General information


Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Adso Fernández Baena

Trimester: Third term

Credits: 8

Teaching staff: 

Xavier Figueras Garcia
Elena Candil Gil-ortega 

Skills


Basic skills
  • B4_That students can convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialized and non-specialized audiences

     

  • B5_That students have developed those learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy

     

Specific skills
  • V2. Design the mechanics, rules, structure and narrative of video games following the criteria of gameplay and balance to provide the best possible gaming experience.

  • V3. Identify the type of player and design the game experience according to its psychological characteristics.

  • V4. Design a game and its monetization, taking into account the different parameters and variables that govern the business model of the product.

  • V5. Write the specifications of a game and communicate them effectively to the team of artists and developers and other members involved in the creation and development of the game.

  • V6. Develop video games in high-level programming languages ​​in graphics engines based on specifications.

  • V8. Visually represent concepts and / or data for the ideation and creation of video games.

  • V9. Design and develop 2D animation short films.

  • V14. Lead teams of designers, artists or developers to achieve the specified goals in the time allotted, in a structured manner according to the methodology established for project management.

  • V15. Design and plan quality assurance strategies, test and data analysis of video games and interactive products.

Transversal competences
  • T1_That students know a third language, which will be preferably English, with an adequate level of oral and written form, according to the needs of the graduates in each degree

     

  • T2_That students have the ability to work as members of an interdisciplinary team either as one more member, or performing management tasks in order to contribute to developing projects with pragmatism and a sense of responsibility, making commitments taking into account the available resources

     

Description


In this subject, students must develop a project integrating the knowledge achieved so far. The project is done in teams of about four people. The project of creating a video game must consist of game design, 2D art, development in an engine like Unity and its management following video game production methodologies.

This subject has methodological and digital resources to make possible its continuity in non-contact mode in the case of being necessary for reasons related to the Covid-19. In this way, the achievement of the same knowledge and skills that are specified in this teaching plan will be ensured.

Learning outcomes


At the end of the course students must be able to:

E2.1. Design mechanics and rules of the game that as a whole is called gameplay.

E2.2. Design levels including strategies, definition of puzzles or the mission to complete, so that the objectives set by the script are achieved.

E2.3. Design the narrative of a video game and specify the interactive script.

E2.4. Balance a game or game level considering all available parameters and variables and thus offer a satisfactory user experience at the required difficulty level of the level, part or totality of the game.

E2.5. Design sound and music for the game.

E3.3. Design the game taking into account the psychological characteristics of the user.

E3.4. Design the user interface according to the criteria of usability and user experience.

E5.1. Write and maintain the set of documents that is known in its entirety as a "Game design document (GDD)".

E5.2. Communicate effectively to the team of artists and developers and other members the specifications of the project, from the GDD.

E6.1 Design the software architecture of a video game according to specifications.

E6.5 Incorporate laws of physics and intelligent behavior effectively through specific libraries.

E6.6 Develop 2D and 3D video games (or parts thereof) in high-level languages ​​on platforms and engines intended for this purpose.

E8.1 To devise the graphic aspect of a video game, according to the type of user, type of game and its cultural and historical context.

E8.2 Represent graphically the elements of a video game: scenes, characters, levels, etc.

E9.4 Design a 2D animation applying the appropriate fundamentals and strategies to the video game.

E9.5 Develop a 2D animation.

E14.1. Apply project management methodologies to achieve the objectives in the time provided.

E14.2. Exercise leadership skills and team management.

E14.3. Contribute to generating a culture of learning, error management, feedback and criticism management.

E15.5. Develop quality and testing strategy, correct and adjust software.

 

Working methodology


The subject uses the following work methodologies:

Small group laboratory, Video capsules (if applicable).

Contents


0. Ideation and creation of equipment for the design and production of a video game

  • Definition of a project based on a game idea.
  • Decomposition of the project into several phases.
  • Assigning roles among team members.

1. Pre-production

  • Creating a Game Proposal.
  • Implementation of a Prototype.
  • Use of project management and version control tools.

2. Production

  • Implementation of the Alpha version.
  • Implementation of the Beta version.
  • Implementation of the Gold version.
  • Implementation of a Game Design Document.

3. Post-production

  • Closing of the project.
  • Creation of a Post-Mortem Memory.

Learning activities


With the aim of collecting evidence of the achievement of the expected learning outcomes, the following activities of an evaluative nature will be carried out (related to all the common competences):


A1. Laboratory practice: Delivery Game Proposal - Prototype (Evidence of learning outcome E2.1, E2.3, E2.4, E3.3, E5.2, E6.1, E6.5, E6.6, E8.1. 14.1, E14.2, E14.3, E15.5, EXNUMX)

A2. Laboratory practice: Alpha delivery (Evidence of learning outcome E2.1, E2.2, E2.3, E2.4, E2.5, E3.3, E3.4, E5.2, E6.1, E6.5 .6.6, E8.1, E8.2, E9.4, E9.5, E14.1, E14.2, E14.3, E15.5, EXNUMX)

A3. Laboratory Practice: Beta Delivery (Evidence of Learning Outcome E2.1, E2.2, E2.4, E2.5, E3.3, E3.4, E5.2, E6.1, E6.5, E6.6 .8.1, E8.2, E9.4, E9.5, E14.1, E14.2, E14.3, E15.5, EXNUMX)

A4. Laboratory Practice: Gold Delivery - GDD Evidence of Learning Outcome E2.4, E2.5, E3.4, E5.2, E6.1, E6.5, E6.6 ,, E8.2, E9.4. 9.5, E14.1, E14.2, E14.3, E15.5, EXNUMX)


General criteria of the activities:

  • The teacher will present a statement for each activity and the evaluation and / or rubric criteria.
  • The teacher will inform of the dates and format of the delivery of the activity.

 

Evaluation system


The grade of each student will be calculated following the following percentages:

 

A1. Laboratory practice: Delivery Game Proposal - Prototype 20% (5% - 15%)

A2. Laboratory practice: Alpha delivery 20%

A3. Laboratory practice: Beta delivery 20%

A4. Laboratory practice: Gold delivery - GDD 30% (20% - 10%)


Final grade = A1 0,2 + A2 0,2 + A3 0,2 + A4 0,3 + Peer review 0,1 

Considerations:

  • An activity not delivered or delivered late and without justification (court summons or medical matter) counts as a 0.

  • It is the responsibility of the student to prevent plagiarism in all its forms. In the case of detecting a plagiarism, regardless of its scope, in some activity it will correspond to have a note of 0. In addition, the professor will communicate to the Head of Studies the situation so that measures applicable in matter of sanctioning regime are taken. .

  • It is the responsibility of the students who are part of a certain group to inform the teacher of any incident that has arisen among its members and that prevents the proper functioning of the group and, therefore, the realization of the video game. In these situations, the teacher will be responsible for taking the appropriate measures to allow the proper functioning of the groups and that they achieve the goal of the subject, which is the development of a video game.

  • The subject will be considered passed if the group obtains a grade equal to or higher than 5. In case a group suspends the subject in the ordinary call of the same, this group will have the opportunity to redo and re-deliver both the GDD as the video game developed for later evaluation in the call for recovery of the subject. However, a group that does not meet the necessary requirements in the regular delivery, will hardly be able to meet them for the recovery delivery, as the time required to carry out the project is the ten weeks of classes in the third term.

  • In case a group has a grade lower than 5 in the A4 it will have to present to recovery.

  • Not all team members receive the same grade necessarily. If it is detected that a member of the team has not worked enough, he could suspend the subject. In this case, even if the project is approved, some members may not be. It will be the teacher's decision to establish whether the student has the possibility of recovery or not, depending on the particular case. For example, an NP in the project does not entitle recovery.

Recovery:

  • It is necessary to obtain a mark higher than 5 in the final delivery of recovery to pass the subject.
  • In case of passing the recovery, the maximum final mark of the subject will be 5.

REFERENCES


Basic

Jeremy Gibson. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development: From Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C #.

Alex Okita. Learning C # Programming with Unity 3D.

Learn with Unity. Available at https://unity3d.com/es/learn