Students

COMP3151 – Games Project B

2024 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor/Lecturer
Malcolm Ryan
malcolm.ryan@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
By appointment
Lectuer
Mitchell McEwan
mitchell.mcewan@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
COMP3150 or COMP352
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Students will continue their group work to produce a video game using a commercial-level game engine. This will enable them to apply their previously acquired skills in video game design and development to a substantial project. Teams will be expected to progress a game from its prototype state through the production stage in order to prepare it for publication. This will require knowledge and skills relevant to game design, production, development, quality assurance, and marketing. Teams will be expected to produce a compelling project plan and meet regular agreed milestones as well as producing game documentation and promoting their game.

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 agile development processes (prototyping and playtesting) to complete production and publication of a video game design and development project.
  • ULO2: Contribute to iterative improvement of team project management processes to improve production efficiency and deliver on agreed milestones.
  • ULO3: Communicate the final vision for the design of a game, including player experiences, learning and progression, through both oral presentation and written documentation.
  • ULO4: Design the progression mechanics of a game to scaffold player learning and retain engagement for the duration of the game.
  • ULO5: Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome late production challenges with creative solutions.
  • ULO6: Conduct user research to evaluate the extent to which your game meets its design goals, and quality assurance to prepare it for release.
  • ULO7: Strategise options for the deployment and monetisation of a video game.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern.For example, if the assignment is worth 8 marks (of the entire unit) and your submission is late by 19 hours (or up to 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds), 0.4 marks (5% of 8 marks) will be deducted. If your submission is late by 24 hours (or up to 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds), 0.8 marks (10% of 8 marks) will be deducted, and so on.

For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration.

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted 

In this unit, late submissions will be accepted as follows:

  • Progress Reports – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies
  • Pitch - NO, unless Special Consideration is granted
  • Project Plan – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies
  • Marketing Strategy – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
  • Final Report – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
  • Final Game – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
  • Reflection – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Pitch 8% No Week 2: Wed July 31
Project Plan 10% No Week 4: Aug 18
Progress Reports 12% No Week 7 (Sep 8) and week 10 (Oct 13)
Marketing strategy 15% No Week 8: Sep 15
Final game 15% No Week 13: Nov 3
Final report 25% No Week 14: Nov 17
Industry readiness reflection 15% No Week 15: Nov 24

Pitch

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 9 hours
Due: Week 2: Wed July 31
Weighting: 8%

 

A group presentation pitching a game idea to an audience of industry professionals for feedback & criticism.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Communicate the final vision for the design of a game, including player experiences, learning and progression, through both oral presentation and written documentation.
  • Design the progression mechanics of a game to scaffold player learning and retain engagement for the duration of the game.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome late production challenges with creative solutions.
  • Conduct user research to evaluate the extent to which your game meets its design goals, and quality assurance to prepare it for release.
  • Strategise options for the deployment and monetisation of a video game.

Project Plan

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 9 hours
Due: Week 4: Aug 18
Weighting: 10%

 

A written project 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 agile development processes (prototyping and playtesting) to complete production and publication of a video game design and development project.
  • Contribute to iterative improvement of team project management processes to improve production efficiency and deliver on agreed milestones.
  • Communicate the final vision for the design of a game, including player experiences, learning and progression, through both oral presentation and written documentation.
  • Design the progression mechanics of a game to scaffold player learning and retain engagement for the duration of the game.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome late production challenges with creative solutions.
  • Strategise options for the deployment and monetisation of a video game.

Progress Reports

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Week 7 (Sep 8) and week 10 (Oct 13)
Weighting: 12%

 

A series of reports on your progress both as individuals and as a team.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply agile development processes (prototyping and playtesting) to complete production and publication of a video game design and development project.
  • Contribute to iterative improvement of team project management processes to improve production efficiency and deliver on agreed milestones.

Marketing strategy

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 8: Sep 15
Weighting: 15%

 

A report describing your plans for publishing and marketing the game.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Strategise options for the deployment and monetisation of a video game.

Final game

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Week 13: Nov 3
Weighting: 15%

 

Final published game demonstrated to industry representatives.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Design the progression mechanics of a game to scaffold player learning and retain engagement for the duration of the game.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome late production challenges with creative solutions.
  • Strategise options for the deployment and monetisation of a video game.

Final report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 14: Nov 17
Weighting: 25%

 

A report describing the outcomes of the project, including design, playtesting, publication and marketing.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Communicate the final vision for the design of a game, including player experiences, learning and progression, through both oral presentation and written documentation.
  • Design the progression mechanics of a game to scaffold player learning and retain engagement for the duration of the game.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome late production challenges with creative solutions.
  • Conduct user research to evaluate the extent to which your game meets its design goals, and quality assurance to prepare it for release.
  • Strategise options for the deployment and monetisation of a video game.

Industry readiness reflection

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 15: Nov 24
Weighting: 15%

 

An exercise in which you reflect on the game design, development and production activities you have undertaken throughout the project and your degree to highlight skills and competencies relevant to working in the games industry.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply agile development processes (prototyping and playtesting) to complete production and publication of a video game design and development project.
  • Contribute to iterative improvement of team project management processes to improve production efficiency and deliver on agreed milestones.
  • Communicate the final vision for the design of a game, including player experiences, learning and progression, through both oral presentation and written documentation.
  • Design the progression mechanics of a game to scaffold player learning and retain engagement for the duration of the game.
  • Independently reflect on and research game design and development roadblocks in order to overcome late production challenges with creative solutions.
  • Conduct user research to evaluate the extent to which your game meets its design goals, and quality assurance to prepare it for release.
  • Strategise options for the deployment and monetisation of a video game.

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, Scrum-style consultations with the lecturers, milestone demonstrations and industry panels. The class schedule will be published on iLearn. 

Required and Recommended Texts

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 Website

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

Technologies Used and Required

The technologies used will depend on the needs of your project. You will have access to the games lab computers and the software on them, which will feature the Unity game development engine and other creative tools. See iLearn for the version of Unity used on the lab computers. Extra required software may be added to these computers if a good case can be made for it.

Although dependent on the needs and scope of your group's project, there will likely be a need for the use of personal computing devices and software to support game development (for example, when the lab is not open/available). Sourcing and compatibility with the provided lab resources will be students' responsibility.

Use of Generative AI

The use of Generative AI including LLMs and image generators is permitted in this unit where this use does not undermine the Learning Outcomes of the unit and specific assessment tasks. All use of Generative AI must be appropriately acknowledged, evidenced and referenced. Use of Generative AI that does not adhere to assessment-specific details may result in a breach of Academic Integrity.

For more information on the use of Generative AI in your studies, please see the FSE Gen AI module:

https://ishare.mq.edu.au/prod/file/c6b0caa4-23dd-4372-b07d-5a03379fc3e8/1/FSE_GenAI-module.zip/content/index.html#/

Unit Schedule

Schedule wil be posted in iLearn.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

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

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

All use of Generative AI must be appropriately acknowledged, evidenced and referenced. Failure to do so will be considered a breach of academic integrity, and may result in serious penalties according to the Academic Integrity Breach Procedure.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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.

Unit information based on version 2024.03 of the Handbook