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ART 488 / CMSC 493

ART 488 / CMSC 493. Game Project Class. Introduction. Marc Olano BS EE, University of Illinois Visualization, Theatre Lighting Design PhD CS, University of North Carolina First graphics hardware shading Some ideas used on GPUs 4 years Silicon Graphics

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ART 488 / CMSC 493

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  1. ART 488 / CMSC 493 Game Project Class

  2. Introduction • Marc Olano • BS EE, University of Illinois • Visualization, Theatre Lighting Design • PhD CS, University of North Carolina • First graphics hardware shading • Some ideas used on GPUs • 4 years Silicon Graphics • Cramming shading into non-programmable hardware • 11 years here • Sabbatical at Firaxis Games • Work w/ Activision, Treyarch, Ubisoft

  3. Hopes and the Law • I want you to make games and sell them • I want you to take marketing and market feedback seriously • If you get stinking rich, that’s awesome • You probably will not get stinking rich • Legal • I don’t expect you to incorporate ($$$) • Please pay your taxes • Please treat each other right

  4. “In the beginning” • This class in 2009 • AAA tools, AAA complexity • Gamebryo + WWise + Scaleform • All used in some real AAA games • All poorly documented, steep learning curve • Legal encumbrance • “No charge! Unless you sell it!”

  5. “Riding the pendulum” • This class in 2010 • Tiny teams, Tiny 2D games • Some awesome, some less awesome • Maybe too tiny… • Little programming complexity • I’ve seen High School students do better • OK, so they were Imagine Cup finalist HS students

  6. “A happy medium”? • Survival of the fittest • Best ideas get 2-3 person 2-week prototype • Best prototypes get 6-8 person team • 8 weeks development • 2 weeks to refine it • 2 weeks to make it bulletproof • Industry demo

  7. This year: Game Adoption • Prototypes demos for realdevelopers • They will help me pick the ones to green light • They’ll each pick one to “adopt” • Not every game will get an industry mentor! • Meet them every two weeks • Follow their advice • (unless you are really, really sure it is wrong & can defend your choice)

  8. Marketing • Yes, I know you’re a programmer/artiste • Much of marketing is just documentation • Screen shots, video capture, instructions • Even more marketing is just respectful “did you see my game?” emails • Don’t forget Facebook, friends, friendly reviews

  9. Marketing Schedule • Identify external deadlines & exploit them • GDC Student Day 3/29($$$) • Distribute, plan, market • Imagine Cup 3/15 • Limits to platform, team size, and game theme • You identify other festivals, contests, etc. • See this blog

  10. How to Pitch • Look at rubric, due midnight THURSDAY • Create five slide pitch in Google Docs • Share it with me • I will merge into one mondo presentation • 3 minute presentations • Over 3 minutes = -15% • +1 minute question(s)

  11. Your Pitch • Slide 1: Elevator pitch • 2 sentences, 10 seconds • Slide 2: Demographics • Who is your target player, why will they like it? • Similar games that succeeded • Potential festivals or contests • Slide 3: Mechanic • What do your players do? Why is that fun? • Slide 4: Technical • Time and resources • Slide 5: Screen Mockup • What will the game look like? What is the artistic style?

  12. Target Platform & Styles • Considerations • Will you be able to sell your game if you want? • Will you be able to finish a game in time? • Will it be valuable for your portfolio? • 2D or 3D • PC, iOS, Android, XBox, Web • Unity, XNA, Javascript, …

  13. Ways to sell • iOS, XBoxLive, Facebook, your web site+paypal • I can’t demand you put stuff on the App store • Apple, at least, does reject stuff • Give me copies of your submission material & any official responses • I do demand that you publish or publicize • I do demand that you obey the law • Be very careful about licensing • Make sure you have a commercial license!

  14. Unity3D • We (will) have Unity 4 pro in the lab • You can also get a 3-month trial from Unity • Games will use Unity this semester • Unless you have a compelling reason to use something else

  15. Ethics • You can use external toolkits and code • If you have the rights • And you credit them • But you need to make your own game • The design must be yours • The art must be yours • The core game code must be yours

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