BTEC National Certificate in Media Production (Computer Games Industry)

Course information:
BTEC National Certificate in Media Production (Computer Games Industry)

Course content:
Not only do the media play an increasingly important role in contemporary society, but the videogame industry specifically is becoming increasingly significant. This course offers not only the opportunity to study the Videogame industry but to gain hands on experience with the tools used in videogame production. The BTEC itself will be studied alongside A Level Computing.

Syllabus Outline (Edexcel)
Students complete twelve modules over the two year course. The first year modules are detailed below:

Unit 1: Research Techniques for the Media Industries
• The purposes of research in the media industries
• The application of a range of research methods

Unit 2: Pre-Production Techniques for the Media Industries
• The understanding of requirements for production
• The obtaining of resources for production
• The application of production logistics

Unit 12: Understanding the Computer Games Industry
• Understanding organizational structures and financial issues in the games industry
• Understanding contractual & legal obligations in the games industry

Unit 19: Computer Game Platforms and Technologies
• Understanding game platform types
• Understanding hardware & software technologies for game platforms

Unit 73: Human-Computer Interfaces
• Understanding the methods of control and feedback in games
• The creation of interfaces for games

Unit 75: Flash for Computer Games
• The understanding of Flash in game development
• The use of Flash for game programming
• The production of a Flash game.

In the second year students will complete more practical modules, applying knowledge from the first year, including â€-Computer Game Design†, â€-Computer Game Story Development†and â€-Computer Game Sound†.

Assessment procedure:
Assessment for each module is coursework based, with students producing a range of forms throughout, including (but not exclusive to) portfolios, reports, presentations and blogs.

Further to the above, students will produce assessment for some modules in relation to others. For instance, many of the ideas emerging from Units 1 & 2 will be modified to provide content for Unit 12

Qualifications achieved:
BTEC National Certificate in Media Production