game development at acm...the leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals...

15
Game Development at ACM

Upload: others

Post on 21-Jan-2021

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

Game Developmentat ACM

Page 2: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

ContentsSteve Goss, ACM Ambassador ..................................................... 2

Foreword ...................................................................................... 5

The Leadership Team ................................................................... 6

Meet The Game Development Team ............................................. 7

Tutor Interview: Dr Tony Briscoe ............................................... 10

Spotlight On: Who Are Game Developers .................................. 11

Spotlight On: What You Will Learn ............................................. 12

Spotlight On: The Learner’s Journey ......................................... 14

Spotlight On: World-Class Facilities ......................................... 16

Spotlight On: Roland Artist Centre ............................................ 17

Spotlight On: Anatomy Of A Successful Game Developer ......... 18

Spotlight On: Cross-Pathway Collaborative Projects ............. 20

Spotlight On: The Gaming Industry ............................................ 22

Spotlight On: Gaming Career Opportunities .............................. 23

Spotlight On: How To Future-Proof Your Gaming Career .......... 24

Spotlight On: Gaming Workshops & Events .............................. 25

Spotlight On: Music And Gaming .............................................. 26

Student Interview: Joel McKenzie-Campbell ........................... 27

Steve has worked in games since

the 1980s, with development and

publishing roles for companies

including EIDOS, Lionhead, Electronic

Arts, Crystal Dynamics and Microprose.

Steve has worked on many games,

including XCOM, Legacy of Kain:

Defiance, Lord Of The Rings: Return of

The King and Black and White 2. As well

as his expertise in Game Design, he

has a significant experience of building

and mentoring teams, managing game

production, and the creation of tools

and pipelines to develop AAA games.

Games Development is the ultimate

creative crucible, an industry led by

passion and full of people who want to

craft and share ideas and experiences.

An ever changing landscape of

technology, storytelling, art and game

theory that constantly challenges

those in its practice and gives birth

to new ideas at an astonishing pace.

Somewhere that has been my home for

over 30 years. It offers an exceptional

opportunity no other media can - to

make something and put it into

someone’s hands, to ask them to touch

and explore a world, a character, an idea

in a way no other medium can - through

active participation.

I am excited to help support the growth

the next generation of game developers,

to open the industry’s doors to new

talent, come in and make this industry

their home, hear new voices and ideas.

So I am extremely enthusiastic to

collaborate with ACM and their games

development course, the focus of which

mirrors the core practice of games

development – making games as part of

a team, working with others to deliver a

creative product.

Steve Goss(DIRECTOR OF DESIGN, SUPERMA SSIVE GAMES)ACM AMBA SSADOR

2 3

Page 3: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

As Executive Chairman of ACM and also of Metropolis Studios but with a 30-year track record in tech from innovation to invention of whole new technologies and products, I am absolutely delighted to be able to bring about a brand new approach to a gaming programme which, in my view, has to take in everything from architecture to planning to business to psychology

as well as graphics, imaging, coding, music and, actually, the full spectrum of the creative arts.

Gaming as we know it today, has its own ecology. From navigating your way through different worlds or building cities, of course, you are looking at architecture. If you are designing games or even composing music for particular games, you are having to be mindful of the demographic you are considering, and then its the musicology and how music impacts moving images and how that impacts different cultures. At ACM we understand its multi-dimensional, and have taken our time to provide a fully considered programme together to deliver its multi layered structure.

I’m delighted to announce that Dr. Tony Briscoe, with a significant pedigree and background in Technology but also in music creation and music for films, will be leading up the Gaming programme and I’m also delighted to announce that the ambassador for the gaming programme will be Steve Goss, Director of Design at SuperMassive Games. But, essentially, what I want you to think of is that gaming is so much more than just moving images or writing music; it is where technology meets art and meets business and entrepreneurship. There is nowhere else in the country that has this covered as we do at ACM. So, whichever aspect you are interested in, we can support you and we will dedicate our time, both in groups sessions but also one-to-one, in doing so. So come forward, come and meet us, see why it is different and come and find your tribe at ACM.

Kainne ClementsExecutive Chairman, ACM

Foreword

4 5

Page 4: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure continuous development here at ACM. Every member of the team holds an influential position within the industry, and uses a wide range of skills, experience, contacts and know-how to ensure that our learning experiences are progressive and immersively connected to the real-world creative industries.

We are a team of experts with high-status reputations that open doors, and have literally been there, done it, and are still constantly interacting with the music industry. We collaborate together to identify exciting opportunities and create student pathways that combine to form a multifaceted structure, ensuring innovative learning at a world-class level.

BBC Introducing, the BRITs, MIDEM, The Great Escape, Tileyard, the BMAs, and the UMAs are just some of the industry events that we support, attend, and collaborate with. Learning by doing is key at ACM, and earning by doing is also encouraged and facilitated while you study through our many platforms.

Working alongside an exceptional team of highly skilled tutors, we are collectively leading the way in music industry education here at the heart of ACM.

The Leadership Team

Here at ACM, we are extremely proud of our diverse and multi-talented team of Game Development tutors, who you can meet at our London campus. They come from a wide range of backgrounds, have become experts in their respective fields, and possess an impressive wealth of experiences, insights, and vital industry knowledge. They know from first-hand experience what it’s like to make a living from doing something they love, and continue to interact with the industry you’re aiming to work in, bringing all the latest industry-relevant updates into ACM classrooms in real time. Your game industry aspirations are their life-long careers. What better role models could we offer?

Dr Tony Briscoe (Game Programming / Audio)Tony Briscoe is ACM’s Head of Game Development

and Group Head of Digital Innovation, and is also Group & Campus Leader at ACM London. He is very passionate about the creative arts, technology, science, and the points at which they intersect. As well as achieving a Ph.D. in Sound and Vibrations, he has also had a successful career in music composition, production, and software engineering, developing numerous applications for various tech companies.

Meet the Game Development Team

Tony’s musical accomplishments include UK chart successes with artists such as Craig David, Beverley Knight, and Artful Dodger; composing music for the David Attenborough TV series Life in Cold Blood (Under the Skin); signing publishing deals with BMG, Sony ATV, and Peer Music; and performing on keyboards at numerous festivals, including Glastonbury. As a software developer, he has worked on award-winning apps such as The Elements, The Liszt Sonata in B Minor, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Tower Bridge Family Trail App, to name a few. He also founded his own app company – One In A Billion Applications – which developed the popular Writer’s Session songwriting app, and a relaxation app called Sonosync.

At ACM, Tony specialises in game programming, music composition, production, and audio implementation using various middleware tools. As part of the Campus Leadership Team, he is helping to develop innovative cross-pathway links between ACM’s Music, Gaming, and Business programs.

“I believe it’s crucial in a rapidly changing industry to be versatile, adaptable, and focused on honing your skills, from learning to code through to design, teamwork, and the businessand entrepreneurial skills required to market your product. However, the game development industry is ultimately built on relationships. Be good and kind and appreciate others, and opportunities will come your way.” 6 7

Page 5: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

David Sharrock (Game Design)David has been working as a designer and producer in the games industry

since 2002, including nine years at Sony’s London Studio. He graduated from Aston University with a BScin Computer Science, and was delighted to find that his lifelong passion for games and gameplay systems opened up the chance to pursue a vastly rewarding career. He has worked in teams developing games in genres as diverse as football, driving, grand strategy and competitive karaoke, in partnership with brands such as Motown, Universal, and 2000AD.

At ACM, David specialises in game design, alternative controllers, and the broader, project-based skills that future developers will need to work within modern, fast-paced game development teams.

“There are no bad ideas, only good ideas that haven’t been refined yet. Be brave and create a first version. Then iterate upon the results to find the gold within.”

Ronnie Ochero (Game Art)Ronnie has over 13 years’ experience as a professional artist, working with various companies

like SEGA, TT Games, and Freejam Games. He has worked on a variety of games from Football Manager to Lego Indiana Jones and Robocraft, undertaking a number of different roles including technical art and traditional art, and has also been featured in a BBC documentary about his journey into the games industry. Ronnie currently teaches Game Art at ACM, as well as freelancing mainly within character development and continuing to develop games independently.

“Most importantly, and more from a personality point of view, you need to be able to take criticism and be a good translator of people, which will enable you to work with a wide range of people and projects. Workplaces are filled with lots of people with differentpersonalities – and if you are able to fit in with your team, company, and/or partnership then you open more doors to opportunities.”

Dr Lucy Harrison (Game Audio)Lucy is a composer and sound designer specialising in interactive sound, and has a Ph.D.

in Composition from Royal Holloway, where she investigated interactive sound and music andaudience engagement.

In her solo work, Lucy creates interactive sound installations that enable audiences to play with electronic soundscapes. Learning to work with electronics and gaming technology has given her the skills required to build new creative spaces for her music – and she makes sure to keep an eye out for new technological developments that help to push her ideas further. Recent work has included an interactive blanket fort, complete with musical hopscotch made with conductive paint and motion-sensitive sound created using gaming controllers; an immersive art event in partnership with the National Trust; an interactive library, created as part of a theatre production in Clapham; and a motion-sensitive sound installation for Girlguiding at Alexandra Palace.

“I like working with abstract sounds within my music. I think it’s important to listen closely to the musicality of sounds that you hear every day, like traffic on the street and sounds inthe kitchen. It can add unexpected rhythms and melodies to your work.”

8 9

Page 6: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Who Are Game Developers?Game developers have an unquenchable desire to create and discover, to push at the edge of what technology can achieve and introduce players to newly-crafted worlds, stories, and experiences. Their technical skill-sets may vary, but creativity is at the core of all they do.

Game development exists at the point where creativity meets technology and entrepreneurship in equal measures,

turning ideas and concepts into professionally realised products. It brings together art, storytelling, design, computing and audio, and the gaming industry is constantly searching for new voices and talents. Game development attracts people from all backgrounds and interests, from imagineers to architects, storytellers, data-wranglers, and more.

While game developers must be able to understand, frame, and create as individuals, you will also be expected to operate within teams and organisations. This means learning to be open with your teammates and developing an understanding of the wider industry, all while staying focused on what is best for the project in its entirety – and we emphasise this real-world requirement at ACM. While each student will choose a specialism for their studies – be that Art, Audio, Design, or Programming – the institution as a whole is focused on developing well-balanced creatives who can operate effectively in multidisciplinary teams.

Tutor Interview:Dr Tony Briscoe

How did you first get into games and game development?I’ve always been passionate about games from my early days playing arcade games such as Defender, Mario Bros, and Asteroids. I got into game development much later on, when I was working for a tech company as a software engineer. They needed a team of developers to help create a fun game for kids to explore the Tower Bridge in London, virtually, on their mobile phones. What makes the gaming industry special to you?For me, the game industry captures so many of the things I’m most passionate about: creativity, technology, and entrepreneurship in equal measures. As a musician, composer, and software engineer, this ticks all of my boxes. I love how a disparate creative team of artists, designers, animators, storytellers, audio and music specialists, and programmers all collaborate to bring a game to life.

Which gaming genre interests you the most, and why?I am currently into puzzle games at the moment, as I’ve recently been marvelling over the sound design and game mechanics of the mobile game Monument Valley.

What is the best game of all time, and why?This is a very difficult one to answer, as I’ve played so many amazing games. I’ll probably go for Defender, as it had a big impact on me as a child. The concept of going into “Hyper Space” during gameplay, and randomly appearing at the other side of the universe, seemed like a great gameplay idea at the time.

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced while working in game development, and how did you deal with it?One of the biggest challenges has often been working towards a hard deadline, and getting the first iteration of a game “out the door” and ready for the public to play and/or test. At that stage of the final sprint, we may find major or minor bugs which can slow down the process. This is where good teamwork and patience plays an important role – and maybe some extra pizzas and coffee!

Which developments in gaming tech are you most excited about, and why?There are so many exciting developments in gaming tech, such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and haptic technologies. However, I’m particularly excited about the use of procedurally-generated sound design and music in games.

One great example of this can be seen and heard inside the infinite world of the survival game No Man's Sky, and its evolving soundtrack. The game worlds and sound are algorithmically generated in real time. I believe that this is where music composition is heading – and in the future, it will be commonplace for music composers to collaborate with some kind of AI to generate ideas.

10 11

Page 7: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

visually stunning and believable results. This isn't just limited to the content that makes it into the live game; it can alsoinclude pre-production and pre-visualisation work (including concept art), visual effects, post-production, and promotional materials. You need to be able to translate ideas and briefs that haven’t been realised yet, and take them to the next level.

AudioGame audio is a rapidly developing and extremely creative field. Music and sound design create the atmosphere necessary for games to become immersive experiences, and are often used as a means of feedback on a player’s actions. Although methods of working with sound in film and television have been established and developed over the past century, we are still working on new standards and practices in sound for gaming – and this ongoing evolution will provide the next generation of game developers with countless opportunities to contribute to the industry’s expansion in unique and exciting ways.

If you recognise the importance of audio in games and want to make sound environments and scores that electrify and engage players, then this is the specialism for you. You’ll graduate with an audio portfolio covering a number of completed games, on which you will have worked closely with a multi-disciplinary development team, and have first-hand experience of the development pipeline.

SPOTLIGHT ON:

What YouWill Learn

AWARD: BA (Hons) Game Development

Throughout ACM’s Game Development degree course, you’ll learn about the commerce, theory, and design of digital games. In true ACM style, project teamwork will be at the heart of your learning experience as you progress, as recommended by the creative industries.

All of the knowledge you will acquire along the way will be complemented by the development of skills that

ProgrammingDigital games are only possible because of the programming skills that turn imagination into reality. This specialism will enable you to learn programming and apply that knowledge to the specific context of making games in a team. If games are your passion and you wantto become a game programmer, this specialism will fit you perfectly.

You’ll learn to program in C# and C++ and work with game designers, visual artists, composers, audio producers, and sound designers to make completed games. Our programming course is designed to be highly accessible, and anyone with the desire to learn to code and put in the work can flourish on it. Some background in IT, computing, or maths will certainly prove helpful if you choose this option.

ArtThis route is ideally suited to those who have a passion for both art and games. Visual design lies at the heart of most games, from concept to completion – and this specialism will teach you the core abilities required to become a skilled game artist, from concept art to character and environment modelling (both 2D and 3D), using industry-standard packages, processes, and pipelines. You’ll graduate with a professional portfolio, developed in concert with a multi-disciplinary team of other developers so you can show your work in context.

As a game artist, it's your job to breathe life into ideas and not only realise them creatively, but also aim to exceed expectations and create

are relevant to your specialist area. There are four areas to choose from (design, programming, art, and audio), collectively reflecting the diversity of the gaming industry. DesignIf you love working out the rules, systems, puzzles, and challenges that shape a player’s gaming experience, then Game Development: Design is for you. You’ll graduate having acquired extensive experience as a game designer, from paper concept to the finished article, with a portfolio of completed games on which you will have worked closely with all the other development team disciplines. In terms of previous qualifications, no specific subject area is required for this specialism – but a good, passionate understanding of games and the ability to understand and interpret software is advantageous.

12 13

Page 8: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

SPOTLIGHT ON:

The Learner’s Journey

Year 1 Term 1Game Dev

Principles - GAM 110Theory 1: Reading Games - GAM 120

Year 1 Term 2Group Project

Assets, Rules & Story - GAM130

Year 2 Term 1Theory 2 : Form

& User Experience - GAM 210

World Creation Project: Pre-Production

- GAM220

Year 2 Term 2World Creation

Project - Production GAM240

Year 3 Term 1Major Game

DevelopmentProject 1 - GAM320+

Professional Practice & Enterprise- GAM 340

Year 3 Term 2Theory 3: Preparing

For The Future - GAM310+

Major Game Development

Project 2 - GAM330

ArtEnvironment Art 1

- GART130

AudioElectronic Toolkit

DesignGame Design 1

- GAM150

ProgrammingCreative Computing

- COMP120

ArtEnvironment Art 2

- GART160

AudioDesigning Sound

DesignGame Design 2

- GAM140

ProgrammingIndividual Creative Computing Project

- COMP140

ArtDeveloping Character

Art Vocabularies - GART220

AudioAudio Design for Video

Games - ACM234

DesignGame Design 3

- GAM250

ProgrammingSpecialisms in Creative Computing - COMP280

ArtDeveloping Specialist Practice - GART250

Audio / DesignDeveloping Specialist Game Development Practice - GAM230

ProgrammingIndividual Specialist Computing Project: Artficial Intelligence

- COMP250

14 15

Page 9: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

ACM is proud to have formed strong industry partnerships with leading manufacturers and key brands at all of our campuses. These partnerships and relationships extend further than the provision of great gear for students to work with in classrooms and studios. They also involve knowledge exchange, placements, masterclasses, employment, and the process of feeding each partner’s state-of-the-art technology directly into the curriculum through co-written modules and electives with our top industry-focussed educators.

SPOTLIGHT ON:

World-Class FacilitiesGame Development students can benefit from visits to the Roland Tech Room at Roland’s European Headquarters, which is situated at Metropolis Studios in London. Every month, we take some of our students there to enjoy hands-on experiences with the latest updates in Roland technology and new products, with instruction from their European product developers. This is followed by free time for students to explore and experiment with the gear themselves.

With many of the latest Roland products – such as the Go Mixer Pro, VT-4, and V-MODA headphones – available in class at ACM, we are working in partnership with Roland to bring their expertise and vast technical knowledge into our curriculum.

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Roland Artist Centre

16 17

Page 10: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Anatomy of a SuccessfulGame Developer

Game DeveloperCreativity - Technology

- Entrepreneurship

Networking- Meeting Game Developers- Attending Conferences and

Game Industry Events- Game Jams

- Game Forums

Technical Skills(BA Pathways)

- Art- Design- Audio

- Programming

Business Skills- Branding & Promo

- Income Stream Awareness

- Project Management(Agile, Scrum, Kanban)- Distribution Outlets

- Contracts & IP Rights

Soft Skills- Collaboration

- Communication- Problem Solving

- Adaptability / Flexibility- Decision-making

18 19

Page 11: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Cross-pathway Collaborative ProjectsThe Games Academy at ACM actively encourages collaborations with other pathways – specifically Music Production, Performance, and Business. These interactions provide fantastic opportunities for cross-pathway projects.

Hacking Hardware & SoftwareACM’s position as a multifaceted creative industries education provider enables us to take advantage of a wealth of experience from the music industry, and thus provide opportunities

for game developers to combine or hack technologies in order to take fresh and innovative approaches to the music they integrate into their gaming projects. For instance, Xbox Kinect controllers and gesture-based controls like Wii remotes can be used to control music or sounds within a student’s live performance – and many other alternative control methods can be used in fascinating, exciting, and inspiring musical ways. Business & InnovationTeamwork and project management form the core of ACM’s Game Development course, ensuring that students work together in situations that reflect and simulate real-world gaming industry environments. Throughout the course, you will learn how to manage and integrate your

specialist skills within small and large software development projects. You will also work with many tech industry project management methodologies (such as Agile, Sprints, and Kanban), and use tools for version control and continuous integration in order to deliver professionally completed projects.

Within our one-of-a-kind curriculum and structural framework, there will also be plenty of opportunities to collaborate with business students and other industry professionals who specialise in marketing, planning, personal branding, and more. These activities will help develop your network, and seek advice and assistance from those in the know as you work out how to showcase and position your game within the marketplace.

Music & TechnologyGame audio is an incredibly inventive and fast-evolving field, and ACM has long been a world-class leader in contemporary music technology education. New technological developments are constantly emerging, while industry standards and practices continue to change – so there are plenty of opportunities to discover, expand upon, and create with new ideas and techniques. On the Game Audio pathway, you’ll learn about adaptive music and sound design and how to implement them into a game engine using middleware tools such as FMOD and Wwise. You’ll also be able to collaborate with a wealth of session musicians, vocalists, and recording and mixing engineers who can help take your tracks to the next level.

20 21

Page 12: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

Gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, and the UK is leading the way in global trends. The global games market was valued at $137.9 billion in 2018, and is expected to hit $180 billion by 2021. The British gaming sector contributed £1.5 billion to the UK’s GDP in 2017, and there are over 20,000 people currently employed directly in the UK games industry. When including areas indirectly linked to the making of games, such as merchandis-ing and eSports, the UK games industry employs a total of 47,620 people and contributes £2.87 billion in GVA.

The UK is the 6th largest video game market in terms of consumer reve-nues, and approximately 37.3 million people in the UK play games. The UK consumer spend on games was valued at a record £5.7bn in 2018, up 10% from 2017. Britain also has a long history of making world-class video games, from the pioneers who developed games for early home computers such as the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 through

to the giants of today’s global gaming scene, such as Rockstar Games (GTA), Sports Interactive (Football Manager) and Traveller’s Tales (LEGO). There are currently 2,280 active game companies of all shapes and sizes in the UK, each of them looking for new talent across a wide spectrum of disciplines.

A growing breadth of games are making big waves in the market today. The recent BAFTA Games Awards featured huge titles such as God of War and Forza Horizon 4 (developed by Play-ground Games in the UK), but also had strong showings from games that ex-plored new artistic areas. Games such as Florence (a narrative-driven puzzle game for mobile phones) and Return of the Obra Dinn, a hyper-stylised murder mystery, are adding exciting new artis-tic visions. Once you add in the arrival of new VR and AR technologies along-side the constantly increasing power of mobile phones, you’ll find that no other creative medium offers such exciting potential!

SPOTLIGHT ON:

The Games IndustryGame development is a broad church, and people with game development skills can be found in all sorts of careers. The majority are employed by large or midsize game development studios, working with a team of likeminded specialists to create a meaningful part of an amazing title – but there are just as many working outside of such industry behemoths.

Very few modern game studios maintain a full spectrum of in-house development skills, so you’ll find many professionals working in outsource and freelance capacities. Whether that means providing design skills for a licensed property, creating soundtracks and environments for the latest blockbuster movie, or developing apps and tools for non-gaming companies and government agencies, a game developer’s core skills, knowledge, and insights have a vast array of uses.

Elsewhere in the gaming and wider creative industries, entrepreneurs who have the desire to set out on their own work tirelessly to devise unique ideas, products, and other forms of intellectual property while creating new jobs through their willingness to tolerate risk and push the boundaries. The creative talents and technical know-how that game developers place at the centre of their craft are hugely transferable skills, and give our graduates a fantastic base to build their future careers upon.

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Gaming Career Opportunities

22 23

Page 13: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

In this fast-changing industry, a successful game developer must possess a broad range of skills, be able to understand their specialist pathway at the deepest possible level, and have a strong passion for gaming. Creative, technological, and entrepreneurial mastery is also essential in order to ensure success. In order to future-proof your career in game development, you must be knowledgeable, professional, organised, and easy to work with. People want to work with individuals who produce great results, but can also work to a tight deadline and use excellent communication skills to keep other team members informed about where they are up to on a project. Meeting the above criteria – and going the extra mile wherever possible – is a highly effective way to secure a successful and sustainable long-term career in the games industry.

SPOTLIGHT ON:

How to Future-Proof Your Gaming Career

ACM campuses host a series of Game Development Taster and GameJam Day Events, where students acquire hands-on development experience by making fun video games with a team of likeminded people. These workshops cover many of the aspects of game development that we teach on the Game Development Degree, and offer a great preview of the Art, Audio, Design, and Programming pathways.

The core of each day is spent working in small teams, creating brand new game concepts, and using the Unity game development tool to get working prototypes up and running right there and then. Each team will have one of our experienced tutors as a mentor, and we’ll get you started with the dedicated tools we have available for each specialist pathway.

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Gaming Workshops and Events

24 25

Page 14: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

The gaming industry is an exciting area of development for sound designers, especially as new game audio concepts, principles, and techniques continue to emerge. A game’s audio elements have to be interactive and adapt to how the player progresses through the game, which means that sound designers have to integrate flexibility into their projects and work with programmers to make something that changes and develops through gameplay. Sound is hardly ever fixed within a game, enabling new creative opportunities and greater potential for inspiration and innovation than ever before.

Changes in technology are also having a big impact on gaming audio. As working with VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) becomes more commonplace, sound designers will need to include 3D sound design in their work in order to ensure that players remain consistently immersed

in their gaming experience. The constant evolution of technology and the imaginative approaches facilitated by cutting-edge developments make gaming the perfect industry for creatives who enjoy applying experimental approaches to their work. The field of gaming audio is divided across a number of key specialisms. Audio and sound designers develop sound effects and atmospheric sound; composers create adaptive music to soundtrack the game and enhance the player’s experience; and audio engineers oversee the recording and mixing of the sound, including 3D audio mixing. Meanwhile, audio programmers take on coding and audio engineering roles, and are responsible for making sure that sound is correctly placed and mixed within the game, taking into account the sound location and any interactive elements of the sound.

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Music and GamingStudent Interview:Joel McKenzie-CampbellWhy did you choose to study at ACM?I chose to study at ACM because a family member who previously studied there recommended the university, and it was one of the few places that taught Game Development.

What have you gained from studying here?Aside from the great people I have met, studying at ACM has allowed me to express my creativity through my work, which is what I always wanted to do in further education.

Who is your favourite tutor? This is the hardest question, but I would have to choose David Sharrock. Since the beginning of the academic year, he has shown and shared his knowledge

in all respective fields in Game Development willingly, while also being a good tutor and friend. He consistently brings innovative ideas to the table, to help all of his students show the potential of their ideas while also allowing us to live and learn through our own mistakes and efforts.

What are the most valuable lessons you have learnt studying here?To never be afraid of failure and always try again. Before this course, I would rarely express my thoughts and ideas because I believed that it would never work – but since I began studying here, it has opened my eyes to what I'm actually capable of doing if I just make the first move.

26 27

Page 15: Game Development at ACM...The leadership team are a diverse group of highly experienced individuals from across the creative industries, each specifically recruited to lead and ensure

acm.ac.uk | 01483 500 [email protected]

T HE R O D B O R O B U IL D IN G S | BR ID G E S T | G U IL D F O R D | S U R R E Y | G U1 4 S B

Deve

lope

r Games

DJ

Exp

erie

nce

Graphics

creative. industries. education.

GUIL DFORD. LONDON. BIRMINGH A M. ME T ROP OL IS .

SpecialismChallenge

Man

agem

ent

Animation

Exploration

Gamer

Computer Nin

tend

o

Artificial Intelligence

PuzzleTechnology

Independent

Stor

y-dr

iven

Sou

ndtr

ack

Virt

ual R

ealit

yM

usic

Pro

duce

r

Multi-player

InteractiveR

eal-time

RP

G

Adv

entu

reC

ode

PlaystationProgrammingSound Designer

Surv

ival

St

rate

gyIm

mer

sive

XBOX Team Industry

MarketScriptP

lotSim

ulation

First-personHaptics Iteration

Microsoft

Racing

Turn

-bas

ed

Sports

Designer

MiddlewareAugmented Reality

Sandbox