Course description
The GameLab seminar will again be given Spring 2024! It is a 10 credit course where you will design, develop, and launch your own game. You will learn and explore a combination of valuable topics such as programming, entrepreneurship, game design and development process.
Throughout the course we will have go through, and learn, the complete cycle of game development from idea to launch. The course is focused on launching a functioning end product that marries user experience and technology:
- Design: Create a game design with accompanied design document.
- Technology: Make and reason the correct technology choices to create the designed game considering the constraints of time, resources, technical performance and user experience.
- Team: Decide roles and share tasks and responsibilities across team based on suitable skillset and area of interest.
- Process: Agree on process, milestones and approach to development.
- Development: Implement end to end game features in a time and performance efficient manner with the goal of creating usable and fun experience for the player.
- Business: Launch the game on the target platforms app store with a clear plan how and why the game will make money in the market.
For information about the first GameLab: https://site.uit.no/tromsogamelab/
Also check out the list of games and screenshots developed in the first round of the GameLab, and news with pictures from the course.
Administrative information
The course will be given as a master’s level course. We may consider allowing especially motivated bachelor students to take the course.
Admission requirements, learning goals, exam information and other administrative information is on the uit websites. You can also find the course schedule / information about the rooms used for the lecture and group on timeplan.uit.no.
Staff and collaborators
- Lars Ailo Bongo lars.ailo.bongo@uit.no (responsible professor).
- Ernie Roby-Tomic (teaching assistant).
- Anders Sildnes anders.sildnes@uit.no (teaching assistant).
- Ismet Bachtiar (Tvibit).
- In collaboration with local game development industry.
Project and evaluation
The course has a very practical and hands-on approach. The primary evaluation criteria is the successful completion and launch of a game. It is equally important that the choices related to featureset, technologies and programming languages are consistent with the user experience and usage patterns of the game itself.
Technologies to be used are up for the students to decide.
In addition to being evaluated on the successful completion of the game you will be evaluated on the technical design and implementation within chosen technologies. From code patterns, architecture and implementation to database schema and client-werver communications. The evaluation is done in collaboration between representatives of the local game industry and the faculty itself.
Lecture plan and course timeline
| Lecture/ seminar / event | Date | Lecturer | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kick-off | 09.01.24 | ||
| Lecture 1 | 09.01.24 | Kim Daniel Arthur | Game development introduction |
| Lecture 2 | 09.01.24 | Ismet Bachtiar | Concept development |
| Lecture 3 | 09.01.24 | Cris-Kevin Bjørndal | AI & game development |
| Lecture 4 | 09.01.24 | Kim Ruben Lockertsen | How to choose game technology |
| Lecture 5 | 16.01.24 | Ernie Roby-Tomic | Introduction to Unreal Engine 5 |
| Lecture 6 | 25.01.24 | Simen Fjellstad | Game Jam warm-up |
| Game Jam | 26-28.01.24 | Michael David Elliott and Sebastian Røed Mangseth | Game Jam |
| Lecture 7 | 08.02.24 | Cris-Kevin Bjørndal | Game assests |
| Lecture 8 | 27.02.24 | Ernie Roby-Tomic | Hands-on Unreal Engine 5 |
| Lecture 9 | 29.02.24 | Ove Kåven | Programmers perspective on Unreal Engine 5 |
| Lecture 10 | 21.03.24 | Jonna Häkkilä | Playful User Experience Design for Wearable Computing |
| Lecture 11 | 18.04.24 | Anders Lauridsen | Norwegian game ecosystem and pitching |
| Lecture 12 | 25.04.24 | Anna Dranovska | Funding opportunities for students |
| Lecture 13 | 07.05.24 | Henriette Myrlund | Juicing |
Project milestones:
| Milestone | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1. High-level concept | 06.02.24 | General overall direction |
| 2. Design | 22.02.24 | Game and technology defined |
| 3. Prototype | 19.03.24 | Playable game |
| 4. Alpha | 23.04.24 | Feature complete |
| 5. Beta | 21.05.24 | Content complete. Submit |
| 6. Live | 31.05.24 | Game launched! |
Exam dates:
- 31.05.24: final delivery of project
- TBA (planned between 05-08.06.24): oral presentation
Readings
There are no mandatory readings.
Recommended readings are:
- The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. Jesse Schell. Describes the non-technical aspects of game design.
- Various links and other resources posted in our Discord.
Mandatory assignments
Presentation at each milestone is mandatory. The presentations will be graded pass/no-pass.
Milestone #1 : High-level Concept
On 13.2/Milestone #1, we want a presentation from each group. It should be around five minutes (give or take). We will also open for questions after each presentation.
The presentation topic is “High Concept” and should give an overall introduction to what you want to build, why your game is going to be worth playing and key elements in the design and revenue model.
In our discord-server #lectures channel (https://discord.gg/Jv5mcvuWHz) there is a lecture-starting-b.pdf that can serve as your guide for what content to include in your presentation, as well as other examples from previous students. You don’t have to include all the suggested content from lecture-starting-b.pdf.
Deliverables
You will submit one final report that should be organized according to the milestones presented at the kick-off:
- High Concept presents the overall direction of the game. You can include the high concept you presented in February as this part of your report.
- Design defines the game and technology. You can include the design document you presented later in February.
- Prototype is an implementation of a playable game. The report should include a description of this prototype. What was the goal of the prototype and what did you learn from it? A short discussion of the current state of the game is also expected here.
- Alpha is a feature complete implementation of the game. The report should include a description of this alpha version. What was the goal of the alpha version and what did you learn from it? A short discussion of the current state of the game is also expected here
- Beta is a content complete version of the game that can be submitted for evaluation.
- Live is the launched game. In the report you can combine the description for the Beta and Live two milestones in a single chapter. We also expect and evaluation of the complete game project is also expected here. It is also possible to discuss metrics of interest for later evaluation of the launched game here.
You should submit using Wiseflow at the end of the course:
- Your report.
- The final source code (well commented)
- The binary of the game (with a description on how to install and play).
- A link to the published game.
The presentation/demo (oral exam)
The presentation/demo should give the audience enough information to be able to evaluate the game regarding the complexity of the development of it and its playability.
Grading
This main aim of the course is develop and launch the best game possible in the given time. The grade represents our overall impression of the game and the game development including the quality and complexity of the implementation. The game, report, and code will contribute 80% of the grade, and the final presentation/demo will contribute to 20% of the final grade.