Description of Game Development Project Setting: You and your group are an ‘indie’ game development company trying to get a publishing company to fund your game. As the development team, you and your group must produce all the necessary documentation as well as a working game prototype. The group will present and demonstrate their work at a game developer’s exposition that will be attended by a number of other game developers (other groups) as well as representatives from publishing companies (lecturer). Purpose: To work in a group and to experience various stages of the game development lifecycle, and to produce a working game prototype. This assignment is divided into 3 parts: Part I – Game Documentation Part II – Presentation & Demonstration Part III – Completed Game Demo General Instructions You will be working in a group of 3 to 4 students. It is up to the group what game prototype/demo to build. The only restriction being that the game must have some form of a story. The game demo must be built using Unreal Development Kit. Don’t try to be too ambitious, your game design must be feasible within the given timeframe. The completed game demo only needs to be a single level of the game. As such the design documents should reflect this (more details below). Before finalizing the design, make sure that the team has the necessary expertise and actually will be able to implement the game demo. This is just a demo so don’t make the game too difficult to play. It is vital for game demos not to frustrate the player. To safeguard against the situation where certain team members might not do any work or might contribute less than other team members, you will be required to submit a document which breaks down the team roles and contributions (i.e. what individual members worked on). This document must be signed by all group members. In it you should also list the percentage contributions of each individual team member. Marks may be adjusted accordingly based on this document. Make sure you don’t just indicate that everybody had an equal hand in every aspect of the development – this shows a distinct lack of proper planning and poor management. This assignment is a team effort, so individual members might concentrate on different tasks. However it goes without saying that all members should be aware of what the other members are doing and have an understanding of how it is done. After all, this is a learning exercise so learn as much as you can e.g. get other group members to show you how it’s done. Part I – Documentation DUE: Week 11. Submit both hard copies and electronic copies of all documents (.doc or .pdf) to your lecturer before the end of the lab session. Instructions For this section, you are required to produce the following documents: • Game Concept Document • Game Design Document • Art style guide • Technical Design Document The scope of the game concept should encompass the entire game, whereas the other documents only need to address the design of the prototype/demo (i.e. a single level). In other words, you don’t have to document the design for the entire game. Though you might want to include a ‘wish list’ of features you might like to have in the full version of the game. Don’t forget to choose a title for your game. The contents of these documents will very much depend on the game that you and your team will be developing. Some design document templates can be found under ‘Assignments’ on the subject web site. The important thing is that the documents are clear and understandable, complete (i.e. any other game developer should be able to develop your game by reading the documentation), the design must be feasible within your project schedule and it should be presented in a professional manner. Assessment Guide Marks are allocated as follows: • Game concept document (2 mark) • Game design document (3 marks) • Art style guide (2 marks) • Technical design document (3 marks) Note: The marking allocations shown here are merely a guide. Marks may also be awarded or deducted for other things. Part II – Presentation & Demonstration DUE: Week13, to be presented during the lab session. Instructions This is your chance to show your group’s master piece to others! It is up to the group how you choose to present and demonstrate your game demo. For example, the group might choose to present aspects of your game demo using PowerPoint slides, or might just run the game prototype to demonstrate and highlight certain game features, or show a game trailer and explain the gameplay, or a mixture. However, all this must be done within the allocated presentation/demonstration time. All group members should participate in this and must be available to answer questions. IMPORTANT: ALL group members must be present for the presentation & demonstration. Otherwise penalties will apply. Assessment Guide Marks will be awarded for the following: • Communication (2 marks) • Quality of the presentation/demonstration (3 marks) • Choice of material presented (1 marks) • Time management (1 mark) • Questions & answers (1 mark) • Overall impression (2 marks) Note: The marking allocations shown here are merely a guide. Marks may also be awarded or deducted for other things. Part III – Completed Game Demo DUE: Week13, before the end of the lab session. Instructions For this part, the team must submit a working game demo including all deliverables. The game demo must work on the computers in the labs. The game demo only needs to be of a single level, though if you choose you can do more. Note that assessment will be based on quality and not so much on quantity. You are allowed to use third-party assets provided you have permission to do so (e.g. assets that come with 3dgs or from their website, etc.). Also, you must acknowledge any resources that are not the group’s work. Marks may also be awarded for any additional effort, if done well (e.g. game trailer, cutscenes, cinematics, marketing poster, website, models/art work, AI, physics, audio, etc. that were solely developed by the group). Deliverables include (but are not limited to): • A breakdown of who did what, including the percentages of individual contributions, signed by all group members (include all contact details, and who to contact in the event of any queries related to the overall game demo – possibly the team leader) • All documentation (from part I – if necessary, indicate whether these were updated, i.e. if different from the documentation submitted in part I) • Game manual • 10 of the best screenshots (to be used by the company’s marketing department) • A readme.txt file (highlight anything you want the marker to know, including any additional effort that you think deserves the marker’s attention) • The working game demo (Indicate how to launch the game demo in the readme file) • All raw files e.g. model files, artwork, etc. (organized appropriately, don’t just dump everything into the root directory) Softcopies of all relevant files must be submitted on CDs/DVD, along with a hardcopy of the user manual and the document that shows the breakdown of individual contributions that is to be signed by all group members. IMPORTANT: Make sure all submitted discs are readable. Assessment Guide Marks will be awarded for the following: • How closely demo follows the intended design (3 marks) • Game story and flow (4 marks) • Game mechanics and gameplay (6 marks) • Game world and level design (6 marks) • Interface design and ease of use (2 marks) • Game manual (2 marks) • Marketing material (2 mark) • Overall quality of the work (5 marks) Note: The marking allocations shown here are merely a guide. Marks may also be awarded or deducted for other things.