Project 2: Game Jam
Table of contents
The Theme is… LOOP!
Overview
For Project 2, you will be working in groups of 2-3 (preferably not a group of all programmers or all artists) over the span of a week to create a game in Unity. It should be an original game idea you have or a mechanic that you find interesting (you may not repurpose any lab or project assets - scripts, art, prefabs, etc.). The project that you turn in does not have to be a fully functioning, polished game; the goal of this project is for you to see how it is to work in a team, figure out team dynamics, and learn how to scope your project.
There is a week to work on the project, but we do not expect you to work on it for 3-4 hours a day for that entire week. We suggest sitting down with your team for a day during the week and just working on the project. The rest of the week can be used to fix small problems that you didn’t get to on that work day.
Don’t be afraid to fail! This is meant to be a learning experience of working in a team, figuring out the scope of a game and getting comfortable with Unity. We are not grading on how finished or polished the game is, but rather the amount of effort put in.
After completing the project, each person is expected to also submit a short reflection about the experience. In the reflection, points you need to address are:
- What the group initially planned to create
- How did the end product compare to your initial design
- Describe the main mechanic(s) of the game
- Describe the aesthetic goal(s)
- Describe how your group incorporated the theme
Roles
Programmers
Feel free to use components and functions that we have not gone over in class. If you are not sure how to approach a certain mechanic, feel free to ask us on Discord, at office hours, or Google it. Remember, the Unity API is your friend!
Artists
Artists should create assets for the game, but they are not required to make ALL of the assets for a game. We realize a week is not a very long time, so external art assets can be used with credit. However, important art, such as the player, items, etc, should be drawn by the artist(s) of the group. Unity’s asset store has free art assets that are helpful.
Musicians/Sound Designers
Musicians/sound designers should create music and sound effects for the game, but are not required to make ALL assets. If your team does not have a musician or sound designer, you do not need to have audio, but if you do, you can find audio online.
Grade Breakdown
We will be grading on the amount of effort and time put into the project. This will be reflected through the submitted project and the reflection that everyone will be turning in. It is also helpful to keep a log of everything that was accomplished (or attempted if it ended up not working out)
Submission
Everyone must fill out the submission form, but only one person should submit the project files. Invite berkeleyGameDev as a collaborator.
Project 2 Due Thursday, 10/2 @ 11:59 PM.
Resources:
Piskel App - A place to create animated sprites in pixel art
Code and Web - A sprite sheet maker
Unity 3D Tutorials - A myriad of unity tutorials on a variety of topics
Itch.io game assets - Lots of free game assets you can use as references
Map Editor - Tiled - A program which lets you design levels, maps, etc by importing your own art
Tiled2Unity - Used to import Tiled files to Unity assets
Studio Mini Boss Blog - Awesome pixel art tutorial master page, everything from character design to pretty rocks to animated loops.
Bug Reports
If you experience any bugs or typos within the project itself, please report it here!