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Kursusbeskrivelse
Kursusnavn (dansk):Projektklynge: MTG-projekt 
Kursusnavn (engelsk):Project Cluster: MTG Project 
Semester:Efterår 2007 
Udbydes under:cand.it., medieteknologi og spil (mtg) 
Omfang i ECTS:0,00 
Kursussprog:Engelsk 
Kursushjemmeside:http://itu.dk/courses/projectcluster/mtgproject 
Min. antal deltagere:
Forventet antal deltagere:
Maks. antal deltagere:40 
Formelle forudsætninger: Having successfully completed Game Development, and/or extensive knowledge of any of the following skills: game programming, 3D modelling, graphic design, game sound design, level design, iterative game design and prototyping, computer game QA, computer game theory and criticism. 
Læringsmål: Upon successful completion of this course, the students will have:
¿ Designed, developed and produced a game ready to be made public.
¿ Understood the production principles of serious games by developing one.
¿ Developed a game in the dynamics of a large, multidisciplinary team.
¿ Developed theoretical and critical analysis of serious games, both on their ethical, cultural and political relevance.
This course also intends to produce a game modification that can be submitted to different exhibitions and competitions, like the Indie Games Festival (http://www.igf.com/) or the Slamdance Guerrilla Gamemaking Competition (http://www.slamdance.com/games/)
Finally, this course wants to give the students the opportunity of adding to their personal portfolio/resume a large scale production that can be used for future reference in their curricula
 
Fagligt indhold: The MTG project will present the students with a challenge: to develop a First Person Shooter game with the intention of creating a serious game. This serious game will tackle issues on privacy, surveillance and public spaces, and the ethical discourse of security by simulating them within the game environment of a First Person Shooter.
The students will be presented with the basis of the game by the course responsible, who will act, in computer game development terms, as a producer. In this course, students will not work in small groups: the whole class will work as one team. Therefore, the students will have to divide the production roles, assign team leaders, and prepare the appropriate procedures for a large-team production, supervised by the course manager. Students will be encouraged to apply the development process methods that were the backbone of the game development course, as well as the design methodologies that were taught in introduction to computer game design.
Students can also chose to produce a theoretical report, within the keywords of this course: serious games, ethical games, games development, playtesting and prototyping, target group analysis. The students that chose to produce a purely theoretical work are nevertheless encouraged to contribute to the overall game production, for example as playtesters.
In this course there are no formal lectures: the class will meet once a week for two hours to discuss the progression of the development, and the possible problems that may show up. Furthermore, those students who have chosen to write a theoretical report will have dedicated individual supervision hours.
A fundamental part of this course is to identify different talents in the whole group and create the correct working procedures that lead to the successful completion of the game. This project requires game programmers, game designers, level designers, artists, 3D modellers, sound designers, project managers and QA/playtesting managers. The first class meeting will be dedicated to identifying the whole team and their specific roles. The development will follow the methods presented in the game development course.
The goal of this course is to produce a serious game that can be successfully presented at different game competitions (like http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entries2007_mod.php), credited as a student work.
 
Læringsaktiviteter:

Students will be evaluated on their (individual) contribution to the project. It will be an oral exam based on a report. Since group exams are not allowed, students will have to present a research question that they can answer in their report. Neither the questions, nor the report, need to be unique (i.e. they can be written in groups), but the oral exam, in which the final grade is based, will have to be significantly unique and individual.
As mentioned before, the team will be divided in different roles. The following is a suggestion of exam topics related to the team roles:

Game designers: identifying key design challenges; creating interesting gameplay within the given constraints; the design of serious games; surveillance, privacy and security as gameplay elements; multiplayer mechanics.

Programmers: evaluating and choosing the right tools, specially the game engine, modifying that into a serious games engine; the problems of ¿camera modes¿; AI programming and believable bots; effects of the design in the modification principles (changes in pace); limits and constraints of the engine for serious games; network and multiplayer issues.

Level designers: creating an interesting reproduction of a public transportation site; creating interesting gameplay dynamics via level design; collision points and information blindspots: the camera system.

Artists: creating a unique ¿feel¿ for the space; textures, colors and ambience for the level; visual assets and the creation of moods and emotions; information via aesthetics: gameplay embedded in the arts.

Sound designers: recreating a public space; creating a musical theme and score for a game; the relevance of sound assets in serious gameplay.

Project managers: managing a large team; development procedures and methods; tools for communication and production phases; keeping everything in order and progressing forward.

Theory: Serious games and surveillance; the experience and/or emotions of serious gameplay; design of ethical games; serious games development: games as public services.

These topics can be combined or supplemented with others suggested by the students, but they will be ultimately approved by the course manager.
The exam will be oral, and the students evaluation will not depend on the successful completion of the game, but a success will be taken into much consideration.
 

Eksamensform og -beskrivelse:X. experimental examination form (7-scale; external exam), 7-trins-skala, Ekstern censur

Please notice! You sign up for this project cluster as if it was a normal course. But please note:

Enrolment in a project cluster is not considered a binding course registration (only relevant to MSc students).

The project cluster will not appear on your diploma. But the project that you register in the Project Base will of course appear when you have passed the exam.

Single-subject students at Open University and guest students from other universities interested in the project cluster, please contact the Student Administration Office, phone +45 72 18 52 05.
 

Litteratur udover forskningsartikler:  
 
Afholdelse (tid og sted)
Kurset afholdes på følgende tid og sted:
UgedagTidspunktForelæsning/ØvelserStedLokale
Fredag 10.00-12.00 Forelæsning ITU 2A14
Fredag 13.00-15.00 Øvelser ITU Gamelab