Digital Content Management

Lecture Notes for Chapter

Game Design: An Overview
Instructor: Yu-Chieh Wu Date: 2012.12.05 Related lectures:
http://140.115.112.118/course/101-1MCU-DContE/index.htm

What is a Game?
http://vimeo.com/47828131

What is a Game?
Hopscotch Rules

Each player has a unique marker Toss marker from starting line
Marker hits squares in sequence Progress to next square each turn

Hop through squares and back

Skip over square with marker Hop on one foot

Except for side-by-side squares If fail, repeat at next turn

What is a Game?

Two attempts per trick

5 points for success on 1st 3 points for success on 2nd

Trick is complete when

String fully wound on axel Yo-yo is back in hand

Disqualification if
Player moves feet Throw leaves trick box

What is a Game?
Instructions Rotate sections of the cube Each face must be solid color

What is a Game?
Amazon.com: Be the first to move your childshaped playing piece from square one to square 100 on the Chutes and Ladders game board-but watch out! If you land on the square that shows you ate too much candy--Ouch!--you get a tummy ache and slide down a chute to a square a few numbers below. But if you end your turn on a good-deed square, such as helping sweep up a mess, you'll be rewarded by a ladder-climb up the board.

What is a Game?

What is a Game?

What is a Game?

What is a Game?

What is a Game?

Game Industry

Active Game Industry Member/Contributor

Former President, International Game Developers Network (now IGDA) GDC & IGDA speaker and roundtable leader E3 panelist and moderator Games-Florida evangelist Writer for GIGnews, Gamasutra, GameWEEK and more
Technical / Executive Producer of several video games

Did You Know?

50% of all Americans ages 6+ play computer and video games Women in the game industry earn 89 cents on the dollar versus the national average of 76 cents? The game software industry doubled the growth of the US economy

Game Developer Salary Survey 2012 - Programmer

http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/1108/game_developer_salary_survey_2012.php

Game Developer Salary Survey 2012 Artists and Animators

Video Game Industry Growth

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 Sales in Billions

GameRecruiter.com, Inc. * Telephone: 866.358.GAME * Web Site: GameRecruiter.com

5,000 new jobs every year

An industry study in 2001 estimated that there were 29,500 people employed in the U.S. in digital games software development and that the industry's long term need for additional developers would be 15% per year, or about 5,000 new jobs a year. SMU
Guildhall data

Demand Assessment Survey

When students were asked, Do you feel that computer game programming should be taught at Universities as part of the standard curriculum?

Unsure 21%

No 13%
* Study Conducted at Columbia University

Yes 66%

Sample List of Schools/Universities with Game Curriculum

Masters and Bachelors Programs: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge MA) Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh PA) Cornell University (Ithaca NY) Drexel University (Philadelphia PA) George Mason University (Fairfax VA) Guildhall at SMU (Plano, TX) New York Institute of Technology (New York NY) New York University (New York NY) Northwestern University [Department of Computer Science] (Evanston IL) Pratt Institute (Brooklyn NY) Purdue University (West Lafayette IN) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy NY) Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester NY) Georgia Tech (Atlanta GA)

Specialty Schools Offering Associates Degree/BAs

Academy of Art College (San Francisco CA) Academy of G.E.T. [Game Entertainment Technology] (Hollywood CA) Art Institute of (San Francisco, Philadelphia Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland,Seattle, Washington, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego, Charlotte, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale and Houston). DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond WA) Parsons School of Design (New York NY) Full Sail Real World Education (Winter Park FL) Game Institute, Inc. (New York NY) Ringling School of Art and Design (Sarasota FL) Westwood College of Technology (Denver CO)

Sample After Graduation Placement Ratios

Full Sail Real World Education = 92% DigiPen Institute of Technology = 92%

$alary $tats

Starting Salaries: Programmers: $ 40,000 60,000 + Bonus Program Artists: $ 35,000 55,000 + Bonus Program

Careers in the Game Industry

ARTIST JOBS

Character Modeler Creates characters Environment Modeler Creates 3D environments Skin/Texture Artist Creates textures Concept Artist Draws 2D Animator Animates boned models Cinematic Artist Creates cut scenes or movies Technical Artist Converts art assets for game engine

TYPICAL SKILLS FOR ARTISTS

Photoshop 3-D Studio Max

Maya
Scripting Languages Flash

Careers in the Game Industry

PROGRAMMER JOBS

Engine/Tools Programmer Creates core game code and tools Graphics Programmer Codes graphic issues

Network Programmer Multiplayer coding

AI Programmer Codes the games intelligence

TYPICAL SKILLS FOR PROGRAMMERS

C, C++, Java, and Assembly

OpenGL, DirectX
Network Physics / Math / 3D

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Specializing in Graphics

Careers in the Game Industry

DESIGNER JOBS
Level Designer Creates missions and is responsible for the fun within those missions Game Designer Visionary behind the game Interface Designer Designs menus, HUDs (Heads-Up Display)

TYPICAL SKILLS FOR DESIGNERS

3D Studio Max Maya

Scripting Experience
Flash

Suggested Curriculums*
Flash
Image Processing

3D Design
Programming Artificial Intelligence

Suggested Game Art Track

Class 1 - Concept Art Creation Class 2 - Modeling 3D Worlds with 3ds max Class 3 - Modeling Characters with 3ds max

Class 4 - Animating with 3ds max

Class 5 - Modeling 3D Worlds with Maya Class 6 - Modeling Characters with Maya

Class 7 - Animating with Maya

Class 8 - Texturing for 3D Art Class 9 - Art Practicum

Suggested Game Design Track

Class 1 - Understanding Visual Design Class 2 - User Interface Design and Implementation Class 3 - Introduction to Game Design Class 4 - Storytelling and Character Development Class 5 - Game Play and Game Balancing Class 6 - Designing Virtual Worlds Class 7 - Level Design Class 8 - Developing Online Games Class 9 - Developing Wireless Games Class10 - Game Design Practicum

Suggested Game Programming Track

Class 1 - Game Engine Design and Integration Class 2 - Math & Physics for Game Programmers Class 3 - Game Programming with DirectX Class 4 - Game Programming with C++ Class 5 - Game Programming with Java Class 6 - Game Programming with OpenGL Class 7 - Programming for Massively Multiplayer Online Games. Class 8 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Class 9 - Advanced Artificial Intelligence Class10 -Debugging Basics Class11-Programming Practicum

Portfolios

WHATS IN THEM
Game Designer Portfolios Make mods and levels Create design docs Artist Portfolios Always show your best stuff and remember to tailor to the job Keep the length 2-4 minutes Programmer Portfolios Make game creation tool Always show finished work Make complete games illustrating your specialty Show code samples that are clean and well-documented

ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECTS SHOULD ALWAYS BEAR IN MIND THESE PORTFOLIO NEEDS MODS DESIGN DOCS ART DEMOS GAME CREATION TOOLS CODE SAMPLES

COMPLETE GAMES

_____________________________________________________________________ GameRecruiter.com, Inc. * Telephone: 866.358.GAME * Web Site: GameRecruiter.com

Briefly Speaking

Game development is the activity of designing computer, video, or arcade games. Though often engaged in by professional game programmers, many novices may develop games as a hobby. Most software engineering students develop games as exercises for learning a programming language or operating system. Thus, the gaming industry contains a diverse field of jobs that require a number of well-crafted skills and social abilities.

Microsoft Imagine Cup

Most games will qualify for Imagine Cup

U.S. and World competition in game design
http://www.imaginecup.com/ (World) http://www.imaginecup.us/ (U.S.)

Citations
University of Advanced Technology http://www.gamedegree.com IGN http://www.ign.com Gamespot http://www.gamespot.com Gamasutra http://www.gamasutra.com