Game Developers ClubGeneral Meeting 18/8/03

Whats happening?• IGDA Membership forms here to fill in for all TieR 2

members.

• Membership– If you want to take part in the upcoming tutorials then

membership is due next meeting.

• CVS is up and running for development teams– As soon as you have code, its there for you to use

• Website has been linked and is active.– Tier 2 members enter profile tonight

Development Teams• If you havn’t given me your details then do so tonight

• Projects will be springboarded by designs that resulted from the tutorials

• A regular meeting time should be organised between yourselves. We will get you a regular room at Clubs and Societies

•These projects are aiming at a submission to the IGF in 2004 or 2005

Project RPG (tentative title)Jeremy Weir - Designer - 3D ModelerNathan Farquar - Designer - 3D Modeler - ProducerAlex Freeland - Designer - ProgrammerAnthony May - Programmer Grant Mark - Programmer Michael Stockli - Programmer Joel Timpson - Concept Design - Visual ArtistTim Barribeau - Digital Art

 

 

ResilienceTim Elder - Designer – Project Lead Shannon Morgan - Lead Programmer …more to come

 

 

Tutorials• Photoshop tutorial Wednesday – 5pm – 7pm

– G4 Lab, First Floor, Design Studies Building

• Maya turorial Wednesday – 7pm – 9pm– G4 Lab, First Floor, Design Studies Building

• Programming tutorial Tuesday 7pm - 9pm– Linux lab, 539 Castle Street

• Design tutorial Thursday 7pm – 9pm– Room 105, First Floor, Design Studies Building

• Maya– Follows the Learning Maya book, available for brief

loan (for Photocopies)– First two lessons will focus on the manipulation and

animation of some simple objects, introducing you to the key elements of the environment

– There will then be a focus on modeling and some more specialised tutorials on character modeling and animation

• Photoshop– Follows classroom in a book training workbook– First tutorial covers:

• Getting to know the work area• Basic photo corrections

COSC 360 – Computer Game Design

• Course content is being developed now

• Taking place during summer school (5 Jan ~ 16 Feb)

• Pre-requisite of COSC 242

• Pre-registration on the webpage:– http://www.cs.otago.ac.nz/cosc360

• Valid as a 300 level minor requirement

Library – books here tonight• Current titles:

– The Art of Episode 2 - The Black Art of Java– The Art of Final Fantasy 9 Game Programming– The Art of Warcraft - C++ Programming – The Art of Episode 5 - Artificial Intelligence – The Art of Alien Resurection - Problem Solving with Java– Learning Maya - Java Collections– The Art of Maya– Maya Illuminated: Games - How to Draw Anime and Game Characters– Photoshop 7 Classroom in a book– Illustrator 10 Classroom in a book - Game Development and Production– Teach yourself Illustrator 7

– Using Flash 5– Flash 5 Action Script– Using Dreamweaver 4

• Planning to purchase:– Earnest Adams and Andrew Rollings on Game Design– Game Architechure and Design– Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus

• Game Developer Magazine– Last years back-issues available tonight– Additional printed readings also available

Library

Balance of Power• “I had a big hit in Eastern Front (1941); a second game in the genre would

surely make a bundle of money. Artistically, it was a sound decision: If you've mastered a problem, it's time to move on.” – A theory far less untilised today. Why? – Esbablishing motivation?– “Sequels are for entertainment; they have no artistic content.”

• Choosing the Mac– Right decision?– Know thy platform intimately. Understand its strengths and

weaknesses.

• Verb lists and the question “What does the player do?”– Closely linked to UML design and functional consideration

• “Game designers have no talent for marketing. Let the pros cook up the title”

• Narrowing the verb list– Trade relationships? – Too close to the wire already?

• The rubber map– 6 weeks? Should he have realised earlier?– “Know when it's time to throw in the towel on a feature.”

• Headline generator– Extensions upon its format?– “Fantasize. Play what-if games. Ask silly questions. Why aren't cows green

like grass?”

Balance of Power

• Read! Read! Read!– Historical accuracy is incredibly important– Creating games for a niche market– Building up a feeling for the subject matter

• Take no pride in facts memorized, but in ideas grasped.

• The importance of the press– Word of mouth sales and critical recommendations

• Why Chris Crawford is going to change game design

Balance of Power

The 400:Let Players Turn the Game Off• The player should be able to save and exit the game at any

point, loosing at most a few seconds of game play.

• Our job as game designers is to entertain, not to punish.

• The customer is always right?

• Applies to all single player games

• Trumped by “Suspend the players sence of disbelief”

Rule: Let Players Turn the Game Off• Can this apply to multiplayer games?

• Play-saving, is this any good?

• Save points?

• Examples of bad save schemes?

The 400

Next crit:

      

Available from:The Gaming Depothttp://www.gamingdepot.com

Next forum:3D Graphics are the Spawn of Satan

• Available on GameDev

• Why has the industry focused on making things look pretty?

• What are some games that have suffered from overuse of technology?

Coming Up• Next meeting:

– Archway 2, 7:00 – 9:00– Monday 1st September– 3D Graphics– Balance of Power

• Game playing session– More of the 400

• Tutorials next week