Master of Entertainment Industry Management

Transcription

1 Master of Entertainment Industry Management Information The Business of Gaming Number: Semester Credit Hours: 4, Class Meetings: 4 Instructors: Holly Newman holly@2063productions.com Friday, 10/19 at 10am Friday, 10/26 at 2:30pm Friday, 11/9 at 2:30pm Friday, 11/16 at 2:30pm *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 sales of $30.4 billion in game content, hardware and accessories in 2015, 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, and the impact of software piracy on business models. - 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 digital distribution, ios/android, VR &AR, E-Sports, freemium vs. paid models and how they impact rights allocations and revenue streams.

2 Learning/ Objectives* By the end of this course, students will be able to: Learning Objective Speak literately regarding exploitation of intellectual property to and from the game business. List and describe the production and distribution pipelines relevant to a game project. Understand the use of games to engage, leverage and extend the consumer s relationship with intellectual property. How Assessed Final in Class Presentation Final Written Presentation Class Discussion/Final Written Presentation Look at the commercial potential of Intellectual Property migration between games and film as well the game industry s role in platform agnostic content. Class Discussion Consider gaming influence on other media arts Develop an appropriate gaming vocabulary Discover effective ways to examine business policy and practices at gaming companies Class Discussion Final in class presentation/ Final Written Presentation Class Discussion Evaluation* Method The focus of the grading will be divided in the following areas: Class process, participation and development 20% Elevator Pitch 40% Final Project 40% Class Participation Rubric Grading for Class Participation PARTICIPATION: Class participation (which includes your General Attitude, Communication Skills, Organizational Skills and Creativity and Innovativeness) is weighted heavily 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 be a reflection of all of these aspects of participation in addition to professional presentation, enthusiasm, improvement throughout the course and punctuality.

3 A Grade B Grade C Grade D/R Grade Frequency and Quality Attends class regularly and always contributes to the discussion by raising thoughtful questions, analyzing relevant issues, building on others ideas, introducing original ideas, synthesizing across discussions, expanding the class perspective, and appropriately challenging assumptions and perspectives Attends class regularly and sometimes contributes to the discussion in the aforementioned ways. Attends class regularly but rarely contributes to the discussion in the aforementioned ways. Attends class regularly but never contributes to the discussion in the aforementioned ways. Grading Scale* A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- R % % % % % % % % % below 71 pts (< 71%) Exceptional Excellent Very Good Good Acceptable Fair Poor Very Poor Minimum Passing Failing Materials (Required Text) None, however, the following books are useful if you d like to learn more. Copies are available in the MEIM library. 1) The First Quarter: A 25 -year History of Video Games by Steven L. Kent Video/dp/ /ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid= &sr=1-2 2) Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children by David Scheff - Random House 3) Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner Random House Culture/dp/ /ref=pd_sim_b_4 4) Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto by David Kushner Theft/dp/ /ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid= &sr=1-1&keywords=jacked 5) Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence by Gerard Jo Violence/dp/ /ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid= &sr=1-1&keywords=killing+monsters+why+children+need+fantasy

4 Blogs and Websites Suggested Game List A list of influential games, no need to play, but for those who are interested, a lot is written on-line about each one. It is good to be at least familiar with most of these games. Pong Pac Man Karateka (Apple 2 emulated on line) Tetris Super Mario Bros Wolfenstein 3D Doom Command and Conquer Myst Tomb Raider Deer Hunter Final Fantasy VII Grand Theft Auto III Ico Shadows of the Colossus Medal of Honor (the first one) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Parappa the Rapper The Sims Warcraft Ultima Online Street Fighter Farmville Mafia Wars Candy Crush Saga Minecraft Everquest Metal Gear Solid Resident Evil Guitar Hero God of War Half Life Wii Sports Madden Football (any year) Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Midnight Club: Los Angeles Gran Turismo 5 Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Batman: Arkham Asylum Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood League of Legends, Dota 2 Portal Angry Birds Rage of Bahamut Clash of Clans Infinity Blade The Hunger Games Adventures Cut The Rope Puzzle and Dragons Pokemon Go That Dragon Cancer Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PSVR) Form ( Vive VR)

5 Suggested Movies Sorry, some of these are not great movies, but you should see what Hollywood does to games so we can talk about it. 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, 4) Free to Play: The Movie ( 5) Once Upon Atari ( Outline:* Class 1 Friday, October 19th 10:00 am 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 Friday, October 26th 2:30 pm 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 Friday, November 9th 2:30 pm Today a look at how quickly things are moving. - How is history repeating itself. - High level business trends (rise of digital, cloud gaming, location based gaming) - Understanding product launch and virality - Esport introduction - Impact of Foreign Markets, especially China -

6 Class 4 Friday, November 16 th 2:30 pm The Future - Mobile Future - Console Future - Virtual Reality and Augmented/Mixed Reality - Esports - Presentation of Elevator Pitch Plagiarism and cheating notice* Plagiarism and other forms of academic misrepresentation are viewed as extremely serious matters. Misrepresentation of another s work as one s own is widely recognized as among the most serious violation. 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 assignment. 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. Policies & Expectations ABSENCES/ TARDY: We only have a short time together, so please do your best to be here and be ready to work. Should you have any problems, please contact me prior to class.