GAME DEVELOPMENTUSING UNITY 3D

BY : Sudeep Doke

College Life

GamerGame

Developer

Genres• Adventure – Quest/mission completion• Action – Fast-paced combat and movement• Action Adventure – Adventure games with action• Platformer – Character running and jumping in

scrolling field• Fighting – Fight using weapons or bare hand• First-Person Shooter – Action game with 1st person

view• Real-Time Strategy – Collect resources, build army,

etc• Turn-Based Strategy – RTS but turn based • Role-Playing Games – Play as a character in the

game• Sports – Racing, cricket, football, etc

I like ______ (fill in the blank)

• Art (Concept, Modelling, Texturing, Animation, Interface)

• Programming (Tools, Game engines, AI, Networking, Logic)

• Audio (Foley, fx, Composing themes)• Writing (Script, back story, dialogue)• Design (not just ideas, the big picture)• Management/Leadership

Tools of the tradeProgramming• MS Visual Studio Express Editions(C#, C+

+, etc ) – free• Open Source world (Linux, Eclipse,

Codeblocks, etc ) - free• Middleware (AI, Sound, Networking, Tree

rendering, etc )• Engines (full-blown, specialized, etc )

Sound• Audacity - free• Fruityloops – cheap

Tools of the tradeDesign• Freemind – Mindmapping software ( Open

source ) - free

Art• The GIMP(OS Photoshop clone ) - free• Blender(OS Modeling/Animation ) - free • XSI ModTool - free • Big boys : Photoshop, Painter, 3dsmax,

Maya, Zbrush, etc

Unity Live Demo

ArtistsEnvironmentalist• A great perception of depth, scale and

perspective• Concept art and parallax background for

2D games• Define visual style and breathe

atmosphere into the scene

ArtistsCharacterist• Great precision and iteration to get the

perfect character• Give birth the most crazy creatures you’ve

ever seen

ArtistsPolygonalist• Work on complex 3D environment• Convert the concept art into 3D models

with animation

ArtistsTexturist• Add skin/texture to the 3D model• Work with a 2D unwrapped version of the

3D model• Keep in mind precise boundaries, bends

and folds

ArtistsVisualist• Create from a user’s perspective • A feel in colour palettes, i.e. ‘which’ colour

initiate ‘what’ feeling in ‘what’ context

From concept art to 3D model

Game Designing• What’s your favourite video game? (now,

ever)• What made/makes that game fun?• Does a game have to be fun? What is fun?• Can a video game be “art”?

People like (or find fun) games that have components that fall

into these categories (realms) :• Spatial Reasoning (Physical)• Pattern Recognition (Mental)• Social

Core Components of Game Designing

Goals• Multiple, clear and achievable• If it takes too long to achieve a goal, the

player may get bored, so, create many simultaneous goals

• Player always should have at least one clear objective

• One “unbeatable” boss, one “impossible” jump or goal can ruin a game

Core Components of Game Designing

Choice (or at least the illusion)• Players want to think that their decision

matters• Different choices or action sequences that

result in identical results will frustrate players

• Character customization, alternate endings, good vs evil dynamics play an important role

• “Game is a series of interesting choices” – Meier

Core Components of Game Designing

Rewards and Punishments• Value of an item (to an individual) closely

correlates with what it costs to acquire (money, time, effort)

• A player who has spent time and effort on completing a task, expects to be rewarded

• Likewise a player who has failed in an objective, expects to be punished

• If actions don’t have consequences, then game-play is meaningless

Core Components of Game Designing

Game Mechanics• Programming language• Programming libraries, engines, tools• Hardware required/available• Logical programming components• Storage/retrieval/initialization methods• Interfaces (software and hardware)

supported

Core Components of Game Designing

Game Dynamics• Domain of the game• Players in the game• Rules of the game• Objects in the game

Game Aesthetics• Colour Palette• Physical looks for all players• Lighting plots, schemes, etc

Game Designing• Grid paper, rulers, pencils, set squares,

protractors, scientific calculators are your best buddies

• Game elements are created and modified based on user data

• A player’s familiarity with a game will enable them to deal with far more information than a novice player

• Perception – Orientation, time and space location, etc

• Comprehension – Understanding relation in elements

• Projection – What do I do now, what next?• Understand how various game elements

impact difficulty• Linear increase in complexity tends to

create exponential increase in difficulty

Game Development Cycle

Useful links

• www.unity3d.com• www.gamasutra.com• www.gamedev.net• www.gameprogrammingpatterns.com

Questions?