ART 488 / CMSC 493 Game Project Class

Introduction Game programming experience Team development Customers Adversity – Cancelled projects, reassignment Success – Demo for professional game developers

Who am I? Marc Olano BS EE, University of Illinois – Plus Visualization, Theatre Lighting Design PhD CS, University of North Carolina – First graphics hardware shading – Normal maps, Some ideas used on GPUs 4 years Silicon Graphics – Cramming shading into non-programmable hardware Here since 2002 – Sabbatical at Firaxis Games (Civilization V) – Work w/ Activision, Treyarch, 2K

“In the beginning” This class in 2009 – AAA tools, AAA complexity Gamebryo + WWise + Scaleform – All used in some real AAA games – All poorly documented, steep learning curve 1 person-month to integrate Scaleform & Gamebryo – Legal encumbrance “No charge! Unless you sell it!”

“Riding the pendulum” This class in 2010 – Tiny teams, Tiny 2D games Some awesome, some less awesome Maybe too tiny… – Little programming complexity – I’ve seen High School students do better OK, so they were Imagine Cup finalist HS students

The Goldilocks Version? Survival of the fittest – Just like the real world :) Best ideas get 2-3 person 2-week prototype Best prototypes get 6-8 person team – 6 weeks development – 2 weeks to refine it – 2 weeks to make it bulletproof Industry demo

Game Mentors Prototypes demos for real developers – They will help me pick the ones to green light – They’ll each pick one to “adopt” – Meet them every two weeks – Follow their advice (unless you are really, really sure it is wrong & can defend your choice)

New: Customers Two customers Customers have a need & goal – You can still define the game that fits that need All games and pitches this year must fit a customer need

Customer: Anne Rubin History UMBC Game to teach civil war history Focus on Pratt Street Riot in Baltimore – What happened? What did people involved actually know at the time? Should be designed to for later extension to other events Work with history graduate students

Pratt Street Riot 1 st bloodshed in Civil War – (Only self-inflicted casualties at Ft. Sumter) Massachusetts Soldiers marching from Camden Station to President St. Station Protected by Baltimore Police Blocked by anti-war supporters and confederate sympathizers

Customer: Signature Theatre Tony-award winning theater in Arlington, VA Known for producing new musicals Game for marketing and audience development – For example: get something in the game for attending a show at the theater. Prefer mobile Thinking tycoon-style game

Non-profit Theater Production – Director, Designers (Set, Lights, Costumes, Props) – Actors, Musicians – Stage Manager, Crew – … Administration – Artistic Director, Managing Director – Marketing, Fundraising. Ticket Sales – …

How to Pitch Look at rubric, due midnight THURSDAY Create five slide pitch in Google Docs – Share it with me – I will merge into one mondo presentation 3 minute presentations – Over 3 minutes = -10% – +1 minute question(s)

Your Pitch Slide 1: Elevator pitch – 2 sentences, 10 seconds Slide 2: Demographics – Who is your target player, why will they like it? – Similar games that succeeded – Potential festivals or contests Slide 3: Mechanic – What do your players do? Why is that fun? Slide 4: Technical – Time and resources Slide 5: Screen Mockup – What will the game look like? What is the artistic style?

Considerations Can this game be finished in a semester? Does something about it stand out – Artistic style – Unique or unusual tech – Theme or gameplay Will it enhance your portfolio?

Unity3D / Unreal In the lab: – Unity 4 pro in the lab $99 student price from studica – Unreal 4 You’ll each get a code I’ll select the tool I think will work best for you – Unless you have a compelling reason to use something else – And can convince me

Ethics You can use external toolkits and code – If you have the rights – And you credit them But you need to make your own game – The design must be yours – The art must be yours – The core game code must be yours

Grading Personal 10%Pitch – Due Monday 10%Portfolio & Site – Due 4/29 10%Perf. & Attendance – All semester – Your teammates are depending on you! – No text, no final = you must attend Team 10%Prototype – Due 2/18 10%URCAD – Draft 2/18, Final 2/25 – Attend 4/22 35%Sprints – Every two weeks 10%Final demo – Schedule in finals week