Following the 2010 Review of the Faculty of Information Technology this unit forms part of the new Games Development major established within the Bachelor of Information Technology and Systems degree.

September 2016: The contact hours are being changed from 4hr Studio to 3hr Studio + 1hr Seminar. While 4hr class works well it is extremely resource intensive (staff and space). During this initial offering an opportunity has been identified to rejig the offering to be 3hrs of Studio with a 1hr seminar at the end of the week to reflect on the week theory and playtesting. This will help with resourcing if enrollments grow in size.

February 2015: This unit has undergone change during the course architectures redesign of BIT Games Development major. The basis of the unit remains the same, however change has been made to deliver the unit in a Studio format. There is no significant change to Learning Outcomes, however there is minor change to content and assessment.

April 2014: Amendment to learning outcomes after discussion with chief examiner.

30/09/2020 Admin: Update to include new assessment and teaching approach fields as per Handbook requirements.

This is a required unit in the Games Development major and is intended to provide the necessary background in games history, hardware, narrative and the games development process so that students can develop their understanding of the multimedia development process, as it is applied in the area of games. Knowledge of game design techniques is an essential requirement for those students wishing to pursue a career in the game development industry. One of the significant aspects in game production is the creation of appropriate and engaging game narratives which allow players to be completely drawn into the game. The theory enables students to design appropriate and innovative games applications, engage in this narrative creation process and the practical elements allow students to appreciate the consequences of their design decisions. The unit provides knowledge and skills which students can apply within their game development projects in the third year studio project/s (FIT3039/3040) and across all subsequent units.

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. construct a game narrative that expresses effective structure and mapping of plotlines and characters into interactive structures;
2. design environments with clearly indicated game challenges (time and intrinsic stress involved) and game balancing;
3. formulate a theoretical game design to a specific brief, implementing effective game narrative and balancing;
4. constructively critique game designs based on understanding of good game design principles;
5. work collaboratively in a team environment.

029999

This unit provides a foundation in the theoretical and practical principles of game design and game narrative structures in the games development process. Utilising the principles taught in this unit, students will be given the opportunity to design innovative game applications and implement the consequences of their decisions as working game prototypes.

The combination of theory and practice in this unit is geared to equip students with the skills to not only design innovative games, but also to critique existing games and importantly new game ideas. The studio environment will facilitate considerable peer interaction, in particular in the design, communication, and critique of new game ideas. The unit provides knowledge and skills, which students can apply within their game development projects in the third year studio project/s (FIT3039/3040) and across all subsequent units.

Technological requirements

(For Clayton Campus ONLY) Please note: This is a bring your own device unit. You will be expected to bring a web-connected device (i.e., laptop or tablet) to class to access specialist software. The applications for your class can be accessed at the website move.monash.edu . For more information, visit monash.edu/mov

On-campus

This unit has particular requirements for teaching and timetabling:

Studio-based classes This teaching and learning approach provides facilitated learning, practical exploration and peer learning. In each week's three hour Studio class, students will explore the key concepts of game design through discussion of theory, creative exercises, game design activities, playtesting, and peer presentation and review. The Studio classes facilitate a dynamic and exploratory learning environment that best aligns with the creative demands of game design and the games industry in general. Seminar classes Each week concludes with an hour long seminar for all students. This provides the opportunity to consolidate and discuss concepts from the week and place them into context of both published computer games and also the game designs that students have come up with in the Studio classes. The seminar will be essential for deeper understanding of the weeks content.

In-semester assessment: 100%

• Assignment 1: Building a Game World: 15%
• Assignment 2: Detailing A Game Environment: 15%
• Assignment 3 Part A: Project Pitch: 10%
• Assignment 3 Part B: Final Project: 30%
• Assignment 4 Part A: Alpha Test Critique: 5%
• Assignment 4 Part B: Beta Test Game Critique: 10%
• Assignment 4 Part C: Individual Reflection: 15%

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:

(b.) Additional requirements (all students):

Please note that the 3 hour studio class should be timetabled in a Studio room or other room agreed upon by the CE. The 1 hour seminar should be timetabled for all students and run after all studio classes have run for that week.

FIT

N/A