Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor, Lecturer
Malcolm Ryan
Contact via malcolm.ryan@mq.edu.au
E6A 325
By arrangement
Lecturer
Michael Hitchens
Contact via michael.hitchens@mq.edu.au
E6A 338
by arrangement
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
COMP115 and (COMP111 or INFO111 or MAS111)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit considers both the theory of game design and the actual construction of video games. Important principles in game design, such as game play, challenge, balance and the nature of players, will be examined. Students will be introduced to different aspects of game design and will develop their game design skills through the creation of their own game. Game design will also be explored by taking a critical approach to assessing the design decisions made in a game and by the communication of game design decisions through students presenting their designs in class.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Assignment 1 | 25% | No | Week 7 |
Assignment 2 | 25% | No | Week 10 |
Assignment 3 | 35% | No | Week 14 |
Tutorial Presentations | 15% | No | Weeks 2-13 |
Practicals | 0% | Yes | Weeks 1-13 |
Tutorial participation | 0% | Yes | 1-13 |
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 25%
Design, create and document a static game level using a commercial game engine (Unity 3D). Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of challenge, reward, progress and spatial and temporal arrangement amongst other design considerations.
As well as producing the level students will also be required to submit accompanying design documentation.
Submission via BBMarking.
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 25%
Design and implement a multiplayer card/board game with a resource economy and inter-player dynamics. Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of balancing a resource economy and creating strategic play. Students will be required to submit full design documentation.
Students will be required to playtest their game and document the process and results of the test.
Students will work in groups of 3 or 4.
Submission will be via iLearn
Due: Week 14
Weighting: 35%
Design and implement a prototype of an original 2D videogame using the Unity game engine. Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of challenge, pacing and game-feel.
Students will be required to submit full design documentation.
Students will be required to playtest their game and document the process and results of the test.
Students will be required to submit a reflective postmortem, critiquing their design and their development process.
Students will work in pairs.
Submission via BBMarking
Due: Weeks 2-13
Weighting: 15%
Students will analyse a game based on the design principles taught in lectures and present their analysis to their tutorial class in a 10 min pre-recorded video presentation. Students are expected to be able to analyse a game according to the experience it conveys, and how that experience is rooted in the mechanics and dynamics of the game. Students will be assigned specific weeks in which to present. The presentation will focus on the topic of previous week's lecture.
Students will work in pairs.
Submission will be in class.
Due: Weeks 1-13
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
Weekly practical exercises using a commercial game engine as used in assignments 1 & 3. For this year the engine will be Unity 3D.
These exercises will enable students to learn the functionality of the engine in preparation for the assignments.
Submission will be in class.
Students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 8 (eight) of the weekly exercises to achieve a grade of pass or higher in this unit
Due: 1-13
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
Weekly design exercises using paper prototyping and other tools, as used in assignment 2.
These exercises will enable students to practice the processes of iterative design.
Students must actively participate in a minimum of 8 (eight) weekly classes to achieve a grade of pass or higher in this unit.
Each week COMP260 has two hours of lectures, a two-hour tutorial and a one-hour practical. Please see the Timetable at http://www.timetable.mq.edu.au. for details
Prescribed Textbooks
The textbooks for this unit are as follows:
Additional References
These recommended texts are not compulsory for the subject, however, they do provide reliable and relevant resources to support the course material. These texts may be useful for later subjects that you will study as part of your degree. You are also encouraged to check for other sources, including alternative books and on-line material.
Other Readings
Other reading(s) for this subject will be provided via on-line material on the Web. You should be familiar with accessing through links to on-line sources of information. It is important to realise that there will be additional costs to you which may not be present in traditional presentation of education materials. Such costs include connection, time charges and access to specific information on the Web. Your Internet provider can supply you with more details.
Online Resources
The official location (URL) of unit information once you have loaded your WWW browser is: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
Once you have enrolled in the unit, you must gain access to comp260 website. We will be using the University’s Online Learning at MQ website (iLearn). Students should check this site for regular updates.
Technology Used and Required
Unity 3D, version 5.5 or later. The free version of this can be downloaded at http://unity3d.com/get-unity
Various commercial games will be referred to as examples in class.
WEEK | LECTURE TOPIC | READINGS | ASSESSMENTS | ||
1. |
Unit Introduction Revision of MDA/Kinds of fun. Player-centric design.
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2. |
Iterative design. Prototyping and playtesting. Design documents. |
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3. |
Challenge & Drama |
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4. |
Level design - Laying out challenges in space/time. Teaching the player, Difficulty |
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5. |
Level design - Architectural design, white-boxing, molecule diagrams |
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6. |
Games as systems. Toys, resource economies. Interesting choices. |
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7. |
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Assignment 1 Due | |||
8. |
Playtesting |
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9. |
Art & Aesthetics |
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10. |
Story |
Assignment 2 Due | |||
11. |
Fantasy - World building / storytelling / characters |
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12. |
Self expression - avatar customisation / construction / modding / role-playing |
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13 | Designing for a target audience / Q&A | ||||
14 | Assignment 3 Due |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
You should also be sure to be familiar with the departments special consideration policy
http://comp.mq.edu.au/undergrad/policies/special_consideration_policy.htm
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
The 5% assessment task to playtest games from COMP352 has been removed and the weighting of the tutorial presentation has been increased.
There is now a hurdle requirement on participation in the tutorials, in addition to the requirement for completing prac exercises
If assesable work is not submitted by the due date than 10% will be subtracted from the mark awarded fro that work for each working day that the submission is late, upto a maximum of five working days. Submissions after that date will be awarded a mark of 0.
Extensions of time may be awarded to avoid the above penalty. Students will need to submit a request for special consideration. They should also contact the unit convenor as soon as possible.
Some ability to implement simple gameplay mechanics in a commercial game engine.
Able to create a basic level of documentation of game play mechanics and designs.
Produce designs that demonstrate:
Produce limited implementations, in a commercial game engine, of their designs.
Demonstrate a limited ability to plan and carry out playtesting of designs and apply the results of the playtesting to improve designs.
Demonstrate noticeable evidence of being able to discuss and critique game designs and design elements in terms of the design concepts studied in the unit and from previous study.
Able to implement simple gameplay mechanics in a commercial game engine.
Able to create thorough documentation of game play mechanics and designs.
Produce designs that demonstrate:
Produce implementations, in a commercial game engine, of their designs.
Demonstrate an ability to effectively plan and carry out playtesting of designs and apply the results of the playtesting to improve designs.
Demonstrate substantial evidence of being able to discuss and critique game designs and design elements in terms of the design concepts studied in the unit and from previous study.
Able to implement a range of gameplay mechanics in a commercial game engine.
Able to create thorough documentation of game play mechanics and designs.
Produce designs that demonstrate:
Produce implementations in a commercial game engine of their designs.
Demonstrate a sustained ability to effectively plan and carry out playtesting of designs and apply the results of the playtesting to improve designs.
Demonstrate sustained evidence of being able to discuss and critique game designs and design elements in terms of the design concepts studied in the unit and from previous study, with noticeable originality and insight in evaluation and analysis.
Able to implement a range of gameplay mechanics in a commercial game engine.
Able to create thorough documentation of game play mechanics and designs.
Produce designs that demonstrate
Produce implementations, in a commercial game engine, of their designs.
Demonstrate a sustained ability to effectively plan and carry out playtesting of designs and apply the results of the playtesting to improve designs.
Demonstrate sustained evidence of being able to discuss and critique game designs and design elements in terms of the design concepts studied in the unit and from previous study, with substantial originality and insight in evaluation and analysis.
Date | Description |
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13/02/2018 | A hurdle assessment requirement has been added for participation in at least 8 tutorials. |