3D Computer Games Design

3D Computer Games Design

Concept Development

Like all other forms of design, 3D Game design starts with an idea, not always original but often a modification on an existing idea. The game idea may fall within one or several genres, with some game designers often experimenting with mixing genres. The game designer usually produces an initial game proposal document containing the concept, gameplay, feature list, setting and story, target audience, requirements and schedule, staff and budget estimates. Many other decisions are of course made during the course of a game's development about the game's design but they will all be based on the original concept, it is the foundation of your game so give it plenty of thought and consideration as it is of vital importance.

Game Genres (PDF) 101 Level Design Ideas (PDF) 3D Game Concept Developmemt Stage 1 (PDF Worksheet) 3D Game Concept Developmemt Stage 2 (PDF Worksheet)

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

Level Design Tips

Designing computer games, especially in 3D, is one of the most difficult things I can think of. Taking your own idea and making it come alive is something special. Some people think the fun is in playing the game, but, for a some people, creating and building the environments in which other people play is just as, if not more, rewarding. Planning your game is an important step in bringing your idea to life. Remember, many designers have come before you and failed and it is important that you learn from their mistakes and your own that you will certainly make along the way. In order to succeed, you'll have to be both creative and dedicated. You'll need to take a look at successful games and analyse them to see why they managed to succeed. Below, we have provided you with links to some excellent e-books on Game design and Level design.

Beginning Game Level Design (PDF eBook) Game Development and Production (PDF eBook) The Utimate Level Design Guide (PDF eBook) Illustrated Guide of Level Design Process (PDF eBook)

Game Design Software: Click on an icon below to go to that softwares website

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

A 3D Game editing software - Best Options in our opinion are the Unreal Development Kit (UDK)from Unreal, for PC, or Unity, for Mac. A 3D Modelling software - Best options are 3D Studio Max (free trial and student version available) or Blender (free) An image editing software - Best is Adobe Photoshop (free trial available) , but if you can't afford that, which most people can't, then use Pixlr which is an online photo editor and it has all the main functions from Photoshop. CrazyBump is a program designed specifically to make quick, quality, variations of an image to be used as textures on 3D models.

Once you have downloaded the required software you are ready to begin. In these examples the level editor we are using is UDK and the modelling software is blender. This is because they are both quality softwares that are also free to download and use so everybody can use them and therefore everybody can follow these tutorials! The main steps in the production stage of developing a 3D game are outlined below and the tutorials relevant to each stage are included in each section. We are currently developing our own set of video tutorials but for the moment we have embedded videos from external sites. All text tutorials are our own.

Introduction to UDK:

Before we begin the actual level design tutorials we recommend you familiarise yourself with the UDK software by watching the videos below.

Getting started with UDK - Part 1 of 3 (Video) Getting started with UDK - Part 2 of 3 (Video) Getting started with UDK - Part 3 of 3 (Video)

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

Setting up the Level:

Any game or level can appear huge or tiny depending on the scale of things relative to the character. As soon as you begin the production stage of your game, regardless of the software or game engine being used, you should place a character template or similar in the level to guide you in the correct scaling of your level. UDK has its own system of measurements referred to as UU Units where 16uu = 1 foot. For example the standard character size in UDK is 96 uu units which is 6 foot. This simple act is one of the basics in setting up your level and it, along with other standard level design procedures are explained in the tutorials below.

Creating a Terrain in UDK (Video) Creating a simple room/building in UDK using BSP (Video) Blocking out basic room features in UDK with BSP (Video) Setting up Different Camera Views in UDK (Video)

Static Meshes:

The next step is to "block out" the Level. This process is used to quickly layout the main sections and areas of a level. Each block may represent a building or cliff or vehicle or object etc. and doing this

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

will allow you to quickly and easily get a sense of the environment you have created and make any necessary positional changes. It is also an ideal way to break down a large level into more manageable areas/blocks which can be detailed one at a time. After you do this you can then add static meshes to the level, replacing BSP blocks where necessary.

Adding Static Meshes to your level in UDK (Video) Importing Custom Static Meshes to UDK (Video)

Textures, Materials and Decals:

Once the level is blocked out the next step is adding textures. Textures should only be added after a level has been blocked out and all static meshes have been added. This is because textures are easier to edit and change than meshes and it is therefore better to match textures to meshes than vice versa. Most game engines will have a library of ready-made textures but creating your own is recommended as it will give your game a more original feel.

Create your own textures for UDK (PDF) Using CrazyBump (Video) Use UDK Material Editor to make usable materials from your textures (Video) Apply Materials to surfaces in UDK (Video) Apply Decals to surfaces in UDK (PDF)

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

Adding Lighting:

Lighting is one of the most important elements to a 3D game. Good lighting creates atmosphere, hides enemies, build tension for the player and makes a game look more realistic. Subtle changes and constant lighting rebuilds will take a lot of time so allow for that in your planning. Poor lighting cheapens a game, makes it look false and boring. Put in the time to get the rewards.

Add a Work Light and Lightmass Importance Volume (Video) How to add a Sky Dome in UDK (Video) Dominant Directional Lights and Point Lights (Video) Emissive Lighting from Static Meshes (Video) Toggleable and Moveable Lights (Video) Creating Fog in UDK (PDF)

Adding Functionality and Interactivity:

As good as quality textures and feature lighting will make you game look unless it also has interesting and challenging elements for the player to interact with or use then it will not be

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

successful. Things as simple as adding light switches and sliding doors add so much to a game by keeping the player constantly active as they roam around. More complex elements like elevators, vehicles, countdown clocks etc. will further enhance the player's experience. Most interactive functions in UDK utilise the Editors visual programming system Kismet and/or the animation editor Matinee.

Create a Moving Door or Elevator in UDK (PDF) Create swimmable water/lava/slime in UDK (PDF) Light Switches (Video) Ladders and Jump Pads (Video) Teleporters (Video) Adding Vehicles and Weapons (Video) Create "key" Pickups in UDK - Part 1 (Video) Create "key" Pickups in UDK - Part 2 (Video) Create a Game Countdown Timer in UDK (Video) UDK Game Lives Counter - Part 1 (Video) UDK Game Lives Counter - Part 2 (Video)

Adding A.I.:

Artificial intelligence refers to elements in the game which can react to the players' movements, actions or decisions. They may be enemies or friendlies or other. Although complex to programme, once one is programmed correctly the same code can be used on an infinite amount of the same characters or only subtly edited for different characters.

Create Enemies in UDK - 4 options (PDF)

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

Multiple Enemy Patrol Bots Setup - Part 1 (Video) Enemy Bot Spawning Behavior - Part 2 (Video) Patrol Origins and Destinations using 'Notes' - Part 3 (Video) Activate Patrols - Part 4 (Video) Control Enemy Patrol Bots Firing - Part 5 (Video)

Intro/End/Cut scenes:

These are short "movie" like interludes in the game used to inform the player on the game mission or objectives, give character information, hand out clues, show dialogue between characters etc. The reasons for using them are up to you but they are undoubtedly a great feature and add a sense of professionalism to your game while allowing the player a short respite from the action. They are quite difficult and time consuming at first, as seen from the 12 part tutorial below! However, like anything else, practice makes perfect.

UDK Cinematics - Part 1 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 2 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 3 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 4 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 5 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 6 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 7 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 8 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 9 (Video)

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

UDK Cinematics - Part 10 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 11 (Video) UDK Cinematics - Part 12 (Video)

Menus, HUD's, Fonts:

The menu is the first thing the player sees so it is great if it is interesting and enticing however the main function of the menu is of course to provide options for the player. Be sure your menu is clear and easy to use above all else. In UDK scaleform is used to create menus, and other visual interface features. The full range of applications for scaleform is explained HERE.

UDK Scaleform - Part 1 - Importing a SWF (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 2 - Render Textures and Materials (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 3 - Adding a SWF to a BSP (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 4 - Capturing Input (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 5 - Invoke ActionScript and FSCommands(Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 6 - Creating Custom Menus (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 7 - Working with Fonts (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 8 - Mastering a Scaleform HUD 1 (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 9 - Mastering a Scaleform HUD 2 (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 10 - Mastering a Scaleform HUD 3 (Video) UDK Scaleform - Part 11 - Mastering a Scaleform HUD 4 (Video)

www.onlinedesignteacher.com

3D Computer Games Design

Troubleshooting: Despite your best efforts and meticulous attention to details sometimes things still go wrong - paths don't link, things go missing, codes don't work, levels won't build, enemies won't spawn etc. When something does go wrong and you don't feel like rushing straight to Google, have at look at some frequently asked questions and issues in UDK. If you can learn from your little errors or oversights they will be less likely to slow you down in the future!

UDK Troubleshooting (PDF)

www.onlinedesignteacher.com