Homework: Week 6. This link takes you to the homework assignment due at the beginning of the next class session.
About This Week's Lesson:
The lectures this week focus on why you're even bothering to explore a career making games and the right attitude you'll need to survive the bad days. You'll learn a few basic game developer interview questions (and some good answers) and explore the noble reasons for making games (to use when you're confronted with angry anti-gamers).
The fundamental principle of Think First, Then Do is brought to life as the underlying principle of game pre-production. Later, the Game Project Development Cycle (using the "waterfall methodology") of how a game is conceived and dies (hopefully of old age) is shown in all its wonder and glory. Finally, we begin by looking at who does what in the game industry, starting at the top.
These links feature the supplemental material that you are responsible for knowing before the first exam (that takes place at the end of Week 6). Be sure to click on every link in this section!
Article: Manager in a Strange Land: Most Projects Suck by Jamie Fristrom
Here is a preview of what you're in for with your Grade Course Project. Enjoy this poignant light-hearted look at the common pitfalls of working on a project. You need to know that if you pet the kitty...
Articles: How a Game Gets Made: A Game's Journey from Concept to Store Shelves by Brandon Van Slyke
How exactly does a game go from the cavernous depths of a game designer's imagination to the shiny cellophane covered package you find lining store shelves? Read this article to find out!
These supplemental links are worth pursuing only if you are seriously interested in working in the game business and want to know about it in the broadest possible sense. This material will not be directly included in the exams, but if you're serious about delving deeply into the subject of game production, here's some more lessons from others who have also "been there."
Article: Video Games Make You Smarter and Faster from The Strategy Page
The U.S. military has long suspected that troops who have long experience with video console and computer games have made Americans better soldiers, at least when it comes to operating high-tech military equipment. But now a study (by the Office of Naval Research) has found that such experience also enables troops to solve problems faster, and act more quickly with those solutions.
Articles: Breaking In by the International Game Developer's Association (IGDA)
This dedicated web site offers information on the various career paths in the game industry, interviews with professional developers who provide advice and insight on getting into the industry and how to best educate yourself, as well as links to additional resources to prepare for a career in games. It's a pleasant read and a useful overview.
Article: Types of Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite
The generic role of 'game designer' is somewhat obsolete. In big-budget game development, there may be level designers, leads, junior designers, usability experts, and other people with these cryptic titles on their business cards. What's the difference between them?
Article: Mobile Games Demographic by The Yankee Group
More women play mobile games than men, although more men purchase them, says a Yankee Group survey.
Article: The Retail Game, Part 1 by Elysium
This is the first part of a trilogy of articles and discussions (all linked within it) about what your local game retailer is really all about. It's both eye-opening and disturbing to read.
Article: Blockbuster Mentality Creates Hurdles for Fledgling Developers by Paul Hyman
This article is from The Hollywood Reporter and well worth a read if you're considering starting up your own game development studio.
Article: Escaping the Garage: The Plight of Indies by Simon Carless
Like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or Duke Nukem Forever, the idea of the successful, truly independent game developer -- one that bypasses the major game publishers on the way to making a profit and a good living -- seems, well, a little far fetched. You can't really sequester yourself off from the normal grind of milestone-based developer/publisher relationships, go out there with a small team, and hope to produce full-scale videogames that will turn a profit. Or can you?
Article: The Games Game by Tom Sloper
This archive of short columns is well worth exploring!
Interview: Black Isle Studios' Feargus Urquhart by Tramell Issac
Web Site: The Animation Arena feature article on what it takes to be a game artist
This is a web site that should be included with your favorites if you plan on becoming a game artist. You may find it a very useful resource.
