| Computer games are being used increasingly for leisure, education, and work-based training with players interacting via personal computers, consoles, PDAs, mobile devices and web browsers. Computer gaming has been a growing industry for the last few years, with Scotland being one of the global leaders. In Scotland there are more than 50 such companies, mostly based in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
To achieve a NPA (National Progression Award) in Computer Games Development pupils complete three units of work at the SCQF Level in the following units: Computer Games: Design You will plan and design a level in a digital game, be introduced to the role of the games designer, investigate emerging technologies in gaming and analyse how this technology will affect games and peoples’ expectations of games. You will evaluate methods used in the planning and design stages involved in the production of a digital game. You will plan and design a digital game to a given brief. Computer Games: Media Assets You will acquire an understanding of the different types of media asset required for developing a digital game and learn how to plan and produce media assets for use in a games development environment. Computer Games: Development You will gain an understanding of the processes involved in the final stages of development of a digital game. You will go on to plan and deliver a promotional activity, devise a test strategy, test the game thoroughly recording the results, gain an understanding of the evaluation process and complete a user review of a game that applies a scoring/rating system. |
| Who might choose this subject? |
| Pupils who achieved National 5 Computing Science at C should consider this an alternative to Higher Computing Science.
Pupils who studied at N4 Computing science in S4 will cope better with Computer Games Development at level 5 instead of N5 Computing Science due to the programming demands of the course. Pupils who studied at N3 Computing in S4 should also pick Computer Games Development at level 4 OR N4 Computing Science. Talk to your computing teacher for more advice. Pupils who have no prior experience in the subject could consider this subject. If unsure, please talk to a Computing teacher to discuss further. |
| Additional Information |
| There is no final exam in this subject, but assessments throughout the year. Pupils have to complete all three units to achieve the National Progression Award (NPA) in Computer Games Development. |
