First Session (3/10/2013)

For this module, we will be working on a rather exciting and scary sounding team project in which we will need to come up with a game idea for a real life client and then present this to them as a panel for their approval.

Luckily, we don't have to worry about creating a real game but, we are still expected to keep a production diary throughout (especially since most groups forget to do this) and treat the sessions as if we are apart of an actual games' company. Thus, if we fail to meet deadlines set by the client and/or don't show up to sessions then it hinders the entire group's work.
This idea is meant to keep the simulation real and to "bring the industry to us", especially since we could all do with the experience of being a part of a group project.

After discussing the module we then discussed what we wanted to do in the group. I noted that I wanted to write, though I was more than happy to just write characters and the script if someone else wanted to write the story. I was also interested in voice acting as, not only would this be great practice for something I wish to explore in the future, but I doubt anyone else put it down as one of their top picks.

I will find out my role next week along with the brief, fingers crossed!

We were then asked to look up two existing business models in order to figure out the best one for our group project, Waterfall or Agile.

Waterfall:

Waterfall appears to be a model in which once you do go onto the next step there is no going back, hence the name. Therefore, developers may use this business model in order to set themselves deadlines which they can't miss. This can result in a project being rushed but, at least it makes sure the product is released to the public and not in development for a very long time. For example, 'Duke Nukem Forever' was a game that took FIFTEEN years to be released as it kept being passed onto new companies that wanted to restart it from scratch.
An example of the model can be seen below. 

Agile:

Agile, on the other hand, appears to be a model in which you only proceed to the next step after you are happy with the stages before hand. In this way, companies that have the money and time to spend, tend to use this model for their AAA titles. Although this sounds like a better model, this may result in a project taking forever to produce as the creators feel that it has to be perfect, when in reality you probably need to learn that sometimes you have to release what you are making within a reasonable amount of time, otherwise it is never released.
An example of the model can be seen below.  

Harvard Referencing:

• Alam, N, S (2012) Waterfall Model Diagram [Online Image]. Available at: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/waterfall-model-diagram.html (Accessed: 3/10/2013).
• Scott, W, A (Unknown) Agile Modeling (AM) Home Page [Online Image]. Available at: http://www.agilemodeling.com/ (Accessed: 3/10/2013).
• Unknown (Unknown) Waterfall model - Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfall_model (Accessed: 3/10/2013).
• Unknown (Unknown) Agile Modeling - Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_Modeling (Accessed: 3/10/2013).