Game Development Dr Mathias Lux ITEC Universitt Klagenfurt

Game Development Dr. Mathias Lux ITEC - Universität Klagenfurt mlux@itec. uni-klu. ac. at This work is licensed under a Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3. 0 Austria License. See http: //creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/3. 0/at/

Agenda http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● ● Why teaching “computer games”? What is a “good” game? Game projects in teaching Game development 2

Why teaching computer games? http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Commercial relevance o Games are a big business ● Research and technology o Games lead to innovation ● Application of knowledge in game dev. o Maths, physics, algorithms, data structures o Project management & planning o Self reflection and team work Image (cc) by http: //www. flickr. com/photos/juliebee 3

Why teaching computer games? http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Many people … o play games themselves! o assume they are experts! o think they can do better! Image (cc) by http: //www. flickr. com/photos/neilschelly 4

Industry Facts: ESA (US) http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Gaming industry economics & sales: o 2003 -2006 the annual rate (gain) exceeded 17% (cp. <4% for the US economy) o Game console software sales: $6. 6 billion / 153. 9 million units in 2007 o Computer games sales: $910. 7 million / 36. 4 million units in 2007 o Portable software sales: $2. 0 billion / 77. 5 million units in 2007 Source: esa, entertainment software association - http: //www. theesa. com/ 5

Industry Facts: ESA, 2006 http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Gamers facts: o The average American gamer is 35 years old and has been playing for 13 years. o 38% of American households have a video game console, 65% play video / PC games o 56% percent of online game players are male and 44% are female o Adult women represent a greater portion of gamers (33 %) than boys age <=17 (18 %) Source: esa, entertainment software association - http: //www. theesa. com/ 6

German Game Industry http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 7

German Game Industry http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 8

German Game Industry: Details on the consumers http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 9

German Game Industry: Market share http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 10

German Game Industry: How old are gamers? http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 11

German Game Industry: Restrictions - USK http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 12

Germany: Releases of the last 12 months http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Source: games. markt 14

Germany: Releases % in Genre http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 15

MMOG Economics http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Wo. W has >11 Mio. subscribers (Oct. 2008) o Monthly fees o Add-ons & DLC o World of War. Craft: Wrath of the Lich King was Xmas best seller at amazon. de Source: http: //www. mmogchart. com/Chart 1. html 16

Example: Super Mario http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Jump & Run, Nintendo ● Video game for NES o o World -> SNES & Game. Boy Mario 64 -> Nintendo 64 Super Paper Mario -> Wii … ● Most successful video game ever o 295 Mio. units sold 17

Example: LBP http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Little Big Planet o A collaborative platformer o 2. 5 D Jump & Run ● Awards o Academy Of Interactive Arts & Sciences 2009 • 8 Awards including “best overall game” o E 3 Awards • Best console game, • best casual and social game o etc. 18

Example: LBP http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Videos: o Danger – Showing the gameplay o Sackzilla – Showing the editor 19

Example: Guitar Hero & Rockband http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Guitar Hero (Activision) & Rockband (EA) o Revenue of 2. 3 billion dollars o Within three years ● Guitar Hero III – Legends of Rock o First game exceeding 1 billion $ revenue 20

Example: Popcap Games http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Popcap Games creates „casual games“ ● Most popular game: Bejeweld o 150 million downloads, o 25 million sold units ● Distributes on o XBox Marketplace o PSN o PC (Steam, own shop, boxed) 21

Computer & Innovation http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Consumer Hardware o 3 D graphic cards, Open GL for consumers o Video decoding (HD video) • Cp. Nvidia & ATI/AMD graphic cards o Input and output methods • High performance mouse • Sensors (cp. Wiimote) • 3 D screens, shutter o PC Setup • PSUs, cooling, etc. 22

Computer & Innovation http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Consumer Entertainment Hardware o PS 3: 1 (control) +1 (PPC) +7 (SPE) =9 Cores o XBox: 3 Cores w. Hyperthreading ~= 6 Cores o Compare to Wii, DVD recorder, routers, … ● Consumer Software o 3 D interfaces • Google Earth • Brockhaus Multimedial • Aero, Beryl, KDE 4, etc. 23

Computer Games & Computer Science http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Computations o Using shaders for parallel processing o High performance clusters, CUDA ● Serious Games o Human Computing (v. Ahn) o Article “Games with a purpose” ● Educational Games o Military training o E-Learning, pedagogical (e. g. common sense) 24

Example: Hazmat Hotzone http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● 3 D training for fire fighters ● Handling hazardeous materials o E. g. terrorism, … ● Employs Unreal engine ● Developed at CMU Quelle: http: //www. gamasutra. com/features/20051102/carless_01 b. shtml 25

US Army leadership development (CSU) http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Stories of soldiers are converted to „knowledge“ ● Knowledge is applied in training scenarios for soldiers o Decisions in combat and surveillance scenarios o Interaction with locals (customs, etc. ) (cc) by Army. mil, http: //www. flickr. com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/2941583135/ 26

Games as part of our culture … http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Common sense & knowledge o Lara Croft & Pac-man o Mario Bros. & Sonic ● Merchandising o E. g. Game & Film ● Many people have/had contact with games o PC, Nintendo, Playstation, etc. 27

Games as part of our culture … http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 28

Games as part of our culture … http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Human TETRIS Performance o GAME OVER Project o http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=G 0 Lt. UX_6 IXY ● Real Life Donkey Kong o Bam Margera o http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=_Ky. Ip. Mtv. Jv. E ● Real Mario o Gordon College o http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=R 0 f. Cnf 8 u. Wxw 29

Acceptance and controversial issues http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at “The disturbing material in Grand Theft Auto and other games like it is stealing the innocence of our children and it's making the difficult job of being a parent even harder. . . I believe that the ability of our children to access pornographic and outrageously violent material on video games rated for adults is spiraling out of control. ” - (Hillary Clinton, 2005) 30

Acceptance(Rock’n’Roll) http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at "The effect of rock and roll on young people, is to turn them into devil worshippers; to stimulate self -expression through sex; to provoke lawlessness; impair nervous stability and destroy the sanctity of marriage. It is an evil influence on the youth of our country. " - Minister Albert Carter, 1956 31

Acceptance http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Similar statements to ● Comics (1954) ● Phone(1926) ● Film (1909) ● Waltz (1816) ● Novels (1790) Source: http: //www. wired. com/wired/archive/14. 04/war. html 32

Agenda http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● ● Why teaching “computer games”? What is a “good” game? Game projects in teaching Game development o XNA o Tutorials 33

A good game … http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● World of Goo 34

Aspects of a Game http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Review game in several aspects: ● ● ● Challenge Choice Clear and Compelling Goals Representation Conflict Feedback Source: http: //www. cs. wisc. edu/graphics/Courses/679 -s 2007/Main/Game. Design 35

Challenging Goals http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Premise of the game o Story o Character o Motivation ● Why do I play the game? ● Why do I build towns, jump & run, …? 36

Clear Goals http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Different aspects o What is the goal? o When is the goal achieved? ● Strongly connected with feedback o I need to know when I’m making progress ● Short term vs. long term goals o “Get over fire pit” vs. “Rescue princess” 37

Clear Rules http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Figuring out rules o In play: learning curve? o Common sense (gravity, rebound, etc. ) ● Unclear rules are frustrating o I couldn’t. . because I didn’t know … ● Do not allow workarounds o Circumventing != cheating • Happens within allowed rule set 38

Choices http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Player should have meaningful choices ● Consider example choice qualities: o o o o Hollow -> No consequence Obvious -> Choice without alternative Informed -> based on provided information cp. guessing Dramatic -> Connects to emotions Weighted -> Both neg. and pos. outcomes Immediate -> Need fast decision Orthogonal -> Choices are independent 39

Challenge http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Tuning / Balance o Make things hard, but not too hard ● Dynamic games o Change with game progress & gamers skills ● Challenge from design vs. technical issues o Can’t figure out puzzle vs. can’t find button combo (cc) by law keven, www. flickr. com/photos/66164549@N 00/2506022298/ 40

Feedback http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Action & Reaction o Choose a new car and feel the effect … o Buy new clothes & see them on avatar … ● Gamers need rewards o Cp. concept of highscore ● Experience o Buy weapon or skill upgrades o Reach new levels & challenges 41

Assumed audience ? !? http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Who will play your game? ● Who will pay for your game? ● What are appropriate distribution channels? o App Store, Steam, Download, Boxed, … 42

Agenda http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● ● Why teaching “computer games”? What is a “good” game? Game projects in teaching Game development o XNA o Tutorials 43

Possible Topics http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Arcade games o Typically 2 D, lots of historical examples ● Puzzle games o Simple graphics, focus on logic ● Mobile games o Realistic scope & deployment scenario ● Educational games for kids o Topic based, more weight on story 44

Possible Aspects http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Programming skills o Learning by doing ● Hands-on with tools o GFX, SFX ● Soft skills o Teamwork, discussion, coordination ● Specific topics different areas o Physics, geometry, linear algebra, AI, … 45

Project Milestones http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Planning & Design Implementation Testing & Evaluation Deployment Post mortem 46

http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at (cc) by dunechaser, www. flickr. com/photos/dunechaser/103294050/ Design Documents (not technical) ● High Level Document o Abstract of the game in 2 -4 pages ● Game Treatment Document o Present game in a broader outline o It’s also more sales than dev document ● Game Bible o o o Character design World design Flowboard: flow of gameplay modes Story & level progression: storyline Game script: rules and mechanics of the game 47

Game Script http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Should enable one to play the game ● Create a paper prototype o Use it for testing (cc) by kekremsi, www. flickr. com/photos/emraya/2929959881 48

Sample Design Document: Abstract http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Catch the Clown is a little action game. In this game a clown moves around in a playing field. The goal of the player is to catch the clown by clicking with the mouse on him. If the player progresses through the game the clown starts moving faster and it becomes more difficult to catch him. For each catch the score is raised and the goal is to get the highest possible score. Expected playing time is just a few minutes. source: http: //www. yoyogames. com/make/tutorials 49

Sample Design Document: Game Objects http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Game objects There will be just two game objects: the clown and the wall. The wall object has a square like image. The wall surrounding the playing area is made out of these objects. The wall object does nothing. It just sits there to stop the clown from moving out of the area. The clown object has the image of a clown face. It moves with a fixed speed. Whenever it hits a wall object it bounces. When the player clicks on the clown with the mouse the score is raised with 10 points. The clown jumps to a random place and the speed is increased with a small amount. source: http: //www. yoyogames. com/make/tutorials 50

Sample Design Document: The Rest http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Sounds We will use two sounds in this game. A bounce sound that is used when the clown hits a wall, and a click sound that is used when the player manages to click with the mouse on the clown. Controls The only control the player has is the mouse. Clicking with the left mouse button on the clown will catch it. Game flow At the start of the game the score is set to 0. The room with the moving clown is shown. The game immediately begins. When the player presses the <Esc> key the game ends. Levels There is just one level. The difficulty of the game increases because the speed of the clown increases after each successful catch. 51

Game Postmortems http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Written after finishing the project o Done by senior developer or manager ● Summarizes dev process to o Avoid pitfalls in later projects o Apply practices that worked well in later projects Check for instance gamasutra. com (cc) by devicer, www. flickr. com/photos/devicer/42503985/ 52

Game postmortems: Structure http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Project Overview o Describe the game (idea, setting, story, features) o Describe team and circumstances ● What went right o Describe „best practices“ o Describe and argue „good“ decisions o Motivation for this part: Think of benefits for future projects 53

Game postmortems: Structure http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● What went wrong o Describe pitfalls and difficulties o Describe mistakes experienced, technical as well as from management perspective ● Conclusion & Closing o Final note from the authors, personal experience o Project brief: Dev tools, resources, … 54

Agenda http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● ● Why teaching “computer games”? What is a “good” game? Game projects in teaching Implementation 55

Typical Basic Elements (I) http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Game Loop o Painting current state to screen ● Sprites o Moving objects, animated ● Level o The playground ● Score o The achievement & reward system 56

Typical Basic Elements (II) http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Collision Detection o Check if objects interfere ● Sound o Background & SFX ● Game AI o Some “intelligence”, dynamics or adaptation 57

Game Frameworks http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Framework manages … ● Input & Output o poll & queue input controllers o render game in time (hardware acceleration) o network & storage ● Physics o object-world and object-object interaction ● Resources o loading, animation 58

Microsoft XNA Game Studio http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Set of game development tools ● Based on. NET Compact Framework ● Available in version 3. 0 o Version 3. 1 already announced ● Programming in C# o Help in MSDN / Knowledgebase 59

Out-of-the-Box Game http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 60

Basic game structure http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 61

Experience with XNA http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Students find their way fast o Workshop (1 day) for first tutorial based game ● Students are occupied for hours o Hours of adaptations • Graphics and sounds • Gameplay and levels • Testing and tuning ● XNA is very powerful o With necessary limitations 62

Experience with XNA http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Team members have different roles o Sound & 2 D Design o Implementation & Testing o Planning & Coordination ● Learning programming along the way o How can we rotate/scale/translate a sprite? o How can we add a loop for …? 63

Summer Camp 2008 -2009 http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Arcade game development in teams of 2 o Students of age 16 -18 o Basic knowledge of programming (Java) ● Duration: 5 Days with ~ 3 hours each ● Results o Steep learning curve o 2 (out of 5) very innovative projects • Design & Gameplay o Students programmed in their spare time 64

VK Games @ Uni Klu http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Goal: Arcade (Casual) Game o In 6 weeks of development time o With planning and self reflection o In teams of 3 with max. 40 h of work each ● Results o All but one projects finished o Everyone put a lot more effort in than 40 h 65

Proposed Format http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at 1. One day workshop as introduction o o o Basics on games Basics on game development Self directed learning through tutorials 2. Multiple units of self directed (but tutored) game development. o Based on the outcome of the tutorial 3. Final presentation of the outcome 66

Resources http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● XNA Creators Club o Lots of tutorials and game samples o http: //creators. xna. com/en-US/education/catalog/ ● Visual C# Express Edition o Free 2 use version of visual studio o http: //www. microsoft. com/express/vcsharp/ ● Alternative: Gamemaker o Strange tool, but immediate results o http: //www. yoyogames. com/make 67

Final words http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at ● Nearly every single student was very much involved with the gaming projects. o Some even failed other courses ● Typically people spent a lot more time on the project than they should have. o Despite prior warning ● Overall feedback was very encouraging o Although many reconsidered their career plans 68

Questions? http: //www. uni-klu. ac. at Mathias Lux mlux@itec. uni-klu. ac. at http: //www. itec. uni-klu. ac. at/~mlux 69