Teaching a Master of Professional Practice in Games Development A case study of the ‘MProf’ in Games Development at the University of Abertay Dundee

Abstract

A suitable analogy for student teams at university is perhaps that of a football team. In this case, half would not turn up to play the game – or train – and would not have learnt the rules, requiring desperate cover by the other half of the team. This other half would be a disparate collection of individuals, some of whom may try to change the shape of the ball through a sense of curiosity or just to see what could happen, some would change the rules of the game if they seemed too hard, and practically all of them would not move until 5 minutes before the final whistle. There would be a couple of students who were actually trying to play properly – but they would burn out, consumed by a combination of frustration and rage. A disastrous model to take forward into employment in games, the University of Abertay sought to address and ensure that graduates from a new Masters programme could emphatically demonstrate the value that Universities could offer