About this course: As well as a form of art and entertainment, games are about business. Whether you want to work at a game studio, start your own business or make games as a hobby, recognizing the dynamic landscape of the videogame industry is critical to finding your place. This course will introduce you to game production, project management, teamwork skills, and how to position your game ideas and yourself in the broader marketplace. By the end of the course, you will be able to develop an impactful portfolio of game work to get noticed and/or develop an effective business plan to bring your game to market.
Created by: Michigan State University
Taught by: Casey O'Donnell, Associate Professor
Media and Information
| Basic Info | Course 3 of 5 in the Game Design and Development Specialization |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Show Me the Money!
The reality is that making games isn't just about art and creativity, though sometimes some of us wish that were the case. All art has economic considerations. Creative people need food, shelter and safe creative spaces to work within. Thus, one way or another the question of the economics of games is going to prove important. So understanding the flow of money in the game industry, as well as how to protect your own ideas will prove paramount in being able to make the craft of making games an economically justifiable activity.
10 videos, 4 readings
- Video: Course Overview
- Reading: Welcome to the Dark Side...
- Video: The Business of Videogames
- Reading: The Game Industry and Making Money
- Video: Funding Models - Part 1
- Video: Funding Models - Part 2
- Video: Where are Games Sold?
- Video: How do You Make Money?
- Video: IP - Intellectual Property
- Reading: The IP Conundrum...
- Video: IP - Copyright
- Video: IP- Patents and Trade Secrets
- Video: IP - Protecting Yourself
- Reading: Template for SWOT Analysis
Graded: Reflecting on Games and Money
Graded: The Game Industry and Money
Graded: Intellectual Property
Graded: SWOT Analysis Document
WEEK 2
Games are Made of People
I think one of the most important things to realize about the business of games is that games are made up of people. While I'm borrowing the line from "Soylent Green" to be a bit funny, the reality is that creative people really do live and breath the games that they make and a game can't exist without a good team behind it. In this module, you will explore the fundamentals of game production and teamwork. You will get a foundation in some of the project management tools and techniques that while you may not use them on this project will help you be a better game developer in the long run.
10 videos, 5 readings
- Video: Teamwork Fundamentals
- Reading: A Game Production Primer
- Video: It's About the People
- Video: Project Management Techniques
- Reading: Project Management Tools and Techniques
- Video: Complexity and Iteration
- Reading: SCRUM in 10 Minutes
- Video: SCRUM
- Video: Project Management Tools
- Discussion Prompt: Share a Tool...
- Video: Leadership
- Reading: The Foundations of Leadership
- Video: Leadership Qualities
- Video: Leadership Style
- Video: Leadership Tasks
- Reading: Production Schedule Template Documents
Graded: Teamwork Fundamentals Quiz
Graded: Project Management Quiz
Graded: Leadership Quiz
Graded: Production Schedule, Budget and Key Personnel
WEEK 3
Pitching Your Game and Yourself
It may seem a bit cliché, but the idea that perception is reality is perhaps doubly important in games. This doesn't mean that style rules over substance, but that they ultimately both have to exist. That can be a hard thing to hear, that how you present something (including yourself) is as important as what you are saying. This is why in this module we want you to think about presenting yourself or your game and how to best position it or you to get a job or interest people in your project. We're not asking you to write this time, so get ready to pitch!
9 videos, 5 readings
- Video: The Art of the Demo
- Reading: Some Notes on Your Personal or Game Pitch
- Video: Public Speaking - What Works?
- Video: Effective Visuals
- Video: How to Demo Your Game
- Video: Getting a Job...
- Reading: Positioning Yourself
- Video: Perfecting the Resume
- Reading: The Portfolio
- Video: Finding a Game Job
- Video: Interviewing
- Video: Interested People Are Interesting
- Discussion Prompt: Share Your Resumé, Portfolio, or Interviewing Experience
- Reading: Going Indy...
- Discussion Prompt: Name a Developer...
- Reading: Pitching Yourself...
Graded: The Art of the Demo
Graded: Game Idea Pitch or Pitching Yourself
WEEK 4
Entrepreneurship and Starting a Company
Starting a company isn't for everyone. But it is also good to know what goes into starting a company even if you're not the one doing it. Often times, as an employee, it can feel pretty arbitrary why a company makes the decisions it does (and sometimes it is, but for the sake of argument, we'll assume that the person at the helm of the company isn't just making random decisions). But, often there is a logic there and understanding why a company does what it does is often rooted in the logics that we will be discussing here.
7 videos, 4 readings
- Video: Your Friends Are Not A Company
- Reading: Your Friends are NOT a Company
- Video: Entrepreneurship
- Discussion Prompt: Sharing Startup Experiences
- Video: Launching a Business
- Reading: Launching a Business
- Video: Business Structures
- Video: Business Planning
- Reading: Work for Hire and Clients
- Video: Client Communication
- Video: Physical Communication
- Reading: Competitive Analysis Templates and Discussion
Graded: Launching a Business Quiz
Graded: Work for Hire Communication Quiz
Graded: Competitive Analysis
FAQs
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Michigan State University
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 150 years.
One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
Pricing
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| Access to course materials | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
Make this course, you will enter in a completely new world
Despite I'm not really a business person, Casey did really well. Better than in the previous course. I was shocked to be honest. He got a lot of good points here, delivered excellent reading materials. I found myself in a rabbit hole of the stuff he brought us.
I learnt a lot here and could probably use this information into the company I've been working on. I don't regret taking this course and I'm glad I didn't drop out.
The content of this course is pretty valuable and important for game developers. Everybody wants to be creative and enjoy making games, but it's still a business and you want to make money, right? I went into the course not really expecting to be interested in anything, but a lot of the material was very insightful and will surely help me in the future.
Note: The material is mostly US centric, so if you're somewhere else, you'll have to put in some extra work to find out how some of the stuff works in your country.
The one thing that I didn't like about this course was that some of the projects didn't have much to do with the material taught during that week and many students were a bit lost on what to do exactly. Don't get discouraged, because everyone is in the same boat. Just see it as a challenge and do some research outside of the course, talk to people on the forums and it'll be fine.
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For this lecture I give 5 star is because it talks the whole picture of game industry, and talks many soft skills game developers should consider. All of these things are usually ignored by many developers while the professors tells this to us by his own experience and knowledge from the industry