For assignment 2, you get to
take your first crack at actually programming a game. We will provide you with
a framework that handles most of the low-level messy stuff (such as selecting
the video mode, setting up a back buffer and page flipping, interacting with
DirectX). You have to design a 2D arcade game, draw the graphics and program
the inner workings of your game. You have three weeks to create a working
arcade game, so design and engineer carefully to make sure you are done on
time. We expect a game on the order of Centipede (or
more!). The more original the game is the better. You
should not do a copy/clone of an existing game. Be sure to attend the
classes September 16 & 18 - these sessions will help you get to know the Zenilib and the requirements of the assignment.
Your game must run under
Windows on the CAEN computers in the CSE computer labs.
Your grade on assignment 2
will be based on 4 factors:
Is the game well designed and fun to play? This is the
most important factor.
We talked about designing a game and what make a game
fun. Make sure you demonstrate to
us that you were paying attention in class and learned
something. This also includes things like how fun it is to play, whether
it looks good (has good graphics), has good "feel" in controlling the
objects, ... The game should not be too easy or too hard, and must have
different levels of difficulty, either through starting menu selection,
multiple levels with increasing difficulty, or dynamic adjustment of difficulty
during game play. Sometimes beginning game developers get
caught up in the low-level programming and don’t step back to see the whole
picture until it’s too late – when developing your game, remember that the final product must be enjoyable with good gameplay! The longer the game is fun to play, the
better. Have friends play test early and often.
Is the game fully functional?
While
good design is the most important factor, it will be almost impossible for the
game to have good gameplay if it doesn’t
work. Therefore, we’re looking for a working game. It
should include scoring (almost always appropriate), multiple lives for the
player, and the ability to play multiple games. If the game is almost but not
quite finished or still contains bugs, your grade will suffer much more than if
it is a working game with fewer features. When you design your game make sure you can finish the project within the three-week
time frame. Create a schedule and stick to it. Don’t try to write the whole thing before getting anything to run. Do
incremental development – get something running and then add more features.
Is the game nontrivial?
You won't get a good grade if your final game is just pong or
breakout with different colors and a bigger paddle. Your game should be
something you are proud to hand in. More specifically, we
will be looking at how many objects can be in the game at once, how they
interact - how good/realistic are any physics and/or collision detection,
sound, whether it can be played by two people (not required, but sort of extra
credit that makes up for other weaknesses), originality, artwork, ... Other
ways to make the game more complex are having terrain, a playing area larger
than the screen with scrolling, some objects that behave independent of the
player (AI!), … Thus part of your grade is how much work you put into it (that
we can see when we play it).
Is the game well documented?
You
must have a good design document that describes in detail what the concept of
the game is and how you implemented it. You should not turn in code, but you
need to hand in a design document and a manual (so we can play it). Better than
a manual is having all of the instructions embedded in the game. Finally, turn
in a half page description of what you think makes your program good according
to the grading criteria listed above.
In order to make it easier to
grade, we would appreciate some mode that makes it possible to play through the
game (and see all the great stuff you did) without becoming an expert at the
game.
To do this assignment you will
need to use Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or 2008, the Zenipex
Library (see below), and a paint program (such as Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia
Fireworks, the Windows Paint program available on CAEN machines, the GIMP,
etc.).
C/C++ Compiler
You
need Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or 2008. Visual C++ 2008 Express
is a free download.
The Zenipex Library or "Zenilib"
It
handles all of the low level stuff that is such a pain in game programming so
you can concentrate more on creating the game. You can find information and
downloads for the Zenipex Library at http://zenipex.com/zenilib/.
Follow the instructions and get the latest version of the zenilib
and its supporting files. Provided that include and lib paths for DirectX and OpenAL are set up correctly, extracting both the zenilib and its supporting files to the same location will
give you a functional blank slate for your game in the directory zenilib/.
Paint Program
You
will have to create graphics for each of your game objects. You can use any
paint program that creates BMP and/or PNG files. The Paint program in windows,
the shareware program Paint Shop Pro, Macromedia Fireworks, Adobe Photoshop and
the GIMP are all appropriate choices.
You must test your
program on the Windows machines in the CSE computer labs to make sure that it
runs correctly. If you are doing your development elsewhere, you should test
your game periodically on the CSE machines to avoid an unpleasant surprise on
the day that your game is due!
You
will submit the following items via cTools. A single
zip file would be best. Please name the .zip file with your last name.
If I were handing in the assignment, it would be laird.zip.
1.
Your game
executable – which must run on a CSE lab computer running Windows.
2.
An updated design
document for you game.
3.
A manual for your
game if the instructions for running the game are not embedded in the game.
4.
A document that
points out how your program meets (and possibly exceeds) the grading criteria
mentioned above.
We
will then begin the grueling task of playing all your games.