Course Syllabus
TRADITIONAL GAME DEVELOPMENT
EAE 3710 | Syllabus
PROFESSOR
Matt Anderson, MFA
Office hours: By Appointment
ATTENDANCE: GAME OF THE DAY Links to an external site.
DISCORD: SERVER INVITE Links to an external site.
TWITCH: CHANNEL
TA HOURS:
By Appointment
TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
TBA
Required Materials
1. Bond, Jeremy Gibson. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development: From Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#, 2nd ed. Addison-Wesley Professional, 2017.
Articles and games as assigned by the instructor. I recommend setting aside approximately $80.00 for downloading these games.
Course Description
This course will explore the fundamentals of game development through lectures, discussion, student-led presentations, tutorials, activities, and game development. We will be exploring commercially available games through a critical lens with a focus on theory informing production.
Learning Outcomes
● Produce a game as part of an integrated, interdisciplinary team of 4-6 developers.
● Demonstrate independent competence in game development utilizing an industry standard game engine.
● Explain and implement genre-defining game mechanics theoretically and technically.
● Understand agile development, SCRUM, and other industry project management strategies.
● Evaluate and improve a game development team's production efficiency and workflow methodology.
Teaching and Learning Methods
The creation of games, like many art forms, can be a chaotic process that is guided by genre conventions, communities of practice, and traditions. This class combines knowledge transference and active learning, meaning there will be moments of teaching and moments of doing. Both require student engagement to be successful.
Students are in charge of their educations and are active partners in learning while in this course. The course will pair two practices: learning about games and making games. Both will have descending instructor and increased student performative aspects as the course unfolds. In practice this means there will be instructor lectures and tutorials in the beginning, discussion in the middle, and student led presentations at the end. On one hand we will be reading, debating, and writing, while on the other we will be building. We will be using both at the same time to critically develop games and to be production oriented in our critiques.
University and Class Policies
1. The Americans with Disabilities Act. The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, (801) 581-5020. CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can be made available in an alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.
2. Addressing Sexual Misconduct. Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which Includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a civil rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran’s status or genetic information. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building, 801-581-8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union building, 801-581-7066. For support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426 SSB, 801-581-7776. To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety, 801-585-2677(COPS).
3. The Student Code is spelled out in the Student Handbook. Students have specific rights in the classroom as detailed in Article III of the code. The code also specifies proscribed conduct (Article XI) that involves cheating on tests, plagiarism, and/or collusion, as well as fraud, theft, etc. Students should read the Code carefully to become aware of these issues. Students will receive sanctions for violating one or more of these proscriptions. The faculty will enforce the code. Students have the right to appeal such action to the Student Behavior Committee: http://regulations.utah.edu/academics/6-400.php Links to an external site.
4. I do not offer content accommodations. If you find any of the content of this offensive you may opt not to participate. If you choose not to participate in a section of the class that is worth points, you will not receive them. That being said, I am always approachable and willing to discuss this. However, acknowledging that participating in a classroom means participating with multiple cultures I cannot and do not attempt to utilize content that will not conflict with the values of every or some students.
Course Policies
Attendance & Punctuality: You should come to class. The instructor reserves the right to adjust the final grade of the course in any way they see fit due to your attendance. Active learning requires your presence.
Participation: Participation is required. Education is about more than knowledge transference. Socialization (learning the cultural norms and mores of a community, in this case game developers), soft skills (teamwork, verbal and textual communication, and presentation skills), and production oriented hard skills are all major components of this course.
Food & Drink: Yes. Feel free to consume food and drink in class in a manner you and your peers find respectful. While it is difficult to know or manage the diets of all students, we ask that you avoid eating or bringing to class the most dangerous of allergens. Please no peanuts, shellfish, or bees in the class.
Electronic Devices in Class: Yes. Feel free to use electronic devices in class in a manner you and your peers find respectful. By participating in this course you will not make any sort of audio or visual recording (moving or still) in this class without instructor consent. From shyness to being in the witness protection program there is a variety of needs to respect one another's’ privacy.
Canvas: This course will utilize Canvas, all course related materials will be there unless the instructor informs you otherwise. I may send additional urgent updates regarding class-cancellations, etc. While these announcements will be naturally forwarded to your email inbox I HIGHLY recommend you regularly check the canvas class page. Don't assume everything you will need to know to do well in the class will be covered in an announcement.
Assignments
Assignments in this class will be split between personal assignments (to be completed individually) and group assignments (to be completed by you and your assigned team). Make sure to keep track of which assignments are individual vs. group assignments, if in doubt clarify with your team, TA or instructor.
For group assignments it is usually only necessary that one team member upload the assignment submission. However, everyone on the team will be held accountable for missing or late group assignments. Group assignments do not give you permission to abdicate your responsibility as a team member. I reserve the right to adjust the individual team members’ grades on group assignments to reflect the level of their contribution.
Evaluation
25% - Individual Development Assignments
25% - Game Journals
20% - Game Production Milestones
15% - Final Game & Publishing Materials
15% - Attendance and Participation
Grading Policy (Evaluation Methods & Criteria)
Grades will be based on: Teamwork, Organization, Work Quality, Communication, Creativity &
Professionalism.
Grading Scale
Grades are based on the following scale, and may be finalized on an adaptive curve. Grades in
Canvas may not necessarily reflect final course grade.
A 94 – 100
A- 90 - 93.99
B+ 87 - 89.99
B 84 - 86.99
B- 80 - 83.99
C+ 77 - 79.99
C 74 - 76.99
C- 70 - 73.99
D+ 67 - 69.99
D 64 - 66.99
D- 61 - 63.99
E 0 - 60.99
Late assignments will receive -10% per day up to a maximum of -50%.
Individual Development Assignments and Game Journals
The assignments in this group are to be worked on individually. These focus on establishing a theoretical understanding of game design principles and practices. Any sharing of written work between team members, or un-cited use of other content will be considered plagiarism. You will also complete game production logs, in these assignments you will detail your contributions to the game's development. Grades will be determined based on the quantity and quality of the work you contribute to the game's development.
Game Production Milestones
These checkpoints are reflective of the traditional stages of game development, and encourage your game production to stay on track. Each milestone has two components, a production "plan" and a working "build" of the game, both will be group graded. The plan will be completed at the start of each production phase (Prototype, Feature Complete, Alpha & Beta), and outline the work you expect to accomplish. The game build will be completed before, and demonstrated during a playtest session at the end of each production phase. You are individually responsible for submitting your contributions to the game if they are not immediately apparent in the game build.
Participation and Attendance
Your participation grade will be split between regular attendance to class, and graded in-class activities (as listed in the class schedule). If you are unable to attend class or participate in a class activity, and have a reasonable excuse, you must send me an email or canvas message prior to the class session. I will allow up to 2 excused absences throughout the semester. If you miss a class activity I will require you to complete your portion of the class activity before I can award you full points.
Flake-outs & Overachievers
If a team-member is not substantially contributing to the game project, or if their contributions are significantly greater than the other team members, I reserve the right to adjust his/her specific grade for the group.
WEEKLY BREAKDOWN
Week 1
Introduction to the Syllabus
Assignment: Personal Assessment
Week 2
Team Formation
Assignment: Game Concept Treatment
Week 3
Pitching and Scoping
Assignment: Unity Tutorial
Assignment: Game Journal Set #1
Week 4
Prototype Plan and Asset List
Unity Overview
Assignment: Prototype Milestone
Week 5
Prototype Team Development
Week 6
Prototype Team Development
Week 7
Prototype Playtest
Prototype Build and Contributions DUE
Week 8
Vertical Slice Planning, Scoping, and Asset List
Week 9
Vertical Slice Development
Assignment: Game Journal Set #3
Week 10
Vertical Slice Development
Week 11
Vertical Slice Playtest
Vertical Slice Build and Contributions DUE
Week 12
Final Build Planning, Scoping, and Asset List
Assignment: Game Journal Set #4
Week 13
Final Build Development
Week 14
Final Build DUE