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DIG2040 - Survey of Game Development ModeCourse OverviewPrerequisite: DIG 2000 or permission of instructor. This course is an introductory overview of the electronic game development process and underlines the historical context, content creation strategies, and future trends in the industry. The course will also explain how games are produced, tested and released. The student will create several documents related to developing storylines and characters. To become more familiar with the gaming industry, the student will be required to play and analyze several contemporary games. Different gaming genres will be explored to help understand various strategies and levels. In addition, this course will explore the entertainment market and gaming career fields. 47 contact hours. 3 credits.Meeting Place and TimeWednesday 7:00 – 8:30 PM in UP 312 on the Seminole CampusImportant DatesCollegeLast day to drop, receive refund, and/or change to audit - 8/19/2016First/Last Day of Classes: 8/15 - 12/8/2016Last day to withdraw with a “W”: 10/20/2016Thanksgiving Break: 11/23 - 11/27/2016Last Day of Class: 12/1/2016Financial Aid: for all other important datesCourseSee MyCourses for all course dateAcademic Department: Digital MediaDean:Dr. Jonathan SteeleInstructor:Timothy (Tim) ScholzOffice Location:Room 154C Crossroads Building OfficePhone:(727) 341-4641Telephone Number:(727)791-5987Email:Please use email within MyCourses for communicationAlternate Email:scholz.timothy@spcollege.eduContacting MeIf you need to contact me outside of class the preferred method is email in MyCourses. If needed you can call the number above and leave a message with contact information. During the day I have limited access to MyCourses but will reply to all questions ASAP (within 24 hours)Required TextNovak, J. (? 20011). Third Edition Game Development Essentials: An Introduction. Albany, NY: Thomson Delmar LearningRequired SoftwareThe class will be taking place in a Mac lab and all in class work will be done on a Mac. You will also need access to Microsoft Office (instructions get free version available to all students ) to do some of your assignments. ResourcesResources also available at SPC Campus Learning Support Commons and Libraries. Learning OutcomesThe student will demonstrate knowledge of the history of electronic game development.The student will distinguish among the different game platforms and genres.The student will identify the distinct roles and responsibilities of members of the game development team.The student will define elements related to game strategy, theory and game play.The student will analyze and develop game concepts and proposals. The student will apply story and character development to games.The student will evaluate the game industry and market.Course Objectives Stated in Performance Terms:The student will demonstrate knowledge of the history of electronic game development by:investigating the significant milestones in the history of electronic game development.researching the pioneers in game development and determine their contribution to the industry.exploring why certain game companies and game titles succeeded during game development history while others failed miserably.The student will distinguish among the different game platforms and genres by:examining a variety of platforms and discovering specific elements associated with each.understanding the characteristics of popular game genres.exploring different modes based on number of players and interval options and determining its effects.The student will identify the distinct roles and responsibilities of member of the game development team by:becoming familiar with company roles associated with game development studios, publishers, licensors, and manufacturers.examining team roles and responsibilities associated with producers, artists, designers, programmers, writers, composers, sound designers, and testers.analyzing specific techniques and tools utilized by different team members during game development.The student will define elements related to game strategy, theory and game play by:exploring “interactivity modes” and determining how they relate to game play.determining the relationship between game play and story.discussing the importance of challenges and strategies associated with game play.examining the difference between static and dynamic balance.The student will analyze and develop game concepts and proposals by:playing and evaluating a game developed for any electronic platform or market.creating a concept document to sell the idea for a game to your team, company or funding source.researching a U.S. or overseas company (developer, publisher, or hardware manufacturer) currently involved in the game development industry.The student will apply story and character development to games by:examining how stories in games differ from those in films and other entertainment media.examining how game characters are different from characters in other media.researching emerging technologies and critically analyzing the future implications.discovering how a story affects immersion in a game.exploring character types and archetypes and determining how they relate to story structurediscussing traditional story structures and determining how they relate to plot.exploring avatars and determining how they relate to player identity.The student will evaluate the game industry and market by:examining the functions associated with marketing—such as, advertising, public relations, sales, and promotion.determining how fan communities are created and maintained.exploring effective strategies game companies use to market to player communitiesexploring how customer support enhances a game’s credibility and extends the life of the game.Course SchedulePlease refer to “Course Content” tab in MyCourses for current course schedule.Start and Maintain a Digital PortfolioAs a future professional in the field, potential employers or clients will expect you to have a professional portfolio. They want to see a visual representation of your knowledge, skills, and achievements. You can begin developing your professional portfolio, from your very first DIG class. Start your portfolio today by accumulating pieces from these classes. As you move through your DIG coursework, retain the best pieces you have created. Portfolio pieces can include just about anything, but you want to incorporate your best work here. Be sure to keep your work so that you can accumulate enough pieces for an outstanding professional portfolio at the end of your academic program.BehanceA portfolio can be digital, physical or both. For a digital portfolio you may want to use a service such as Behance. What is Behance?Behance is a free online portfolio platform for creative professionals across multiple disciplines. Behance is not a backup system, but a place to show your work. How do I create a portfolio on Behance?Creating a portfolio on Behance is free. Just follow these steps:Visit Click on the ‘Sign Up’ link in the upper right hand corner of the Behance homepage.Create a Behance account with your Facebook, Adobe, Google or LinkedIn user ID information. Or you can sign up using your personal email account.Follow the prompts for creating your Behance account.Once you have created your account, you can begin uploading pieces to your Behance portfolioHere is a 2-minute video that demonstrates how to add pieces to your Behance portfolio. Go to this link to view: Your Digital PiecesTo save your work over a period of time so that you’ve accumulated enough portfolio pieces, you need a backup plan. The best practice is to store your saved work in at least two places in addition to your computer. That way, if one of your backup sources fails, you will have the second source to rely on. First, be sure to have on hand an external hard drive of at least 500 gigabytes. That size of drive will ensure that all your work for the next few years can be saved and retrieved from the same place. As of this writing, 5 terabyte drives are available in the marketA second backup resource is a cloud service such as Google Drive, Microsoft One (provided by the college), Apple’s iCloud, or Dropbox. Cloud backup will give you the extra safety of off-site storage so that if your computer or external hard drive fail, you will still have those pieces for your portfolio. Most cloud storage services are free and charge a fee if you upgrade to more space.CritiqueAs a student of the arts, critiquing peer work is an important skill. By critiquing the work of others, you make use of your critical thinking skills and thereby learn from what others do. A good critique consists of observation and rationale. That is, select at least one thing about the work that you like and explain why or how it works, then select at least one thing that needs improvement and explain why it needs improvement and/or how to make the improvement. DeadlinesDeadlines are to be met as described in this syllabus. In the “real world” our prospective clients/employers expect us to meet deadlines. If that is an impossibility, you have to communicate with those clients/employers to ensure they understand that you will be late. Inform them of a missed deadline ahead of time and propose a new due date. Remember that you want to be paid for the work that you do! We practice that same procedure here in our classroom. While it is expected that your work be on time, you must communicate with your instructor in advance of the deadline to request an extension. Propose a new deadline. Your instructor has the final say as to whether they will accept your late work. Here you want a grade for the work you do!AttendanceThe college-wide policy is included in the Syllabus Addendum. is an outline of the college's attendance policy:Attendance will be taken for the first two weeks of the class to determine if you have been actively participating in the class.You need to complete the follow to be considered to be actively participating in the class:Attending and participating in classCompleting Assignments/Quizzes If you are not actively participating for the first two weeks, you will be withdrawn from the class with a "W". You will also be denied access to the course on MyCourses.At the 60% point of the class, attendance will be taken for the third time to determine that you have been actively participating. This will be determined by the following:Completion of least 70% of work assigned to date.If you are considered not actively participating in the course at the 60% point, you will be withdrawn with a "WF". Students are required to withdraw themselves on or before the 60% point in the course to receive a grade of "W". The final date for voluntary withdrawal is published in the academic calendar. This date varies for dynamically dated, express and modmester courses.NOTE - Your instructor will not be able to withdraw you from the class. It is your responsibility. If a student wishes to withdraw after the 60% point they will receive a "WF" grade.GradingTopicPointsIn Class Participation (80 pts)80 (10%)Weekly Quizzes80 (10%)Projects/Assignments200 (25%)Group Projects120 (15%)Mid Term Exam80 (10%)Final Exam120 (15%)Final Project (120 pts)120 (15%)Total800 (100%)Final grade will be the percentage points earned out of the 800 total points available.A >= 90%B >= 80%C >=70%D >= 60 %F < 60%Course AssignmentsProjects/AssignmentsStudents are expected to read each assigned chapter or resource and complete any and all assigned homework. The homework assigned is the minimum amount of work that should be completed by the student. Completion of additional work to further comprehension of particular concepts is recommended. Students who choose not to complete assigned homework will struggle in class. All homework should be done neatly and orderly in your notebook. You need to be an independent and disciplined student to succeed in this class. Keeping up with the work is essential and managing your time crucial. It is assumed that you have a basic understanding of using a computer and basic skills mastered. You should be able to at least, copy, cut, paste, save, create a folder, rename, print, download, unzip, install, and locate files on your computer.Uploading assignments correctly and on time is your responsibilityIn-Class PresentationStudents are expected to present each completed project.Group Project Students are expected to work with all group members in a courteous and respectful manner. Students will not receive credit for in-class group assignments if they are not in class or choose not to participate in group assignments.Class Participation Students are expected to participate in class discussions and assignments. Students who choose not to participate in class will have points deducted from their overall grade. Students will not receive credit for in-class group assignments if they are not in class or choose not to participate in group assignments.Homework PolicyIf there are problems with completion of the assignment by the appointed date, the student must discuss the matter with the instructor PRIOR to the due date. See each weeks folder for specific due dates.Each week the Drop Boxes will detail format and submission instructions. Ensure that you review these instructions prior to submitting attached documents.It is the student’s responsibility to follow the schedule of class assignments.Late work will not be accepted, graded, or reviewed unless permission is granted PRIOR to assignment due dates. In the event an emergency occurs, please contact me regarding college policy for submitting documentation.You will need access to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for this class. All SPC campus libraries have these programs loaded on their computers.Submissions are part of your grade and proof of attendance. Failure to post to the drop box weekly will count as an absence. If you do not post each week during the first two weeks of class you may be dropped for non-attendance.Student Survey of InstructionThe student survey of instruction is administered in courses each semester and is designed to improve the quality of instruction at St. Petersburg College. All student responses are confidential and anonymous and will be used solely for the purpose of performance improvement.Syllabus AddendumThe Syllabus Addendum must be read every semester; you are responsible for its content: . This information includes the academic honesty policy, academic calendar, and supplemental information.Course Contract VerificationI have read the entire syllabus.I understand that I must have continuous access to, and fluency with a computer and related software. I understand that it is my responsibility to complete all assignments in a timely manner and that my grade will suffer should my assignments not be completed by the deadlines. I will not expect time extensions for late assignments.I promise that all work performed and submitted in this class will be my own. I understand that if any submitted assignment is determined not to be of my own work or if I am suspected of using prohibited resources while completing an assignment, then I will be subject to disciplinary measures as stated in the syllabus and the college catalog, including failing the class.I understand that rudeness has no place in this course. I will communicate with others in a respectful, appropriate and polite manner. I also realize that failure to do so can result in my being withdrawn from the course.I understand that excessive, unexcused absences will result in a withdrawal from the course.10661651879604438015187960Student signature: Date: ................
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