Business Planning for Games

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• how to create a business proposition through critical analysis and practice;
• different opportunities through which you might advance your ideas;
• how different facets of your work inter-connect: the relationship between games, the marketplace, audience and finance providers;
• key business theoretical and contextual themes relevant to your ideas and discipline.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• understand and utilise appropriate academic conventions.
• identify, select and draw upon a wide range of visual, printed and electronic sources;
• demonstrate organisational skills;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• formulate and develop an ideal games proposition and broadly research its context, e.g. through the library, web searches and abstract association;
• find links between your contextual data to develop new ways of moving your ideas forward;
• identify different and personal methods relevant to your discipline with which to develop your work.
• recognise, explore, reflect on and evaluate visual, financial, marketing and textual information relevant to your ideas;

This module has been designed to give you a broad understanding of business practice within the creative industries and specifically within contemporary Games practice. Through a series of talks and seminars the different approaches to the marketing, planning, and financing of various game methods will be outlined from concepts such as Kickstarter style funding and marketing, VC funding and applications or working with Publishers and sole trading. The module contains readings from marketing, finance, and industry. You will also understand how business propositions can be developed through practice and simulations. You will be asked to develop a Business Portfolio (2,500 words) which contains sections on marketing, finance, branding related to a game concept. It is recommended that you utilise your current game idea from your module Games Development. The Business Portfolio should contain both written and visual content, with at least 10 academic references.

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include:

• talks;
• seminars;
• supporting material distributed via virtual learning environments (VLE) such as Blackboard, Panopto and Bob National.

Learning activities include:

• simulations;
• workshops;
• Critical Independent analysis (i.e., what have I learnt from developing my own business proposition?).

Resources & Reading list

Internet Resources

Academic Skills Hub.

Gamasutra.

Lynda.com (via Blackboard).

Guardian Games.

Panaopto Recordings (via Blackboard).

Blackboard.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.