These are the slides used for lecture at UWEC on 10/12/11 for Student ACM

1. Video Game Development
sichas.com

2. Topics for Today
• Game Design
• Mobile Development (iOS)
• Interactive Fiction with Java & Eclipse
• Unity3d Engine
• Autodesk Maya modeling

3. Game Design

4. Game Design
• Who am I developing for?

5. Game Design
• Who am I developing for?
• What do I want their experience to look like?

6. Game Design
• Who am I developing for?
• What do I want their experience to look like?
• How am I going to structure this?

7. Game Design
• Who am I developing for?
• What do I want their experience to look like?
• How am I going to structure this?
• Why will this project be successful?

8. Design Tips

9. Design Tips
• If the game isn’t fun within the first 3 minutes, you’ve failed. It
doesn’t matter how amazing your story is.

10. Design Tips
• If the game isn’t fun within the first 3 minutes, you’ve failed. It
doesn’t matter how amazing your story is.
• Once you’ve designed a great interface, throw it away and do it
again.

11. Design Tips
“Good artists copy, but great artists steal.”
-Steve Jobs

12. Mobile Development

13. Mobile Development
• iOS gamers want to listen to their music while they play

14. Mobile Development
• iOS gamers want to listen to their music while they play
• They don’t want the game to demand so much that they miss
their train or bus

15. Mobile Development
• iOS gamers want to listen to their music while they play
• They don’t want the game to demand so much that they miss
their train or bus
• They expect the game to remember where they were and pick
right back up

16. Mobile Development
• iOS gamers want to listen to their music while they play
• They don’t want the game to demand so much that they miss
their train or bus
• They expect the game to remember where they were and pick
right back up
• They want to play for about 2-3 minutes at a time when on the
go.

17. Interactive Fiction

18. Interactive Fiction
• Text based, minimal artwork

19. Interactive Fiction
• Text based, minimal artwork
• Engaging, exciting story

20. Interactive Fiction
• Text based, minimal artwork
• Engaging, exciting story
• Control is in the user’s hands

21. Interactive Fiction
• Text based, minimal artwork
• Engaging, exciting story
• Control is in the user’s hands
• Expandable, upgradable

22. Interactive Fiction
• Text based, minimal artwork
• Engaging, exciting story
• Control is in the user’s hands
• Expandable, upgradable
• Easy to understand, pick up and play

23. GodWars

24. GodWars
• Original, epic story

25. GodWars
• Original, epic story
• Phenomenal hand-drawn artwork by Nick Baldwin

26. GodWars
• Original, epic story
• Phenomenal hand-drawn artwork by Nick Baldwin
• Customize your character

27. GodWars
• Original, epic story
• Phenomenal hand-drawn artwork by Nick Baldwin
• Customize your character
• Many expansions planned

28. GodWars
• Original, epic story
• Phenomenal hand-drawn artwork by Nick Baldwin
• Customize your character
• Many expansions planned
• Hiatus in development, will resurface as an iOS app in 2012

31. Demo

39. Unity3d

40. Unity3d
• “The most powerful game engine this side of a million dollars”

41. Unity3d
• “The most powerful game engine this side of a million dollars”
• All-in-one development environment

42. Unity3d
• “The most powerful game engine this side of a million dollars”
• All-in-one development environment
• 3 languages supported: JavaScript, C#, Boo

43. Unity3d
• “The most powerful game engine this side of a million dollars”
• All-in-one development environment
• 3 languages supported: JavaScript, C#, Boo
• Port your games to iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, PSP,
XBOX 360 with very little revision

44. Unity3d
• “The most powerful game engine this side of a million dollars”
• All-in-one development environment
• 3 languages supported: JavaScript, C#, Boo
• Port your games to iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, PSP,
XBOX 360 with very little revision
• Seamless integration with popular 3D modeling tools, such as Autodesk Maya
and Blender

45. Unity3d
• “The most powerful game engine this side of a million dollars”
• All-in-one development environment
• 3 languages supported: JavaScript, C#, Boo
• Port your games to iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, PSP,
XBOX 360 with very little revision
• Seamless integration with popular 3D modeling tools, such as Autodesk Maya
and Blender
• Built-in physics, collision, light mapping, animation, and more

46. Pricing
Unity Basic Unity Pro iOS iOS pro Android Android Pro
FREE $1500 $400 $1500 $400 $1500

47. Pricing
Unreal
Unity Basic Unity Pro iOS iOS pro Android Android Pro
Engine 3
FREE $1500 $400 $1500 $400 $1500 $750,000

48. Demo

50. Autodesk Maya

51. Autodesk Maya
• Most popular, powerful, professional 3d modeling software

52. Autodesk Maya
• Most popular, powerful, professional 3d modeling software
• South Park, Call of Duty, Uncharted, World of Warcraft all use it

53. Autodesk Maya
• Most popular, powerful, professional 3d modeling software
• South Park, Call of Duty, Uncharted, World of Warcraft all use it
• Low barriers to entry

54. Autodesk Maya
• Most popular, powerful, professional 3d modeling software
• South Park, Call of Duty, Uncharted, World of Warcraft all use it
• Low barriers to entry
• Only limited by you!

55. Pricing

56. Pricing
Autodesk Maya through free
Autodesk Maya
Student Program
$3,495 FREE

57. Pricing
Autodesk Maya through free
Autodesk Maya
Student Program
$3,495 FREE

58. Demo

59. sichas.com // resources
• All materials from this lecture (including slides and video) are
available at sichas.com, including links to Autodesk Maya,
Unity3D, Eclipse, and Blender.
• Download the free demo of GodWars from sichas.com
• Curriculum in development
• Articles posted multiple times per week!