Level 3 Extended Diploma Unit 22 Developing Computer Games Game Design Level 3 Extended Diploma Unit 22 Developing Computer Games

Your task (criteria P3) Produce a design for a computer game for a given specification Must be a design you are capable of developing in HTML5 and JavaScript For confident programmers: Side scroller Platform Snake For less confident programmers: Breakout

Design techniques Storyboards Pseudo code Narrative Action lists Graphical tools

Storyboards

Storyboards A series of simple drawings created by games designers which show: The different stages of the game The order in which they will be played The appearance of: Start screens Levels Menus Scores How game development can be split and allocated to different developers

Story board for breakout Start screen Options menu Difficulty? Levels Different numbers of bricks? More than one ball? Scores Time taken? Points? Game over screen

Pseudo code Cross between programming code and English Designers understand: Game features What makes good games What motivates players to continue Programmers understand: How the code works Pseudo code is used to communicate between designers and programmers

Pseudo code for Breakout If ball is at bottom of screen and ball is on paddle Then reverse direction Else End game End If

Narratives This is the story of the game Encourages the player to find out what happens next Creates atmosphere (scary, tense, calm) Creates emotional link to characters Acts as carrot and stick Creates rewards More or less important depending on genre

Narrative for breakout Increased tension in levels Speed? Number of balls? Rewards Faster paddle? Slower ball? More points if more than brick knocked out per bounce? Different ball shapes or sprites?

Action lists Splits the complete development job into individual tasks Shows them in order Shows who will be doing them How long they take When they need to be done by The skills and resources needed Used by the project manager Given to the whole team

Action list item for Breakout Create storyboard Duration: 1 week Developer: A student Dependency: Choice of game Due by: April 27 Skills: Drawing Resources: Graphical package

Assignment 2 P3 Produce a design for a computer game for a given specification M1 Determine appropriate data types for a computer game and show how they are declared D2 Explain how the structure and design of a game can assist in maintenance and capacity for extension.

Task 1 P3 Produce a design for a computer game for a given specification Your design must include Storyboards Pseudo code Narrative Action lists Graphical tools

Task 2 M1 Determine appropriate data types for a computer game and show how they are declared Explain the data typing in JavaScript Decide which variables you will need Describe the type they will be eg text, number, array Include the declarations

Task 3 D2 Explain how the structure and design of a game can assist in maintenance and capacity for extension. Using comments Write small blocks of code – functions Invoke existing code blocks - call a function Use consistent indentation Using sensible variable names