Students

COMP3150 – Games Project A

2020 – Session 2, Special circumstance

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Mitchell McEwan
mitchell.mcewan@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
4 Research Park Dr, Rm 367
by appointment
Malcolm Ryan
malcolm.ryan@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
by appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above including COMP2150 or COMP260
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
Students will work in groups to create a videogame using a commercial-level game engine. This will enable them to apply their previously acquired skills in videogame design and implementation to a substantial project. Teams will be expected to develop their own concept for the game. This will require creative design, the production of supporting documentation, quality control, and other associated skills and concepts. Teams will be expected to produce a compelling game proposal and meet regular agreed milestones as well as producing game documentation and giving a final presentation.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply the agile development process (prototyping and playtesting) to a semester-long video game design and development project
  • ULO2: Contribute to a self-managing team and practise shared accountability to deliver on agreed milestones.
  • ULO3: Communicate the elements of a game design to a variety of audiences in both oral and written form.
  • ULO5: Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome production challenges with creative solutions
  • ULO6: Conduct user research to evaluate game prototypes and find areas for improvement
  • ULO7: Evaluate your own performance through self-reflection.

General Assessment Information

The group-work component of the assessment (Design overview, Design Document, Playtesting document) will be marked in common for all group members, but individual marks will be modulated based on peer assessment feedback, according to performance in the team.

All work submitted should be readable and presented in a business-like and professional format.

Policy on Late Assignments

No extensions will be granted except in cases of special consideration. Students who have not submitted any work for the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for special consideration cases.  Plan to submit early. As you are working in a team and are expected to perform risk management, sickness or other misadventure needs to be planned for and managed.

Grade Assessment Standards

Final Grade Summary of required performance
P Has participated in group-based projects which delivered satisfactory outputs throughout the semester.
CR Has participated in group-based projects throughout the semester which delivered quality outputs.
D Has participated in group-based projects throughout the semester which consistently delivered high quality outputs. All the assignment, practical and tutorial tasks (programming and written) completed to a very high standard.
HD Has participated in group-based projects throughout the semester which consistently delivered high quality outputs. Students achieving this grade are often distinguished by a high level of effort, enthusiasm, competence and often leadership in their project groups.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Elevator Pitch 6% No Week 2
Pitch 5% No Week 3
Design Plan 5% No Week 4
Milestones 24% No Weeks 5 - 13
Playtesting plan 5% No Week 8
Final game 10% No Week 13
Design Document 15% No Week 13
Playtesting report 10% No Week 13
Post-mortem 20% No Week 13

Elevator Pitch

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 4 hours
Due: Week 2
Weighting: 6%

Pitch a novel game idea to the class in a 2 minute oral presentation.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Communicate the elements of a game design to a variety of audiences in both oral and written form.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome production challenges with creative solutions

Pitch

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 7 hours
Due: Week 3
Weighting: 5%

Give a 10 minute group presentation to pitch your idea to an audience of industry professionals and take feedback & criticism.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Communicate the elements of a game design to a variety of audiences in both oral and written form.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome production challenges with creative solutions
  • Conduct user research to evaluate game prototypes and find areas for improvement

Design Plan

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 7 hours
Due: Week 4
Weighting: 5%

Write a design plan that iterates on your pitch, incorporating feedback from industry, and also including details of how you plan to work together as a group to achieve your vision.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply the agile development process (prototyping and playtesting) to a semester-long video game design and development project
  • Contribute to a self-managing team and practise shared accountability to deliver on agreed milestones.
  • Communicate the elements of a game design to a variety of audiences in both oral and written form.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome production challenges with creative solutions

Milestones

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Weeks 5 - 13
Weighting: 24%

A series of milestone reports describing allocation of tasks to individual team members and reporting on your progress both as individuals and as a teams.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply the agile development process (prototyping and playtesting) to a semester-long video game design and development project
  • Contribute to a self-managing team and practise shared accountability to deliver on agreed milestones.

Playtesting plan

Assessment Type 1: Qualitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 5%

 

A report describing your plans for the playtests you intend to conduct on your game.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Conduct user research to evaluate game prototypes and find areas for improvement

Final game

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 10%

Final game demonstrated to industry representatives. Mark is determined by these representatives.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome production challenges with creative solutions

Design Document

Assessment Type 1: Design Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 15%

A report thoroughly describing of the final game mechanics of the game, justified in terms of the effect they are intended to achieve.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Communicate the elements of a game design to a variety of audiences in both oral and written form.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome production challenges with creative solutions

Playtesting report

Assessment Type 1: Qualitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 10%

A report describing the outcomes of the playtesting process and how the results influenced the design.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Conduct user research to evaluate game prototypes and find areas for improvement

Post-mortem

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 20%

A reflective report describing what went well and what went badly in both the final game design and in the process of working as a team.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply the agile development process (prototyping and playtesting) to a semester-long video game design and development project
  • Contribute to a self-managing team and practise shared accountability to deliver on agreed milestones.
  • Evaluate your own performance through self-reflection.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

CLASSES

Classes will largely focus on a mix of presentations/pitches, Scrum style consultations with the lecturers, milestone demonstrations and playtesting. The class schedule will be published on iLearn. 

REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS

There is no prescribed text for this unit. However we recommend:

  • Agile Game Development with Scrum, by Clinton Keith. Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (June 2, 2010) ISBN-13: 978-0321618528
  • The Game Production Toolbox, by H. M. Chandler, CRC Press, ISBN-13: 978-1-138-34170-8

UNIT WEBPAGE 

Please login to iLearn http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/

TECHNOLOGIES USED AND REQUIRED

The technology you use will depend on your project's needs. You will have access to the games lab computers and the software on them. Extra software required may be added if a good case can be made for it. You may also want to use resources that your sponsor and team members have access to. Your technology needs will be determined and defined by you in your project plan.

Unit Schedule

WEEK TOPIC
1 Agile project management for game development
2 Elevator pitches
3 Pitches to industry sponsors
4 No class
5 Milestone 1 demonstrations
6 No class
7 Milestone 2 demonstrations
  Mid semester break
8 Milestone 3 demonstrations
9 Playtesting
10 Milestone 4 demonstrations
11 Playtesting
12 Milestone 5 demonstrations
13 Group demonstration of game to sponsors

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.