No Homework assigned this Thursday!

No homework assigned on September 26, 2013!!!
Enjoy the weekend!

Homework 8: Chapter 10

Homework 8: Chapter 10
Assigned: September 24, 2013
Due: October 1, 2013

After reading Chapter 10 (Game Mechanics), please answer the following questions as they relate to your team game. Answers are individual and posted to your blog. The answers should apply to your  team game, as discussed at your meetings. 

The answers can be brief, but must be to the point, and expressed as full sentences and paragraphs. Make sure that each question is answered individually. Some of the questions cannot be answered without reading the book chapter. 

You can skip subsections 2 and 6: State and Chance. 

1. Is the space in your game discrete or continuous?
2. How many dimensions does your space have? 
3. What are the boundaries of your space? 
4. How many verbs do your players (characters) have? What are they? 
5. How many objects can each verb act on? What are these objects? 
6. How many ways can players achieve their goals
7. How many subjects do the players control? What are these subjects? 
8. How do side effects change constraints. 
9. What are the operative actions in your game? 
10. What are the resultant actions in your game? 
11. What actions would you like your players to do that they cannot presently do? (based on your current knowledge of Blender)
12. What is the ultimate goal of your game? 
13. Are there short and long term goals? What are they? 
14. How do you plan to make the game goals known and understood by the player? 
15. What are the foundational rules of your game? 
16. How are these rules enforced? 
17. Does your game develop real skills? What are they? 
18. Does your game develop virtual skills? What are they? 

Homework 7, Blender Animation in the Game Engine

Homework 7
Assigned: September 19, 2013
Due: September 26, 2013

In this homework, you are required to use the game engine to enhance your game.
You must use the following elements:

• Parenting
• Animation
• Linking from another file
• Materials

As usual, you must discuss what you did in your blog and, 

• Provide one or more images or a video
• Provide a written description of what you have done
• Explain how what you have done fits into the larger picture of your game

Please provide your game through a link or a dropbox. No need to send the file in an email. 

Homework 6: Chapters 4-5

Homework 6
Assigned: Sept. 17, 2013
Due: Sept. 24, 2013

Please read chapters 4 (Elements) and 5 (Theme) of the class textbook "The Art of Game Design" by Jesse Schell.
Answer the following questions in your blog (this is individual). If you have answered the question previously, copy/paste your previous response and improve on it. Your game is undergoing evolutions after all, and your understand is increasing over time. Some questions might seem confusing. The book discusses these and makes it possible to think and answer the questions. Please discuss with the instructor if necessary. 

1. Four each of the four elements of the Tetrad, explain how it is addressed by your game. If one of the four elements is not used, please state this. 
2. Do the four (or less) elements work towards a current theme? 
3. In your own words, describe the meaning of a "theme", and how does it differ from an "experience" (see book for examples in Chapters 2 and 5. 
4. What is your game's theme? 
5. What are the elements in your game that are meant to reinforce this theme? 
6. What is it about your game that you feel makes it special and powerful?

Your blog should have a header for each question and an answer for each question so that I can clearly identify question and answer. 

Homework 5: Blender Game Engine

Homework 5: Blender Game Engine
Assigned: Thur. Sept. 12, 2013
Due: Thur. Sept. 19, 2013

In this homework, you will each use the game engine with one or more of the objects that will be used in your game. Use the object(s) created in homework 3. You must use your object and in addition, you may use other objects created by your team members.

The homework will be created in your personal blog. You will put the Blender file somewhere to be downloaded and send me the link. If you cannot do this, email me the Blender file.

Deliverables:

• Use the game engine, combined with physics, to do something interesting with your objects. 
• You must be able to move the objects with the keyboard (some combination of horizontal, perhaps with, vertical motion). Your characters could jump up for example. 
• Use the add objects facility in your little engine simulation
• Describe what you have done in your blog (using words). You can create a video to describe what you have done, but a text description is a requirement. 
• Describe how use of the game engine will relate to the team game you are developing. Therefore, it might be a good idea for the team to discuss what each member is doing for this homework in order to help with the game development at a later time. The homeworks of each team member must be individual and not copies of each other. 
• I want a video of your use of the game engine OR some images, that illustrate what you have done (in addition to text description.)

Homework 4: Teamwork

Homework 4
Assigned: Sept. 10, 2013
Due: Sept. 17, 2013

Please read chapters 23 (Teams) and 24 (Documents) of the class textbook "The Art of Game Design" by Jesse Schell.
Answer the following questions in your blog (this is individual).

1. Do you love your project/game. If not, how can that be changed? 
2. Does the team as a whole love the project? If not, what can be done? 
3. Are the team members communicating with each other?
4. Does the team have a regular meeting schedule? What is that schedule? 
5. Describe the modes of communication between the team members. 
6. Regarding game documents, what must be remembered while designing your game? 

You'll be starting on your game document in the near future.

Homework 3: First Objects in Blender

Homework 3: First Objects in Blender
Assigned: Sept. 5, 2013
Due: Sept. 12, 2013

In this homework, you will construct your first object(s) necessary to your game. Each team member will build a different object, or set of objects. This (these) object(s) will be formed from spheres, cubes, cones, cylinders (in any combination) and edited to create anything you like. You are required to do some extrusion and subdivision. Teams should discuss this homework and how it relates to the planned game. However, each team member is responsible for building his/her own object(s). Use your imagination. Look through Youtube/google to get ideas.

Expected deliverables:  (total grade: 100%)

1. A blender file with your objects  (50%)
2. A description of what you have done with Blender in your Blog (labelled Homework 3) (25%)
3. A description of how these objects fit into your teams' game (25%)

Other optional ideas: add one or two lights, add a second camera.

Homework 2: Meet your team

Homework 2
Assigned: September 2,  2013
Due: September 9, 2013

• Now that your teams are formed, meet with your team (in person, via Skype, during lunch, before class, after class, etc.)
• Develop a game concept that includes an objective, desired experience, desired audience
• Provide a very rough idea of the story (this will be developed throughout the course)
• Give me an idea of the characters in your game
• Describe the above in your googledocs notebook document. Perhaps each your contributions is written in a different color? Make sure you include your team names, your domains of expertise, what you hope to accomplish during the game development.
• For now, leave the googledocs game document alone. Once you have a better idea of your game and its structure, you will update the game document.