Studio Practice• Level Design

• 3D-Content Generation

• Coding

• Conceptual Art (and Architecture)

• Project Management (3rd Year)

• Teamwork (3rd year)

• Theoretical Basis

This Module• Game Genres

• Game Design Theory

• Coding

• Advanced Techniques (Textures, Lighting,….)

• Matinee, Karma Physics.

• Construction of a ‘Level’

Game Genres• Adventure

• Action

• Role-Playing Games (RPGs)

• Strategy

• Simulations

• Sport

• Fighting

• God Games

• Educational

• Puzzle

Adventure Games• Story – based

• Rely on ‘Puzzle – Solving’

• Old = text-based Zork, New = ‘Point and Click’

• Not ‘real time’; Player moves at own pace

• Large ‘Complex’ world

• Good STORY

Action Games• ‘Real Time’

• FPS Quake, Halo, Unreal

• [Action-Adventure hybrid e.g. Tomb Raider]

• Not ‘cerebral’ – relies on ‘ adrenaline rush’

• Opponents = other players or NPCs

Role-Player Games• Player directs NPCs on a series of quests

• Increase abilities and strengths of NPCs

• Ultima, Final Fantasy

• Huge world

• Slowly unfolding story

• NPCs gain strength, armour, money to buy new equipment

Strategy Games• Player manages limited amounts of resources to achieve a pre-determined goal

• Command and Conquer

• Player balances what to build, how much ‘Tiberium’ to harvest … etc

• Real-Time Strategy (RTS) pitches player against NPC AI.

Simulation Games• Jet Fighter

• Helicopter

• ??

Sport Games• Reproduce ‘rules’ of sport

• Timescale – game, match or league ?

Fighting Games• 2 – person

• Session lasts only a few minutes

• Rapid learning though attacks and counters

• Slow learning through complicated combinations

God Games• Exploratory – No defined goals

• Player must experiment

• Player must ‘fool around’

• Sims

Educational Games• Learning while playing

• Younger audience

• ??

Puzzle Games• Intellectual Challenging

• Puzzles are an end in themselves

• No integration into a storyline

Game Genre Design• Adventure

• Educational

• Puzzle

Adventure Games• Combination of exploration and puzzle-solving

• Story – the player is the ‘hero’

• Story – interesting people, interesting places, doing interesting things

• Puzzle

• obstacles between hero and goal = ‘puzzles’

• temporary frustration

• helps player to progress

• Non-linearity = ‘choice’

• Exploration. Natural curiosity. Do not reveal all, let player explore!

Educational Games• Combination of exploration and puzzle-solving

• Story – the player is the ‘hero’

• Story – interesting people, interesting places, doing interesting things

• Puzzle

• obstacles between hero and goal = ‘puzzles’

• temporary frustration

• helps player to progress

• Non-linearity = ‘choice’

• Exploration. Natural curiosity. Do not reveal all, let player explore!

Puzzle Games• Not a single ‘brain-stormer’ but a series of puzzles

• Don’t make player feel stupid

• Provide grade hints

• Give player opportunity to learn

• Interaction allows ‘trial and error’

• Provide a sense of ‘accomplishment’

A Theory of Puzzle Games• Topology

‘Node’ = cluster of rooms

‘Link’ = a connection , a corridor

Topology (abstract)

Geometry (concrete)

A Theory of Puzzle Games• From Topology to Metaphor

‘Node’ = cluster of rooms ….

• The player

• A ‘local’ enemy

• Local pickups, triggers, movers, aesthetics

• Global parameters health, score

• Story telling ..

• On entry to node

• On exit from node

Workshop & Homework (1)• Split into Groups

• Research Game Genres - Examples

• Plenary Discussion (last hour of Workshop)

• Which Genres we Negotiate to Implement ?

• How can we implement these ?

• Scripted Sequences

• Coding

• Come up-to-speed on Coding (also homework)

Total Conversions - Coding• CBP5 (package)

• CBP5Pawn (class extends Pawn)

• CBP5Boy (class extends CBP5Pawn)

• CBP5Girl (class extends CBP5Pawn)

• CBP5Controller (class extends PlayerController)

• CBP5GameInfo (class extends GameInfo)

• CBP5HUD (class extends HUD)

• CBP5Scoreboard (class extends Scoreboard)

Wotgreal

GameInfo.uc

User.ini

UT2004.ini

Summary of Syntax CBP5.CBP5GameInfo

Package Class

.uc filefolder

Workshop & Homework (2)

• Read Code Examples with Tutor and Discuss

• Do the coding activities

Next Week• Each of us has chosen a Game Genre for the production of a ‘level’

• All of us have completed the ‘Coding’ tutorials

• There will be a short test at the beginning of the session to evaluate your coding.