106314 - GAME PRODUCTION

Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Adso Fernández Baena

Trimester: First term

Credits: 4

The materials can be provided in Catalan as well as in Spanish or English.

The subject of Game Production deals with the process, planning and management of video game production in the framework of the subject of Production and Business. We work from the vision of a game to the description and estimation of the tasks to be performed in order to produce it. The course consists of theoretical sessions, workshops and teamwork sessions. In order to acquire the knowledge, the subject is evaluated on the one hand the planning of the production of video games by groups and on the other the theoretical knowledge individually, both with exercises in class and in the final exam.

This subject has methodological and digital resources to make possible its continuity in non-contact mode in the case of being necessary for reasons related to the Covid-19. In this way, the achievement of the same knowledge and skills that are specified in this teaching plan will be ensured.

The Tecnocampus will make available to teachers and students the digital tools needed to carry out the course, as well as guides and recommendations that facilitate adaptation to the non-contact mode.

At the end of the course students must be able to:

E13.1. Demonstrate knowledge about the structure and organization of a company.

E13.2. Use forecasting and business planning tools. 

E14.3. Contribute to generating a culture of learning, error management, feedback and criticism management.

The subject uses the following work methodologies:
Master class, lectures, video capsules, seminars, debates and forums, collaborative learning and problem solving.

Topic 1: Introduction

1.1 Development phases

1.2 The team

1.3 Type of production: Indie vs AAA

Topic 2: Stages

2.1 Pre-production

2.2 Production

2.3 Post-production

Topic 3: Prioritization

3.1 Basic concepts

3.2 Challenges in prioritizing

3.2 Prioritization methods

Topic 4: Planning

4.1 Basic concepts

4.2 Roadmap and calendars

4.3 Budget

4.4 Risks, assumptions, problems and dependencies

4.5 Tools

Topic 5: Methodologies

5.1 Agile vs Waterfall

5.2 Agile

5.3 SCRUM, Lean i Kanban

Topic 6: SCRUM

6.1 Roles and ceremonies

6.2 User Stories

6.3 Condition of DONE

6.4 Release planning

6.5 Scaling SCRUM

6.6 User Story Mapping

Topic 7: Teams

7.1 Agile teams

7.2 Functional equipment

7.3 Feature teams

7.4 Other equipment

With the aim of collecting evidence of the achievement of the expected learning outcomes, the following activities of an evaluative nature will be carried out (related to all the common competences):

A1. Exercises in class: Workshops (Evidence of learning outcome E13.1 and E13.2)

• Simulation of a negotiation between publisher and development studio
• Requirements and prioritization
• Task planning
• Lean Game
• Scrum Card Game

A2. Group work: Planning the production of a video game in Waterfall (Evidence of learning outcome E13.2 and E14.3)

Students will be required to choose a published video game, and define the team, the roadmap of and the tasks to be performed in order to produce it. Finally, they will have to translate it into a diagram Gantt.

A3. Group work: Planning the production of a video game in Agile (Evidence of learning outcome E13.2 and E14.3)

Students will be required to choose a published video game, and define a Kick-off plan and Release plan in order to produce a Vertical Slice of it. 

A4. Final exam (Evidence of all learning outcomes)

General criteria of the activities:

- The teacher will present a statement for each activity and the evaluation and / or rubric criteria.
- The teacher will inform of the dates and format of the delivery of the activity.

The grade of each student will be calculated following the following percentages:

A1. Exercises in class: Workshops 20%

A2. Group work: Planning the production of a video game in Waterfall  20%

A3. Group work: Planning the production of a video game in Agile 20%

A4. Final exam 40%

Final grade = A1 0,2 + A2 0,2 + A3 0,2 + A4 0,4

Considerations:

- It is necessary to obtain a mark superior to 5 in the final exam to pass the asignatura.
- An activity not delivered or delivered late and without justification (court summons or medical matter) counts as a 0.
- It is the responsibility of the student to avoid plagiarism in all its forms. In the case of detecting a plagiarism, regardless of its scope, in some activity it will correspond to have a note of 0. In addition, the professor will communicate to the Head of Studies the situation so that measures applicable in matter of sanctioning regime are taken. .

Recovery:

- It is necessary to obtain a mark superior to 5 in the examination of recovery to pass the asignatura.
- The mark of the resit exam will be applied only to the mark of the A4 activity in the calculation of the final mark.
- Activity A1 cannot be recovered.
- In the event of suspending activity A2 or A3, it can be resubmitted in a call for recovery with the possibility of obtaining a maximum grade of 5.

Chandler, Heather Maxwell. The game production handbook. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2009.

Keith, C. (2010). Agile Game Development with Scrum (Adobe Reader). Pearson Education.

Patton, Jeff, and Peter Economy. User story mapping: discover the whole story, build the right product. O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2014.

Rosenfield Boeira, Julia Naomi. Lean Game Development: Apply Lean Frameworks to the Process of Game Development. Apress, 2017.