Monday, 26 January 2015

HA4 - Task 5

Task 5
Progression – Training
Use the government’s apprenticeship site to familiarise yourself with the process of choosing and applying for apprenticeships. Do not register at this stage.

Create a shortlist of ten apprenticeships that you would consider applying for and include a short profile on each. You may find it very difficult to find an apprenticeship in a field directly linked to your interest in the creative media sector. However, you may find an interesting alternative.

You are aiming to prepare personal career development material to a quality that reflects near professional standards consistently using correct formal language.

  • SKILLS 4 SECURITY & TRAINING LIMITED
    The role will include taking responsibility for their E-learning platform and general administrative duties at their head office in Manchester
    • Distance: 0 miles
    • Closing date: tomorrow
    • Possible start date: 03 Mar 2015
    • Cubiq Recruitment
      Support for the Management Accountant performing various accounting tasks and ad-hoc work.
      • Distance: 0.1 miles
      • Closing date: 08 Mar 2015
      • Possible start date: 16 Mar 2015
      • Consumer Compensation Bureau Ltd
        This company is rapidly expanding and is looking to take lead generators who will pass leads onto more senior roles within the company. This is a progressive company with realistic targets and an opportunity to earn more if OTE are met.
        • Distance: 0.1 miles
        • Closing date: in 4 days
        • Possible start date: 16 Feb 2015
        • Klyne & Klyne (Holdings) Ltd
          IMMEDIATE START: at a large DIY company. You will be working with the customer service team in charge of contacting customers about their orders ensuring the process runs smoothly
          • Distance: 0.1 miles
          • Closing date: tomorrow
          • Possible start date: 06 Mar 2015
          • Klyne & Klyne (Holdings) Ltd
            We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic and dedicated administrator to work alongside our sales and logistics team to start immediately.
            • Distance: 0.1 miles
            • Closing date: 07 Apr 2015
            • Possible start date: 13 Apr 2015
            • The Design And Print Co Intl Ltd
              We are looking for an enthusiastic person who is passionate about graphic design and has the desire to join a growing entrepreneurial company based in Manchester. This is an exciting and varied role covering all aspects of graphic design.
              • Distance: 0.1 miles
              • Closing date: tomorrow
              • Possible start date: 06 Mar 2015
            • Jack Ross Accountant
              A fantastic opportunity has arisen within this Manchester based firm of Accountants for a budding Accountant.
              • Distance: 0.2 miles
              • Closing date: 04 May 2015
              • Possible start date: 18 May 2015
            • Jack Ross Accountant
              A fantastic opportunity for you to begin a financial career! Enabling you to gain industry recognised qualifications whilst earning a wage and invaluable experience. Jack Ross Chartered Accountants understand the value of apprenticeships, and are very supp
              • Distance: 0.2 miles
              • Closing date: 06 Apr 2015
              • Possible start date: 20 Apr 2015
            • Cognitive Publishing Limited
              Located in the heart of Manchester our client is a Media Publishing organisation who are currently looking for an Administration Apprentice.
              • Distance: 0.2 miles
              • Closing date: today
              • Possible start date: 12 Mar 2015
            • To provide effective repairs and retail support to the team.
              • Distance: 0.2 miles
              • Closing date: 13 Apr 2015
              • Possible start date: 27 Apr 2015

HA4 - Task 4

Task 4
Progression – Higher Education
Use the UCAS site to familiarise yourself with the process of choosing and applying for higher education courses. You can also find out about the financial aspects of studying at university. Do not register at this stage. You may also want to look at the Skillset accredited courses for games in addition to company websites. But remember that you have a wide range of options and do not have to stay within the field of games design.

Create a shortlist of five courses that you would consider attending and include a short profile on each, type of course, duration, entry requirements, overview etc.

You are aiming to prepare personal career development material to a quality that reflects near professional standards consistently using correct formal.


Games Design

Duration
3 Years
Study mode
Full-time
Attendance
Study on site
Qualification
BA (Hons)
Course code
I600

Build. Test. Play. BA (Hons) Games Design gives you the opportunity to take the software tools of games design and create new gaming experiences. From story-boarded concepts to playable prototypes to user testing and evaluation, you'll design the code as well as the visual feedback systems so you're ready to join the industry and develop new games from scratch. This course is taught at London College of Communication, at Elephant and Castle.



Games Design

Duration
2 Years
Study mode
Full-time
Attendance
Study on site
Qualification
HND
Course code
7V9D



If you are interested in pursuing a career in the media and gaming world then this course is for you. On this course you will study the following units: Contextual Studies for Creative Media Production; Research Techniques for creative Media Production; Project Design, Implementation and Evaluation; Special Subject Investigation for Creative Media Production; Practical Skills for Computer Game Design; Computer Games Studies; Career Development for the Computer Games Industry; Computer Game Design Techniques; 3D Computer Game Engines; Music and Sound for Computer Games; Computer Game Storytelling Techniques; Ideas Generation for Computer Games; Production Techniques for Computer Games; Level Design for Computer Games; Human-Computer Interfaces for Computer Games; Computer Games Platform Fundamentals.



Computer Science (Games)

Duration
4 Years
Study mode
Full-time with a placement (sandwich)
Attendance
Study on site
Qualification
BSc (Hons)
Course code
G455


You will study programming, 3D modelling and a host of other topics relevant to the industry. You will also learn about games hardware and benefit from a work placement year that the university will help you arrange. Taught in Brighton, this course is accredited by the British Computer Society, the chartered institute for IT professionals.




Games Design, Higher National Diploma (HND)

Duration
2 - 3 Years
Study mode
Full-time
Attendance
Study on site
Qualification
HND
Course code
2W86

Special Features: Within the scheme, there will be opportunity for the learners to attain a level of professional practice by liaising with and collaborating with local industry. Strong links to the Creative Industries will facilitate industry-related briefs and real scenarios that provide an opportunity for students to acquire professional work ethics, time planning skills and working within a design team. Learning is supported through a series of contextual visits to be confirmed in London and Paris, Barcelona or Berlin (TBC).




Computer Games Arts

Duration
3 Years
Study mode
Full-time
Attendance
Study on site
Qualification
BA (Hons)
Course code
W280
BA (Hons) Computer Games Arts at UCA Farnham provides you with a broad range of skills and expertise in digital games arts and interactive entertainment development, from concept art to working game level. Grounded in the domain of the creative and visual arts, the course also develops your technical acuity in programming and scripting.

HA4 - Task 3

Task 3
Skills Audit and Personal Statement
Produce an ideas map exploring the soft, transferable skills you possess and those that you need to develop. Use this to produce a personal statement that introduces you as an individual, rather than as a candidate for a job. This should include you identifying areas for improvement and the setting of goals. Wherever possible, try to use examples to illustrate your skills.

You are aiming to prepare personal career development material to a quality that reflects near professional standards consistently using correct formal language.


HA4 - Task 2

Thomas Crook CV

HA4 - Task 1

Task 1
Portfolio
Create a portfolio of your work from the units you have completed this year. You only need to include the final outcome for each assignment. This may involve artwork, animation, screen capture, sound files and presentations. Make sure that you use headings to make it clear which unit and assignment the work you are presenting relates to. This is your chance to reflect on what you have achieved. You will also be able to evaluate what your strengths and weaknesses are and what you did and didn’t enjoy.

You are aiming to prepare personal career development material to a quality that reflects near professional standards consistently using correct formal language.



Thursday, 22 January 2015

Task 7 - Professional Bodies Presentation

UKIE

Ukie, pronounced you-key, (UK Interactive Entertainment) is the only trade body for the UK's games and wider interactive entertainment industry. We are a not-for-profit and are passionate about games, games businesses and their place in the world. Meet the team members who are at your service Everything we do helps to support, grow and promote our members' businesses and the wider UK games and interactive entertainment industry by making sure we have the right economic, cultural, political and social environment needed for businesses to thrive. 

IGDA

IGDA Chapters are one of the primary ways that the IGDA achieves its mission of advancing the careers and enhancing the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community.
Chapters provide local outreach, education, and advocacy to the local community through regularly scheduled meetings and events. By being connected with the main organization and other chapters, SIGs, and committees around the world, they are also linked to a global community that can help them keep their members on the forefront of trends in game development.
Chapters help provide the ‘local’ part of the home for game developers worldwide. By having chapters in most major game development areas, game developers know that no matter where their career takes them, they’ll always have a familiar community ready to welcome them home.

WIGJ

The WIGJ is an non-profit organisation which specialists in helping women break into the gaming industry. David Smith, MD of the DS Interactive group created this blog on Saturday 15th August 2009. He holds the vision and look forward to bringing this creation to life. It helps recruit women by showing examples of success and giving young women role models in the gaming industry.


BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round, international programme of learning events and initiatives that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York.

MEF


MEF is the global trade association for companies wishing to monetize their products & services via mobile. The organisation is headquartered in London with operational chapters and offices in Asia, EMEA, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and North America.

Task 6 - IP Presentation

P - Intellectual property: 
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. IP is divided into two categories:  Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs.  Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs. Since intellectual property is intangible, it is more difficult to protect than other types of property. For example, tangible property, such as a car, can be recovered or replaced if it is stolen. However, if intellectual property is stolen, it may be difficult to recover. Say for example, a person comes up with a great idea for a new invention. If someone else steals the idea, the potential profit of the invention may also be taken away. Similarly, if a digital recording of a new song is "leaked" on the Internet, thousands of people may download it and redistribute it to others. If this happens, the profit potential of selling the music may be substantially diminished. 
Because of its monetary implications, intellectual property it is often used as a legal term to safeguard the rights of creators and inventors. It has also become increasingly important to media production companies who need to protect the distribution of their digital media. By defining and establishing intellectual property rights, innovators and creators can have legal protection of their ideas and creations. This may be done by copyrighting written works, applying for patents for inventions, and trademarking brands, names, and logos. Of course, the sooner these legal steps are taken, the safer is it. After all, it is much easier to protect an idea before it is stolen than after someone else takes it!
                                                              http://www.techterms.com/definition/intellectualproperty
Copyright:
Copyright is a legal means of protecting an author's work. It is a type of intellectual property that provides exclusive publication, distribution, and usage rights for the author. This means whatever content the author created cannot be used or published by anyone else without the consent of the author. The length of copyright protection may vary from country to country, but it usually lasts for the life of the author plus 50 to 100 years.
Many different types of content can be protected by copyright. Examples include books, poems, plays, songs, films, and artwork. In modern times, copyright protection has been extended to websites and other online content. Therefore, any original content published on the Web is protected by copyright law. This is important in the digital age we live in, since large amounts of content can be easily copied and pasted.
So how do you obtain copyright protection? Fortunately, in most countries, copyright protection is automatic. This means whenever you publish original content, it is automatically protected by copyright law. For example, if you post a blog on the Internet, your content is automatically covered by copyright. In most cases, this type of copyright protection is all that is necessary. However, if you want others to know your content is copyright protected, you can post the copyright logo (©) next to your name on any Web pages that include your original content. You may also want to include the years you have owned the content. Below is an example of a copyright line: 
Copyright © 2007-2009 [your name/company name].
In situations where it is critical to protect an author's rights, many countries provide copyright registration, which allows authors to register copyrighted content with a central agency. This makes it easier to prove ownership of content if it is ever disputed.
Copyright provides a helpful means of protecting original content. It serves to give people credit for the work they do, which is something we can all appreciate. Therefore, if you ever consider copying someone else's content, think of how it would make you feel if someone copied your original work and published it as their own. If you ever would like to use another person's content, make sure to ask the author for permission first. And always give credit where credit is due.
                                                              http://www.techterms.com/definition/copyright
Trademark: 
A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.
A trademark may be designated by the following symbols:
  • ™ (for an unregistered trade mark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand goods)
  • ℠ (for an unregistered service mark, that is, a mark used to promote brand services)
  • ® (for a registered trademark)
A trademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements. There is also a range of non-conventional trademarks comprising marks which do not fall into these standard categories, such as those based on color, smell, or sound.
The owner of a registered trademark may commence legal proceedings for trademark infringement to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark. However, registration is not required. The owner of a common law trademark may also file suit, but an unregistered mark may be protectable only within the geographical area within which it has been used or in geographical areas into which it may be reasonably expected to expand.
Whereas patents and copyrights are basically used to protect the commercial rights of inventors and creators of artistic or literary works, respectively, the basic concept behind a trademark or service mark is to prevent unfair competition.
Trademark law protects you, the owner, from competitors stealing your identity or using a name or symbol so similar that it could cause confusion for your clients or customers. By identifying a product or Pservice’s source, a trademark or service mark also serves to protect consumers from deception. Trademarks are registered for specific goods or services within individual subjects known as classes. It is possible for others to register identical or similar marks as long as it is in a diferent unconnected class. For example Swan rental cars, Swan matches and Swan Electricals. These are 45 classes to choose from.
thics: The Science of Morals in human conduct is called ethics. Morals are concerned with the goodness or badness of character. The principles of what is right and what is wrong is called moral.

Gaming Ethics:
Video games are widely played for entertainment and amusement; in addition, they can act as aid in relieving stress. Due to advancing technology, video games have envolved and grown into a large empire impacting those within this realm. Thus many ethical issues are brought to our attention due to this development. As a result, we should recognize how new video games are ethically affecting people who play them.
The ethical issues of video gaming that influence many people, include: Violence, Education, Stereotyping against women, community and addiction. Ultimately, each topic is linked to violence involved in video games.
It is the player's responsibility to be aware of the negative effects of video gaming. However, the gaming industry should also take part in some social responsibilities as well. what they develop and sell can affect the people positively or negavtively. For this reason, both the gamers and the gaming industry should acknowledge the ethical issues regarding video gaming, and both need to address need to address these ethical concerns accordingly.
Although video games can have many positivities, they can also affect gamers in a harmful way.
Basically, Gaming Ethics consist of following ethical issues:
  1. Violence
  2. Rating
  3. Education
  4. Stereotyping
  5. Addiction
Violence

Violent video game is a massive debate, often center on topics such as video game graphic violence, sex and sexism, violent and gory scenes, partial or full nudity, portrayal of criminal behavior, racism, and other provocative and objectionable material. Video games have been studied for links to addiction and aggression. It can be agreed that enganing in video games does have many ethical conerns. Through violence, there are many games involving violent acts as well as other content related to violence. This may lead people to believe that playing these types of video games can cause a person to be more violent.
Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents is an indispensable tool for parents and professionals who want to have important knowledge to make wise decisions about video game use in the lives of children and teens. One of the most exasperating challenges about trying to communicate about the negative effects of violent video games is that well-intentioned adults often say: But the verdict is not in yet on whether violent video game play is all that harmful. Video games are too new to have acquired any compelling data.
Ratings
The Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system was established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games. It was launched in spring 2003 and replaced a number of national age rating systems with a single system now used throughout most of Europe.
Through the rating of games, it helps the parent of young children to pick the right game for kids. Though, others are concerned that this rating system doesn’t prevent people from acquiring video games that are considered to be inappropriate for their ages. Which is true, in 2010, the Supreme Court (in US) decided to hear a case about the criminalisation of the sale of violent video games to children, but luckily this bill didn’t pass.
Education
Through the education perspective, there are different things gaming can teach us, some are positive while others are negative.
Educational video games are considered a type of serious game, as these games have a strong purpose other than pure entertainment. Some people call these types of games edutainment because they combine education and entertainment. An educational computer game can be defined as an electronic medium with all the characteristics of a gaming environment that have intended educational outcomes targeted at specific groups of learners.


 
Stereotyping
The video game industry focuses towards men more than women, therefore, many people think it is stereotyping against women. This is true whoever, men do play more games then women, however game developers do add the woman side to it, being it; able to create a woman character stereotyping if games add an experience towards both genders rather than justone.
 

Addiction

Lastly, through addiction, participating in a long amount of time in a video game has caused people to be addicted to it. As a result, they lose valuable time within their communities and miss opportunities from other activities that could be more beneficial for them. This is one of major concerns that the video game industry is having, the problem being is that they want people to enjoy their games a lot, but then addiction comes and they don’t want that, otherwise a lot of health claims come along, so the ideal game is something that’s fun, yet not addicting.