Schedule

Class meetings are on Tuesday unless otherwise noted. Assignments will typically be due on Mondays, check Brightspace for deadlines.

Week 1 ~ 1/27

• Course syllabus overview and introduction to topics 
• Demo: Blender intro
• Demo: 3d data
• Demo: Materials and rendering
• Documentation
• Blog post 1: First Open Lab post, documentation

Week 2 ~ 2/3

• Demo: Godot Basics
• Godot template project
• Demo: Player controller and level prototyping
• Project 1: 3D Maze Scene
  • 3D Game Template on GitHub
  • Create a simple 3D game using a game engine
  • Using first person, third person or platformer controls
  • Use only basic 3d geometry for meshes and colliders
  • Limit to simple lighting, textures materials
  • Create an experience that leads the viewer through a scene in a defined series of events
• Blog post 2: Screen shots of maze scene progress

Week 3 ~ 2/10

• Lecture: Level design techniques
• Demo: Building a level in Godot
  • Setup review and materials
  • Components
  • Player catcher
  • CSG Meshes
  • Video documentation
  • Jump scare component
• Blog post 3: Short video of gameplay

Week 4 ~ 2/24

• Demo: Publishing a game build
• Video: Exporting build, Publishing on itch.io

Week 5 ~ 3/3

• Lecture: User testing
• Demo: User testing form
• Demo: User testing feedback
• User testing workshop 1
  • Submit to Maze Jam
  • Create a feedback form using Google Forms
  • Link to form on Itch page
  • Summarize results in blog post

Week 6 ~ 3/10

• Lecture: History of 3D graphics
• Demo: Lighting, materials, textures and shaders
• Project 2: Garden
  • Using 3d models, lighting and design, create a scene that leads the player around to view visually appealing scenery
• Blog post 4: Project 2 concept
  • Post a screen shot and short description of your concept for the garden game

Week 7 ~ 3/17

• Demo: Working with 3D models, adding colliders
• 3D model resources, scroll down to CGI/3D Assets
• Blog post 5: progress documentation

Week 8 ~ 3/24

• Demo: Navigation areas and NPC
  • https://mesh2motion.org/
  • https://quaternius.com/index.html
• Demo: Sound design
  • https://jfxr.frozenfractal.com/
  • https://freesound.org/
  • https://opengameart.org/
  • https://freemusicarchive.org/genres

Week 9 ~ 3/31

• User testing workshop 2
• Export and publish your game on itch.io
• Submit to Garden jam
• Test all of your classmates games
• Post documentation of your feedback

Week 10 ~ 4/14

• Demo: Collectible
• Demo: Physics
• Project 3: Scavenger hunt
  • Create a scene where the player has to collect a certain number of objects
  • The objects can be different types and lead to different outcomes
• Blog post 6: Project 3 concept

Week 11 ~ 4/28

• Demo: Godot user interface
• Demo: Level exit and key
• Blog post 7: Progress documentation

Week 12 ~ 5/5

• Demo: Dialog system
• Demo: Enemies

Week 13 ~ 5/12

• Demo: Publishing review
• Scavenger hunt user testing

Week 14 ~ 5/19

• Scavenger hunt final workshop

Week 15 ~ 5/26

• Scavenger hunt project due