Following the 2010 Review of the Faculty of Information Technology this unit forms part of the new Games Development major established within the Bachelor of Information Technology and Systems degree.

Removed XNA reference due to software not being supported by Microsoft any more. UPdated learning outcomes to match Faculty required format and language. 2/2/2015: Updated class type to allow admin staff to correctly allocate rooms for classes

July 2015: This unit has undergone change during the course architectures redesign of BInfoTech Games Development major. The basis of the unit remains the same, however change has been made to deliver the unit in a Studio format. There is no significant change to Learning Outcomes, however there is minor change to content and assessment.

12/9/2016: Changed teaching hours to reflect new studio-based teaching approach, and for consistency with Games Design Studio 1

October 2016: Updated prerequisites to allow completing BITS students to enrol in 2017.

02/10/2020 Admin: Update to include new assessment and teaching approach fields as per Handbook requirements.

This is a required unit in the Games Development major of the Bachelor of Information Technology degree. It aims to provide students with an insight into the games development process as used in industry, with a particular focus on contemporary games engines. While foundational skills in languages such as C++ are vital to the success of a games programmer, it is also important to appreciate that many games are developed using pre-existing games engines. This includes dedicated graphics and audio engines. These can be frameworks requiring intensive programming, or graphically oriented, such as the Unity platform (for example).

This unit is intended to support a number of units in the Games Development major. It provides an insight into how foundational skills developed previously in languages such as C++ translate into industrial practice in their use in game engines. The unit is also intended to highlight that there are a number of development environments that exist in the games development community, and that these engines provide legitimate options for large-scale games development. This ties in directly with the Studio unit FIT3039 where Games Development major students are expected to develop a major game project using the technology of their choosing.

As mentioned, this unit has significant ties with previous units, but most importantly with their final major games development Studio project. The unit also provides an opportunity to provide students with an insight into industry games development practices and to be exposed to industry standard, cutting edge games development technologies.

On successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Describe the games development pipeline as used in industry, including roles and development life cycles, and place into practice in the context of a game development project;
2. Critically analyse and research a game engine, then structure and present your findings to an audience
3. Evaluate the appropriateness of a game engine to a specific game design brief
4. Construct a basic game, using programming with a contemporary game engine
5. Work collaboratively in a team environment

020103

This unit exposes students to a variety of industry standard games engine environments and development techniques. Students will develop an appreciation and basic working knowledge of a number of different platforms used in contemporary games development. The unit aims to provide students with a practical insight into contemporary, industry standard, games development process and games engines. The studio environment will facilitate considerable peer interaction, in particular in the critique of game engines and the development of game prototypes.

The unit provides knowledge and skills, which students can apply within their game development projects in the third year studio project/s (FIT3039/3040) and across all subsequent units.

There are no required resources for this unit. All material will be made available on the unit Moodle website.

Technological requirements

Students will be required to deliver a game prototype using the Unity game engine. Unity is available for free download from the Unity website. This software will be made available to students in computer laboratories, however it is recommended that students have access to this software outside of scheduled class time for undertaking outside study and for ease of completing assessment.

(For Clayton Campus ONLY) Please note: This is a bring your own device unit. You will be expected to bring a web-connected device (i.e., laptop or tablet) to class to access specialist software. The applications for your class can be accessed at the website move.monash.edu

On-Campus

Studio-Based Teaching This unit uses a Studio based teaching approach. In Studio based teaching, there is less discrimination between lectures and laboratory classes, with each 3 hour Studio encompassing discussion of theory and also putting it into practice. Studios allow for greater integration of these two aspects, as well as affording greater opportunity for peer interaction. Each week will also conclude with a one hour seminar session where the weeks concepts will be discussed and explored as a whole class to facilitate the greatest engagement with the content and with each other.

In-semester assessment: 100%

1. Assignment 1 part 1 - Game Pitch & Development Plan: 10%
2. Assignment 1 part 2 - Prototype Demonstration and Testing 10%?
3. Assignment 1 part 3: 15%?Prototype Demonstration and Testing: 15%
4. Assignment 1 part 4 - Final Prototype Demonstration and Testing: 15%
5. Assignment 2 part 1 - Preparation: 5%
6. Assignment 2 Part 2 - Performing Your Analysis: 20%? ?
7. Assignment 2 part 3: 15%? ?
8. Assignment 2 Part 4 - Player Experience Description: 10%

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:

(b.) Additional requirements (all students):

Please note that the 3 hour studio sessions should be timetabled in a studio-styled teaching space.

The 1 hour lecture/seminar should be timetabled so that it runs after the studio sessions.

FIT

None

(FIT2073 and FIT2096) or (FIT2049 and FIT2073)