Lecture 0: Introduction
About The Class
This is a project class - we will form teams this week and start working on games. The game is your final project and is due during finals week.
- Lab time - teem meetings
- Workshops in lecture room
- Teammate evaluations part of your grade
- Inidividual technologies must be integrated
Past Projects
Games Are Difficult
Why?
There are a lot of technologies to put together:
- Graphics
- Animation
- User interface design
- Sounds/audio
- Artificial intelligence
Putting everything together involves some difficulties:
- Timing and sequencing: need to keep track of what things are happening and when
- Performance: there’s a lot going on and it needs to be fast to be playable
- You need to find a mesh for the door
- It needs to be transformed in such a way that it can rotate about its hinge
- How do you open the door? Need to tie up a key press to the door opening
- Do you need to be close to it or do you need to look at it? Maybe we need picking
- Can you open a door when you’re dead? Okay, we need to filter door controls
- What happens if the character is in the doorway and the door is closed?
- Pushed out or stopped door?
- Is there a sound effect associated with the door?
- Are AI characters aware the door is open/closed?
- It’s a piece of the scene that can sometimes be seen through, sometimes not