Master of Entertainment Industry Management
Course The Business of Gaming Information Course Number: 93-857 Semester Credit Hours: 4, Class Meetings: 4 Instructor: Holly Newman Email: [email protected]
Saturday, 10/24 at 10am Saturday, 11/7 at 10am Saturday, 11/14 at 10am Saturday, 11/21 at 10am
*Syllabus subject to change and readings will be assigned closer to the date to ensure current issues are involved.
Description This four-week class will focus on the business aspects that relate to the gaming industry. This industry has grown quickly in the last 25 years. With 2020 sales anticipated to reach $159 billion in game content, hardware and accessories, games have emerged as a leading source of commercial entertainment – in content development, distribution and the licensing of its IP.
The course will focus on the ways in which its creative and business practices are both unique, and also share common characteristics with other forms of screen-based entertainment.
The course will focus on the following key areas:
- The publishing business model, and how Games evolved from and relate to software distribution. Covered material will include: licensing agreements, the development and ownership of Intellectual Property.
- The game publishers, and an overview of the key companies and competing business strategies, including game genres, key titles/franchises, management of developer relationships, and the publishers’ relationships with licensors and licensees (primarily vis-à-vis the motion picture business).
- The lexicon and how to effectively communicate with buyers and sellers of Intellectual Property.
- The production process and how to reconcile with film and television production timelines and milestones. Covered material will include: the game development process from inception through release – including visual and character development, level design, play testing, level testing, coding, game engines, animation & motion capture.
- Attracting, engaging, and retaining talent. Building teams and working with external development partners.
- The future of the game business and an overview of current trends including streaming, the death of physical retail, VR &AR, E-Sports, freemium vs. paid models and how they impact rights allocations and revenue streams.
Learning/ By the end of this course, students will be able to: Course Objectives* Learning Objective How Assessed Speak literately regarding exploitation of Final in Class Presentation intellectual property to and from the game business.
List and describe the production and distribution Final Written Presentation pipelines relevant to a game project.
Understand the use of games to engage, leverage Class Discussion/Final Written Presentation and extend the consumer’s relationship with intellectual property.
Look at the commercial potential of Intellectual Class Discussion Property migration between games and film as well the game industry’s role in platform agnostic content.
Consider gaming influence on other media arts Class Discussion
Develop an appropriate gaming vocabulary Final in class presentation/ Final Written Presentation
Discover effective ways to examine business Class Discussion policy and practices at gaming companies
Evaluation* The focus of the grading will be divided in the following areas: Method Class process, participation and development 10% Elevator Pitch 45% Final Project 45%
Class Grading for Class Participation Participation Rubric PARTICIPATION: Class participation (which includes your General Attitude, Communication Skills, Organizational Skills and Creativity and Innovativeness) is important in this class because in the real world there are many group dynamics and meetings that will require your input in the room and on your feet—as a writer, producer, agent or executive. The industry is a collaborative medium and in order to be successful you will need to have the ability to think on your feet, present your ideas articulately and succinctly and contribute to group brainstorming sessions. You will also need to give and receive critiques with diplomacy and grace. Our assessment of you will reflect all of these aspects of participation in addition to professional presentation, enthusiasm, improvement throughout the course and punctuality.
A Grade B Grade C Grade D/R Grade
Frequency Attends class regularly Attends class Attends class Attends class and always contributes to regularly and regularly but regularly but and the discussion by raising sometimes rarely never thoughtful questions, contributes to the contributes to the contributes to Quality analyzing relevant issues, discussion in the discussion in the the discussion building on others’ ideas, aforementioned aforementioned in the introducing original ideas, ways. ways. aforementioned synthesizing across ways. discussions, expanding the class’ perspective, and appropriately challenging assumptions and perspectives
Grading Scale* A+ 99.0-100% Exceptional A 94.0-98.9% Excellent A- 91.0-93.9% Very Good B+ 88.0-90.9% Good B 84.0-87.9% Acceptable B- 81.0-83.9% Fair C+ 78.0-80.9% Poor C 74.0-77.9% Very Poor C- 71.0-73.9% Minimum Passing R below 71 pts (< 71%) Failing
Course None are required, however, the following books are useful if you’d like to learn more. Copies are available in the Materials MEIM library. (Required Text) 1) The First Quarter: A 25 -year History of Video Games by Steven L. Kent http://www.amazon.com/First-Quarter-25-year-History- Video/dp/0970475500/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293466501&sr=1-2
2) Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children by David Scheff - Random House http://www.amazon.com/Game-Over-Nintendo-American-Industry/dp/0679404694/ref=pd_cp_b_3
3) Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner Random House http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed- Culture/dp/0812972155/ref=pd_sim_b_4
4) Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto by David Kushner http://www.amazon.com/Jacked-Outlaw-Story-Grand Theft/dp/0470936371/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359033423&sr=1-1&keywords=jacked
5) Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence by Gerard Jones http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Monsters-Children-Make-Believe- Violence/dp/0465036961/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359033568&sr=1- 1&keywords=killing+monsters+why+children+need+fantasy
Blogs and http://www.gamasutra.com/ Websites http://www.deconstructoroffun.com http://www.gamesindustry.biz/ http://www.escapistmagazine.com/ http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk http://www.polygon.com http://www.kotaku.com http://www.joystiq.com http://www.metacritic.com http://www.theesa.com
Suggested A partial list of influential games, no need to play, but for those who are interested, a lot is written on-line Game List about each one. It is good to be at least familiar with most of these games.
Pong Everquest Pac Man Metal Gear Solid Karateka (Apple 2 emulated on line) Resident Evil Tetris Guitar Hero Super Mario Bros God of War Wolfenstein 3D Half Life Doom Wii Sports Command and Conquer Madden Football (any year) Myst Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Tomb Raider Midnight Club: Los Angeles Deer Hunter Gran Turismo 5 Final Fantasy VII Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Grand Theft Auto III Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Ico Batman: Arkham Asylum Shadows of the Colossus Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Medal of Honor (the first one) League of Legends, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Dota 2 Parappa the Rapper Portal The Sims Angry Birds Warcraft Rage of Bahamut Ultima Online Clash of Clans Street Fighter Infinity Blade Farmville The Hunger Games Adventures Mafia Wars Cut The Rope Candy Crush Saga Puzzle and Dragons Minecraft Pokemon Go That Dragon Cancer Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PSVR) Form ( Vive VR) Fortnite
Suggested Sorry, some of these are not great movies, but you should see what Hollywood does to games Movies 1) Doom 2) Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 3) Prince of Persia: Sands of Time 4) Mortal Kombat 5) Resident Evil 6) Super Mario Bros 7) Warcraft 8) Silent Hill 9) Assassin’s Creed
These movies are very informative and could be helpful:
1) From Bedrooms to Billions (iTunes) 2) Video Games: The Movie (Netflix and iTunes) 3) Indie Game: The Movie (Netflix, https://youtu.be/GhaT78i1x2M) 4) Free to Play: The Movie (https://youtu.be/UjZYMI1zB9s) 5) Once Upon Atari (https://youtu.be/ylHHv4C1JnQ)
Course Outline:* Class 1 – Saturday, October 24th 10:00 am
Topic History of Games and Overview of the Industry
- What is a game?/ Gamification of the world - Who are the Players? What are the important issues and trends? - Gaming Vocabulary.
Class 2 – Saturday, November 7th 10:00 am
Topic How games are made (from ideation to completion)/ Relevance of Intellectual Property
- How Intellectual Property is platformed in games and migrated to other media and vice versa; - How to use IP from games in other media and from other media in games. - Production focus . . . how games differ in terms of production than film, tv etc. - Working with Talent. How to effectively build a world class team. - The Business side – what you need to do legally to move IP around between the media.
Class 3 – Saturday, November 14th 10:00 am
Topic Today– a look at how quickly things are moving.
- How is history repeating itself?
- High level business trends (rise of digital, streaming, location based gaming)
- Understanding product launch and virality
- E-sport introduction
- Impact of Globalization
Class 4 – Saturday, November 21th 10:00 am
Topic The Future - Streaming - E-sports - Presentation of Elevator Pitch
Plagiarism Plagiarism and other forms of academic misrepresentation are viewed as extremely serious matters. and cheating Misrepresentation of another’s work as one’s own is widely recognized as among the most serious violation. notice* The violation is clearly flagrant when it occurs as plagiarism on a required paper or as cheating on an examination, including take-home as well as in class examinations.
The punishment for such offenses can involve expulsion from the MEIM Program and Heinz School. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: 1. Plagiarism (explained below); 2. Submission of work that is not the student’s own; 3. Submission or use of falsified data; 4. Unauthorized access to an exam or assignment; 5. Use of a stand-in for an exam; 6.Use of unauthorized material in the preparation of an assignment or during an examination; 7.Supplying or communicating unauthorized information to another student for use in an assignment or exam 8.Unauthorized collaboration on an assignment. Collaboration must be explicitly permitted by an instructor for it to be considered authorized. 9. Submission of the same work for credit in more than one course.
Plagiarism is the failure to indicate the source of work either with quotation marks or footnotes. The source can be a phrase, a graphic element, a proof, specific language, or an idea derived from the work of another person. Note that material on the web is another person’s work and is therefore equally subject to the rules on plagiarism and cheating as any other source material.
Cheating and/or plagiarism on an essay assignment will result in a failing grade (0 points) for that assi gnment. The essay in which the cheating occurs will not be excluded from the offending student’s assignments included in grade calculations; the points for that essay zero (0) will be factored into the grade. Furthermore, the cheating student’s final grade will be reduced one full letter grade. A cheating student’s final grade will be impacted significantly. In addition, cases of cheating and plagiarism will be submitted to and reviewed by the Dean’s Office; more severe penalties may be imposed, up to and including expulsion from the Heinz School.
Academic Dishonesty: Students are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards inside and outside the classroom. Cheating on exams and term papers (i.e. plagiarism and unauthorized collaboration) is obviously discouraged and will be treated appropriately. The usual penalty for violations is a failing grade for the particular assignment in question; however, in some instances, such actions may result in a failing grade for the course.
Course ABSENCES/ TARDY: Policies & We only have a short time together, so please do your best to be present and be ready to work. Should you Expectations have any problems, please contact me prior to class.