The final assignment for this class is to design and build a complete game. This assignment is far more open than the previous assignments, with only a few simple requirements. The actual game itself is entirely up to you. Read on…

Assignment: Design and Build a Game

Over the past 4 weeks you have been building variations on the projects in class, putting your own personal style into these, within the bounds of the assignment requirements. This time around, it is your chance to show off your skills and creativity.

The final assignment is for you to make your own, complete game. There are two paths that you can choose for this – continue to develop the Platform Game or Astral Attackers Game or create your own Original Game. Your project will be due by the Final Exam period (6/27 @ 4pm). Instead of a Final Exam, we will have a Final Showcase where students are encouraged to attend and show their designs (although attendance is not required)

This assignment is much more broad, and the decisions for what does and does not belong in your game is up to you!

Grading Criteria

The grading for this project will be more subjective than in previous assignments, meaning that projects will be evaluated more upon the quality of their performance across a number of categories (outlined below) as opposed to whether individual requirements were technically met. Please note, there are still requirements and failure to complete them will negatively impact your grade.

Art / Aesthetics

Does your game have a cohesive aesthetic? Do the parts “fit” with one another? Do they support the story or experience that you are trying to deliver? This category covers the appearance of your game – how well it is designed, and how well it is executed. Choose fonts that fit your game (make sure that you are not using default fonts such as Arial).

Attribution is important. Make sure to include attribution credit for assets that you did not create. This should include the name of the asset (or something to identify it by), the creator, and a link to where you found it.

Sound

Your game should have a cohesive sound design, appropriate to the style of game that you are seeking to create. Sound is important to set the mood, inform the player, and make the world come alive. Your sounds should be balanced, meaning that volume levels should be set so that sounds fit with one another, and important sounds are not lost behind ambient or background clips.

Mechanics

Your game should be fun and interesting, with a simple and strong core loop. Gameplay should be well-balanced and tuned towards an experience that most players can enjoy. You’re looking for the “Goldilocks” approach here – not to hard, and not too soft. Challenge your player, but don’t make them quit in frustration. Your game should be user-friendly, meaning a player should understand what they are supposed to do, and how well they are doing it. User Interface is clear, informative, and easy to comprehend.

Development

As this course has been all about getting things to work, what you create should reflect that mastery of the tools. This means that your code should be bug-free (or as close as you can get it), without obvious errors or missing components. Your game be the product of strong, iterative development, and should feel like time was taken to test and improve the quality. It should not feel rushed, or feel like it was thrown together at the last minute.

Project Requirements:

Item 1: Complete Game

Your game must be a COMPLETE game. That means it should have a beginning, middle, and end states. This is not a prototype, so polish definitely counts. The user should have the opportunity to start the game, and should understand what is happening during the game, and know when it is over (and why). You should be able to return to the title menu after a win or loss.

ITEM 2: Multiple Levels

Your game must include at least three levels of play. Each Level should be its own scene in Unity. You should use the Scene Management system to move between these.

ITEM 3: User Interface Menus

Your game must have the following working menu screens or function buttons:

• Title Menu
• Credits (with attributions!)
• Tutorial or How-to-Play
• Quit

ITEM 4: Project and Working Build

Your assignment must be submitted in two ways – a zipped version of your project folder, and a zipped version of your build.

• These must be separate zip files. Do not package your build inside of your project folder.
• The build must work on the intended platform. Please make sure you test your build before you submit.

ITEM 5: Attribution of Assets

You must include attributions for any assets that you did not create yourself. Include this in your “credits” page, as well as in a readme.txt (or .docx) file that you include in your assignment folder. Attribution should include the name of the asset, its creator, and a link to where you got it.

Deliverables:

Your Final Project is due by Monday (6/27) at 4pm EST. Create a folder labeled Final Assignment in your Box directory and submit the following deliverables:

• a compressed (zipped) version of your project directory
• a compressed (zipped) version of your application or executable (with support files)
• a readme.txt file containing attributions for your assets

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What do you mean by “a complete game”?

By “complete game”, I mean that the game should feel like a complete experience rather than a one-level demo. Consider classic arcade games as a good example. Simple mechanics, multiple levels (this is one of the requirements), maybe a story, maybe a boss level. Your game should take about 3-5 minutes to play.

Your game should also have the trimmings of an old arcade game as well – meaning that there should be separate menu screens to start. In addition to a game scenes, your application should have, at a minimum, a Start Menu to start the game or visit the other pages, a Tutorial Page that explains how to play to a novice player, and a Credits page to credit yourself and give attribution if you use assets created by others.

The game itself should be fun to play, and include your own personal flair or style to make this your own.

Can I continue building one of our games from class?

Yes, absolutely! Since this semester is already compressed and time is tight, I strongly encourage you to continue to develop your Platform Game or Astral Attackers into grander, broader experiences. Unless you are very comfortable with programming in Unity, I recommend that you choose one of these games.

Most students tend to choose the Platform Game, as there is much more storytelling or level design to be done, and the genre lends itself well to creating multiple levels. Ideas for improvement include additional enemies, puzzles, powerups, etc.

If you decide to go with Astral Attackers, try to find features and additional challenges to improve the gameplay. You could introduce new enemies that take more than one hit to destroy, or a flying saucer that drops a large explosive bomb that you must be outside of. Maybe there are powerups that let you shoot different weapons. Maybe you just want to make the game look amazing and add a bunch of VFX to the game.

Do I *have* to build one of these or can I design my own?

No. You can certainly design one of your own, but if you found the previous assignments difficult I would recommend against this. Design can take more time than you think, so I would only suggest this if you feel very comfortable working with Unity.

If I design my own, does it have to be an original game?

Also no! Please feel free to rip off other well established games. This exercise is not about showing that you are a master designer, it is about showing that you understand how to utilize the software to realize a design. Want to create a Pac-Man clone? Go for it. First Person Frogger? Great! Choosing a well established game is a great way to build because the rules and mechanics of the game are already there as a constraint for you. Just make sure to keep it simple! Fortnite wasn’t build in a week, and certainly not by one person.

Can I use assets that I did not create?

YES. If you want to create your own artwork and sounds, that is great. I love seeing the creativity. But it is NOT a requirement at all. If there are assets you find on the store or elsewhere online, feel free to incorporate them. (Exception: don’t submit a complete game that someone else built. This should be YOUR creation).

If you do include someone else’s work in your assets, please make sure to give some form of attribution, preferably in the credits of your game.

You didn’t mention Pong. Can I do Pong?

Only if it is a super cool variant of Pong. You should be experimenting with some new mechanics, powerups, objectives, etc… in addition to making it look and feel really great.