Game Design Decal Fall 2024

Apply to become a part of the Fall 2024 DeCal! Applications are due Friday 9/6 at 11:59 PM

DeCal Infosession 9/5

We will be hosting an info session a day before apps are due! Come by to learn about our course, see some DeCal games made in the past, or to get help setting up Unity on your laptop (Lab 0)!

Date: Thursday, 9/5, 6:30-8PM PST Location: Jacobs Hall Room 10

Schedule

Week 1

Sept 5
LectureInfosession
LabLab 0: Unity Setup

Week 2

Sept 9
LectureIntro to Unity
LabLab 1: Intro to Unity
ReadingGame Design Principles
Sept 12
LectureGame Design
LabProgrammer: Lab 2: Basic Scripting / Artist: Lab 3: Pixel Art and Spriting
ProjectProject 1

Week 3

Sept 16
LectureGame Art Fundamentals
LabProgrammer: Lab 4: Advanced Scripting / Artist: Lab 5: Animation
ReadingGraphics vs Aesthetics
Sept 19
LectureFundamentals of Animation
LabProgrammer: Lab 6: Colliders and Rigidbodies / Artist: Lab 7: Tilesets

Week 4

Sept 23
LectureGame Loops
LabLab 8: Animator and Blend Trees
Reading13 Principles of Gameplay
Sept 26
LectureUser Interfaces
LabProgrammer: Lab 9: UI and Layering / Artist: Lab 10: UI Asset Creation
ProjectProject 2: Game Jam

Week 5

Sept 30
LectureGit Tutorial
LabProgrammer: Lab 11: Coroutines / Artist: Lab 12: Environment Design
ReadingHow to Pitch your Project
Oct 3
LectureDesign Docs and MVPs

Week 6

Oct 7
LecturePitch Day
ReadingHow to Write a Good Game Design Document
Oct 10
Lecture[Project 2 Showcase]
ProjectProject 3: Final

Week 7

Oct 14
Lecture Work Day
LabOptional: Lab 13: Transitioning, Saving and Building
ReadingTeam Structures in Game Development
Oct 17
Lecture Tutorial + Level Design
LabOptional: Lab 14: 3D Rigging, Skinning, and Animation
Project Milestone 0: Game Design Doc

Week 8

Oct 21
LectureGame Feel
LabOptional: Lab 15: Raycasting
ReadingTips for Better Playtesting
Oct 24
Lecture Milestone 1: MVP Playtest

Week 9

Oct 28
Lecture Music and SFX
LabOptional: Lab 16: Lighting
ReadingInsightful Playtest Questions
Oct 31
Project Guest Lecture

Week 10

Nov 4
Lecture Accessibility
Reading Accessible Controllers
Nov 7
Project Milestone 2: Alpha Playtest

Week 11

Nov 11
Lecture Work Day
Reading Accessible Controllers
Nov 14
Project Guest Lecture

Week 12

Nov 18
Lecture AI Design
Reading AI in Gaming
Nov 21
Project Milestone 3: Beta Playtest

Week 13

Nov 25
LectureWork Day
Reading Tutorial Design

Week 14

Dec 2
Lecture Building and Publishing
ReadingGamification
Dec 5
Lecture Course Postmortem
Project Milestone 4: Final Submission

Week 15

Dec 9
GDD Showcase