Indie Games Development

Course guarantor:

Lecturer:

Tutor:

Supervisor:

Department of Computer Graphics and Interaction

Synopsis:

The course comprehensively covers the journey of an independent game developer from concept creation and basic design principles, through market research, business and production aspects, to marketing, publishing, and studio management.

Requirements:

Students, in teams of 2-3, will develop a concept, market study, pitch deck, and playable prototype for a video game. Only digital games are allowed.

Graded credit without exam - the concept is not graded, but is mandatory and is done in exercises and as homework. The study document is graded A-F (0-25 points), and the pitch deck is graded A-F (0-25 points). The prototype is graded A-F (0-50 points). At least 50 points are required to pass.

Syllabus of lectures:

1. Introduction to Independent Development

2. Concept Creation

3. Main Principles of Game Design

4. Market Research and Data Analysis

5. Games as a Business

6. Production Planning and Management

7. PR and Marketing Strategy

8. Indie Dev Toolbox

9. Roadmap, Publishing, and Launch

10. Game Studio Management

11. Invited Lecture

12. Investor Pitching

13. Post-Release

14. Reserve

Syllabus of tutorials:

1. Introduction, Inspiration

2. Team and Concept Creation

3. Paper Prototyping

4. Market Analysis

5. Consultation I

6. Game Project Development Planning

7. Game Project Marketing

8. Consultation II

9. Writing and World Creation

10. Pixel Graphics for a Game Project

11. Consultation III

12. Pitch Deck Preparation

13. Project Presentation

Study Objective:

Study materials:

Recommended study sources:

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made, Jason

Schreier (2017)

Game Feel: A Game Designer's Guide to Virtual Sensation, Steve Swink (2008)

Is Every Indie Game Independent? Towards the Concept of Independent Game, Damian Garda, Paweł

Grabarczyk (2014)

How to Survive in Gamedev for Eleven Years Without a Hit, Lars M. Birkett (2016)

Know Your Market: Making Indie Games That Sell, Chris Zukowski (2018)

During the course, students will be provided with all necessary materials, including presentations from lectures and exercises, as well as additional resources such as selected professional texts, video tutorials, and documentation for development tools.

Note:

Further information:

No time-table has been prepared for this course

The course is a part of the following study plans:

• Open Informatics - Extended Reality and Game Development (compulsory elective course)