Game Design and Development Decal Spring 2026
There’s a lot to announce this week—but no milestones! 🎉
We have a special decal-exclusive Guest Speaker coming this Thursday!Nik Thomas, Project Lead at The Wacy, graduated from UCSC in 2023 and will be speaking about his experiences with indie game design after graduation. His most recent rhythm game Beat Heart Beat currently has a demo out on Steam and Itch (https://linktr.ee/beatheartbeatgame).
Look forward to this in class this week, and be on your best behavior!
Next, Bear Jams is this weekend! Challenge yourself to a weekend-long game jam with real cash prizes on the line! This event is open to anyone; please participate if interested! Check the Announcement on the Discord server for more details.
Thats all for now. Keep up the hard work for the next Milestone next Thursday! Do not procrastinate.
Date Due Assigned Tuesday (4/7) None! None! Thursday (4/9) None! None!
Schedule
Week 0
- Jan 27
- Lecture Infosession
- LabLab 0: Unity Setup
- Jan 29
- Lecture Infosession
- LabLab 0: Unity Setup
Week 1
- Feb 3
- Lecture Intro to Unity
- LabLab 1: Intro to Unity
- ReadingGame Design Principles
- Feb 5
- Lecture Game Design
- LabProgrammer: Lab 2: Basic Scripting / Artist: Lab 3: Pixel Art and Spriting
- ProjectProject 1
Week 2
- Feb 10
- Lecture Game Art Fundamentals
- LabProgrammer: Lab 4: Advanced Scripting / Artist: Lab 5: Tilesets
- ReadingGraphics vs Aesthetics
- Feb 12
- Lecture Fundamentals of Animation
- LabProgrammer: Lab 6: Colliders and Rigidbodies / Artist: Lab 7: Animation
Week 3
- Feb 17
- Lecture Game Loops
- LabLab 8: Animator and Blend Trees
- Reading13 Principles of Gameplay
- Feb 19
- Lecture Git Tutorial
- LabProgrammer: Lab 9: UI and Layering / Artist: Lab 10: UI Asset Creation
- ProjectProject 2: Game Jam
Week 4
- Feb 24
- Lecture User Interfaces
- Lab Programmer: Lab 11: Coroutines / Artist: Lab 12: Environment Design
- ReadingHow to Pitch your Project
- Feb 26
- Lecture Design Docs and MVPs
Week 5
- Mar 3
- Lecture Pitch Day
- ProjectProject 3: Final
- Mar 5
- Lecture Project 2 Showcase
- Lecture 3D Modeling
- ReadingEffectively Organize with a Game Design Document
Week 6
- Mar 10
- Lecture Work Day
- Lab Optional: Lab 13: Transitioning, Saving and Building
- Project Milestone 0: Game Design Doc
- ReadingTeam Structures in Game Development
- Mar 12
- Lecture Work Day
- Lab Optional: Lab 14: 3D Rigging, Skinning, and Animation
Week 7
- Mar 17
- Lecture Tutorial + Level Design
- LabOptional: Lab 15: Raycasting
- ReadingTips for Better Playtesting
- Mar 19
- Lecture Game Feel
- Project Milestone 1: MVP Playtest
Week 8
Week 9
- Mar 31
- Lecture Music and SFX
- LabOptional: Lab 17: Delegates and Events
- Apr 2
- Project Milestone 2: Alpha Playtest
Week 10
- Apr 7
- Lecture Accessibility
- Reading Accessible Controllers
- Apr 9
- Lecture Guest Lecture
Week 11
- Apr 14
- Lecture Work Day
- Reading AI in Gaming
- Apr 16
- Project Milestone 3: Beta Playtest
Week 12
- Apr 21
- Lecture Guest Lecture
- Reading Tutorial Designs
- Apr 23
- Lecture Workday
Week 13
- Apr 28
- Lecture Building and Publishing
- ReadingGamification
- Apr 30
- Lecture Course Postmortem
- Project Milestone 4: Final Submission
Week 15
- May 5
- GDD Showcase