Intro Lecture - 9/8/2011 Game Mod Workshop (GAM 392) Brian Schrank

Who am I?

Augmented Reality Games

Commercial Work

Educational Games

Art Games

Who are You?

What will you do in this class?

Create & Iterate on a Game Mod that’s: 1.Short 2.Complete 3.Awesome

How will you make your game mod? Form teams of 3-5 students – that will last the entire semester Learn and use the entire game dev process – brainstorming, meeting, scheduling, prototyping, playtesting, iterating, demoing, even marketing – …lots of iterative development Use Unity as the game engine

You don’t have many constraints: Any genre, or new genre of game Any art style Any code You can download, use, and modify anything: – code, content, music, other Unity projects – Don’t ask if you can use something. You can. – Even if it has a copyright you can use it because it’s fair use, plus you aren’t selling your game, yet.

There are two big constraints.

1: Only use/make stuff that enhances your game mod.

2: Your game mod must have One Minute of Awesomeness.

You can make a “2D” game.

Or you can make a 3D game.

Unity affords many genres Platformer – 2D, 3D Shooter – 1 st, 3 rd Person Puzzle Racer Adventure RPG Strategy

Unity affords many genres Platformer – 2D, 3D Shooter – 1 st, 3 rd Person Puzzle Racer Adventure – be very careful and clever RPG – don’t recommend it Strategy – don’t recommend it

Or… roll your own genre!

Even an “Art Game” is Fine Cactus

Even an “Art Game” is Fine Auntie Pixelante

Three Promises to You: I promise to fight for your success. – I don’t just want you to get jobs in the industry. – I want you to LEAD the game industry someday. – There are no stupid questions. Ask away. I promise to give honest, critical feedback. – If there is something you can improve, I will tell you in a straightforward way. I promise be as available as I can. – Feel free to me anytime.

You Should Promise to: Fight for your own success. – You must think of yourself as a Professional now. – Conduct yourself and treat your team well. – There are no stupid questions. Ask away. Hunger for critical feedback from everyone. – This course is as much about the process as the product. Your 1# goal is to improve yourself. Be a vibrant member of the class & your team. – Feel free to or ask THEM anything.

Main Coursework: Brainstorms Pitches Schedule Playtests Milestone Presentations and Demos Some Reading Very short weekly blog posts

No Required Books. For Game Designers: Art of Game Design, Schell Game Design Workshop, Fullerton Game Feel, Swink For Artists: The Animator’s Survival Kit, Williams Stop Staring, Osipa (for facial modeling/rigging/animating) How to Cheat in Maya, Luhta (for Maya beginners) For Programmers: Check out the ton of Unity material on our class website For Producers: The Game Production Handbook, Chandler

Good general resource:

To the Class Website!