all your sources.
In the body of your text
The best and most natural way is to build it into your writing, e.g. Adams (2010) defines a game as something in which the players try to reach some goal whilst being constrained by some rules.
This tells me that you have read the text by ‘Adams’ and you have explained their proposition in your own words. However, this would still mean that if we wanted to find this book, we would still probably want a little more information.
This author may have had more than one book published in 2010, or more likely, they may have had conference papers or journal articles published in the same year. Therefore, more details such as the title and publisher are needed if we are to track down what you have read.
All this information could be put in the body of your writing, but it would be cumbersome and distracting. For this reason, we provide a list of all references used at the end of our writing. Hence, the need for a reference list.
Reference list
This is a list of all your references, alphabetically by authors’ surname, which includes all the important details to allow a reader of your work to identify which text you are referring to. The particular format we use to describe these references is the Harvard system, and further details are available from the librarian, your course tutor or the SCIM Intranet. An example of a reference is as follows;
Adams, Ernest (2010). Fundamentals of Game Design (2nd Edition), New Riders.
Quoting
There will be situations where you wish to use the exact words of a writer. You should follow the guidance above, but there is a slight change to how you ‘cite’ the words in the text. In addition to the author's name and the date of the work, it is important that you also specify the actual page so that the reader can easily see how you are using the quote, see if you are taking it out of context, etc. We also need to flag up very clearly to the reader that it is not your words, and therefore, we enclose these words in quotation marks. Where the quote runs to more than two lines, it is customary to indent the quotation also. For example;
Adams (2010, p. 3) defines a game as:
“a type of play activity, conducted in the context of a pretended reality, in which the participant(s) try to achieve at least one arbitrary, nontrivial goal by acting following rules”
This explains to the reader that the section that is a direct quote begins with the words ‘a type of play’ and the words are from page 3 of the book.
It is important that we can easily identify what your words and your ideas are, and what your ideas are based on. Only then are we in a position to give you helpful advice about what you are learning and what else you need to learn.
Module Feedback from Previous Students
Students: Well taught with industry-facing content throughout, though it can be a difficult module due to the varying level of students as well as their various degrees, although the teaching team did very well to make the subject relevant to all.
Quality Assurance
Secret Sentence: “Tell my Wi-Fi drive a LANcia” – before the end of week 2 (5th October), come to my office (D2.08), recount this sentence to me and receive a free can of Coca-Cola.
Coming and saying this for a tin of sweet beverage also implies that you have completely read the Module Handbook and will be quoted as you understand its contents.
Naming Conventions
Please ensure that all content has ALL of your identifying characteristics (Full name/ University alias / UB number/ Module Code) clearly on all pieces of written work/scripts/release/ supporting documentation that are your own, and all other submissions/ parts of submissions.
An example of this would lie in the header of any submitted documentation:
Any Reports/ Essays/ Critical Reviews/ Creative alignment documents for any module should be uploaded to TurnItIn (under assignments) via the Assignments Section on Canvas. Any submission submitted via email, physically submitted, or delivered in any other form than through TurnItIn will not count as a source of submission and will not be graded or examined.
Project work (excluding any written work associated) or project content MUST be uploaded to MSTeams before deadlines.
Any submission submitted via email, google drive, dropbox, one drive, wetransfer, physically submitted, or delivered in any other form than through MSTeams will not count as a source of submission and will not be graded or examined (unless indicted for supplementary assistance by student admin, disability support, or the management team)
This is policy here at the UoB, and means that we can direct access to our external examiners much more efficiently and effectively, meaning all of the content they have to mark is all under a single system. Please remember this when it comes to hand in/ deadline days.
Marking is done from the content that was received to Canvas on the day of the deadline (or the day of the extended deadline if any extra has been awarded)
Any content assessed containing any of these prohibited items will face an immediate 0% grade, and ultimate failure of the assessment piece, and will be asked to explain their blatant disregard for the rules to the module coordinator.
The content is capped at 40%, unless you have a standing appeal against the cap for mitigating circumstances, and the associated paperwork nullifying the cap.
If you failed on “report content”, please follow the report feedback on TurnItIn on Canvas, and edit
your report to match, then resubmit to the “supplementary assessment” assignment.
If you failed on “the presentation” for your project, you will be asked to submit individual reports on the subject that your presentation was originally based upon, citing appropriate facts and figures where necessary.
Please be aware that if the content does not work on the D1.03 labs (or on the lab image), it will be marked as a failure.
Will be given within 3 weeks (15 working days) after the content is complete, which will coincide with marking being completed and being sent off to external examiners for further ratification.
An announcement will be made after this time on Canvas for when content is no longer in the hands of the Module Coordinator and is now in the hands of the department's Admin Team. This will include a timestamp and a date-stamp of the handover. Please note that any issues after this period are to be directed towards student support and the administration team, and not the module coordinator.
Feedback (in rare cases) may be modified further after initial grading; if marks/ content are deemed to be harshly/ over marked, we reserve the right to modify feedback and edit scores based on collaboration between the tutor/ marking team/ external examination team/ examination board/ external examination board.
Please note that all content marked and feedback given is subject to change by the board of examiners
If you are planning to appeal on the grade that was given/ expected, please consult the module handbook before starting the appeals process. This would often include checking the grading descriptors and the content briefs before applying for a regrade, the chair's decision, or the chair's action.
TL;DR – General Module Items
What you are marked on
The Group Presentation (Max of 4 per group)
(20 minutes including setup and questions)
(50% of Module Grade)
(“Issues/ Facets in Industry” – specifically how the issue will have an effect in the longer term (racism/ violence/ realism/ uncanny valley etc.))
Deadline: Week 11, 9th Dec 2019
The Report
(1500 Words target)
(Exploration of a game title – “innovation of a concept and how it has been used elsewhere”, “control sets and innovation” “, storytelling /how narrative works as a plot driver”)
(50% of Module Grade)
WE DO NOT WANT A STYLISED REVIEW OF A GAME, GENRE OR FRANCHISE!
Deadline: Week 11, 9th Dec 2019
Before You Go Much Further, Please See “SECTION 14 – PROHIBITED CONTENT”
TL;DR – The Obvious Bits
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