Winter 2012 Class 1 Notes
 Tim | INDD 5960, 6960 Class 1 Notes Introduction This is a design class. This is not a class on how to make video games though a video game will be our product. In this class we will build on all of the design skills the students have developed to date to deliver a virtual product instead of a physical product. The product must have a defined market, game-play goals, a style, and reward the user thus encouraging them to come back. This product interfaces with people much the same way as any other product does but the only difference is that the user experience is limited to the screen and speakers. Me My name is Tim Lindsey and I am an Auburn Industrial Design graduate from 1996. In 1997 I chose to pursue game development instead of product development. At the time I thought this was a massive departure from my formal education but I quickly realized that good design is good design regardless of whether the medium is virtual or physical. I’ve spent the last 14 years working for Sony, Zenimax, and CCP Games delivering games as both an artist and a designer. This semester will be jam packed with stories from those experiences both funny and not. Making game is tough, like any product, you have to deliver something that your audience will appreciate and you do not get to make any excuses. There is no opportunity to explain yourself. This is a sobering reality in the industry that defines the good designers from the bad. I am putting a lot of effort into removing the overhead of game development to allow you guys to focus on designing. With that said please get very used to visiting this address: I’ve prepared a section of my site for you all to use for getting clarity on any issues you have while in this class. On the site you will find: I expect you all to use the site and tutorials to learn the tools. When we meet it will be to discuss the design of our games. Process and Methodology Our process for the class looks like this; Every two weeks we meet. During this class we immediately kick off with a demo of everyones work. Initially this is a presentation and later on in the semester this will be a play test. The point is, have your work ready to be discussed when class begins. Take notes on everyones work and be prepared to discuss your notes once all of the demo’s are done. Once the demo’s are done we will go around and review everyones work as well as brainstorm. We will ask how well the designer identified their goals and worked towards them. Providing ideas is encouraged. While this is not a team project with a team grade this class and your projects will all be far better if you collaborate. At this point everyone should have a notepad of goals, concerns, ideas and places where they can improve. Build your tasks, your points to iterate on, from these notes. Time for the retrospective. A retrospective is an opportunity for the team to voice what is working for them, what is not working, and what is blocking them from moving forward completely. Yes, you get to critique the actual class every two weeks. When issues arise from the retrospective the team will discuss resolutions and assign them to team members and the Prof. These assignments must be completed before the next retrospective. All of these practices are common in software development. The goal with these exercises is to clear mental and technical blockers. The other goal of these exercises is to give both ownership and responsibility of the process back to the designer. If you don’t like something, speak up and be ready to deliver a better idea. Class concludes with your assignments and an open studio to discuss issues specific to your project. I will be available all day on these days. Every other Friday will be an open studio. I will be available via Skype or IM to answer any questions and to review progress on your work. I made a calendar for us all to keep assignments and weeks with presentations straight. Please use it. I encourage you all to take this time to review each others work and give feedback. This is new territory for most of you in terms of the application of your design skill. Your best resource is each other. Critique 5 Points of success or failure for each of the games we are about to review. This is the type of list we will put together for each of your projects. You will have 5 goals/tenants/columns, etc. With each step along the way we will ask if your project is measuring up to these goals. This is simply a method of vetting ideas and making certain you are staying true to a specific vision. Plants vs. Zombies Machinarium Infinity Blade 2 Are we going to build anything like these? No. We are going to use these as a point of perspective for what is possible and how we want to design our experience for our players. What Are We Making and How? This semester each of you are building a simple 5 minute game experience. I am not limiting the team to a genre but I will be encouraging puzzle play since that best aligns to your skills as I understand them. Some may pursue an avatar based game which is what the engine was originally designed for. Recognize that while this may seem easier initially you are inheriting a far more complex set of requirements by pursuing this game play style. How can an Industrial Designer build a game? That’s what I am here to illustrate. We are taking every shortcut I can dream up while still exercising your design skills to their fullest. We are using your puzzle game play from your Math Problems class as a game play jumping point. You guys built toys to teach complex math last semester….building a video game that does the same should be a cake-walk. If for no other reason, you don’t need a vacuum former or a lathe to pull this project off. Puzzle Example This is an example of what I believe is an excellent delivery for this class in terms of scope and design: Tiny Wings Nails its casual gaming market in terms of: More on Process and Terminology The methodology used to deliver this class borrows from but is not strict to: Agile Software Development Sprint – A measure of time that begins with planning and concludes with a demonstrable product that hits all of it’s definitions of done. In this case a Sprint is 2 weeks. Definition of Done – The definition of what exactly is required from an assignment. The entire class must contribute and agree and what the definition is per Design assignment. The tutorial assignments are tutorials and must be completed as dictated. Scrum Team – A scrum team is a group of developers all moving a featuring in the same direction. Technically, the participants in this class are not a Scrum Team since each individual is delivering their own game mechanic but some Scrum Team methods will still be embraced. Assignment – Week 1 Step One is the hardest. With that said we are going to keep your goals as simple as possible and not over complicate the process by asking you to deliver good designs in an arguably intimidating software. For this reason you will be assigned two assignments per Sprint. One is a design assignment and the other is a tutorial to learn the software. Later in the semester the two assignments will become one and you will be designing in the Unreal Game Engine. For this sprint please deliver by January 27th: 1. 10 Storyboards of an experience you are considering delivering. 2. One Unreal Engine Map produced from following the assigned tutorial.
Our target platform is iOS. Keep it PG-13. No nudity, F-bombs, or gruesome violence. Our target platform will not support that type of content.
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| Tim | Required class materials are: 1. 1 Role of Tracing/Trash Paper; http://www.dickblick.com/products/speedballtracing-paper-in-rolls/ 2. Drawing Pencils and Pens – what ever you feel comfortable with is fine 3. 1 ream of standard printer paper – for sketching 4. 8.5 x 11 Portfolio Binder – Black; http://www.dickblick.com/products/prat-startpremium-spiral-ring-binders/ 1. Sticky Note Pads (used for Retrospectives and Task Planning)
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