HNC/D Computer Games DevelopmentRationale
Influencers
A number of key factors have been identified that have informed and influenced the development of the HND Computer Games Development.- The existing HNC - This qualification is currently delivered by a number of centres and working out the best way of ensuring a smooth route from the 2005 HNC to 2nd year HND without detrimentally affecting the qualification is a key consideration.
- Articulation - Identified by survey of industry, the majority of recruits into the games industry have degree level qualifications. In order to allow students to progress, two considerations have been identified. Firstly, articulation routes established by those centre’s delivering the existing HNC must be preserved and secondly, HE requirements for HND graduates moving into both dedicated games courses and other relevant specialisms should be identified and integrated.
- Identity - The course itself must have a strong identity that can become recognisable as a relevant qualification in industry in order that students get the best possible value from their studies.
Framing the Qualification
Based on industry knowledge and research, the team identified an extensive list of influences on the games industry as well as the associated skills that students should or could acquire that would be relevant to their career. This list was included in the preliminary survey published by the QDT and resulted in the following feedback:| Top 5 Themes | Approval |
|---|---|
| Programming | 72% |
| Game Physics | 63% |
| Analysis and Design Skills | 63% |
| Project Skills | 58% |
| Creativity | 56% |
| Top 5 Proposed Units | Approval |
|---|---|
| Game Scripting | 71% |
| Object Animation | 70% |
| Game Design –from Pitch to Treatment | 66% |
| Games for the Web | 63% |
| Storytelling/Character creation | 59% |
| Top 5 Existing Units | Approval |
|---|---|
| DE2N 35 3D Modelling and Animation | 76% |
| D76V 35 Software Development: Object Oriented Programming | 67% |
| F1VV 34 User Interface Design | 64% |
| DE30 35 Narrative and Genre in Computer Games | 60% |
| DE33 35 User Interface: testing and evaluation | 59% |
More information on the preliminary survey results can be found on the survey results page.
The percentage value is a weighted “approval” rating, with 100% being the theoretical maximum (full approval) and -100% being the theoretical minimum (total disapproval).
From these, those topics that rated well were grouped into four broad themes: Analysis, Technical, Creative and Mathematics; the intention being to balance these themes across the units selected. The overall approval of these themes from survey is presented in the following graph:
It is possible to see how this has been applied in the Existing Units and Statistics pages.
CatagoryAbout
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