Basics of Game Development

Basics Game Development

• The course is taught by Radomir Dinic and Samuel Arzt.
• The course covers the basics of game development, including:
  • Game loop (initialization and loading of resources, time-based update, controlled shutdown)
  • 2D graphics skills (sprites, sprite animation, tile maps, occlusions)
  • Input methods (e.g. keyboard, mouse)
  • Basic affine transformations and coordinate spaces (e.g. for manipulating objects or game camera)
  • 2D collision detection (e.g. AABB, circle)
  • Scene management
  • Graphical user interface (e.g. menus, heads-up displays)
• The course is based on the C# programming language and uses the SFML (Simple and Fast Multimedia Library) framework.

Module Description

• The course aims to teach students to:
  • Explain the basic structures and processes of a game engine in their own words
  • Develop simple interactive applications using an existing game engine
  • Implement simple, interactive 2D games based on an existing game engine
  • Design and develop the software architecture and program flow in the code
  • Use 2D graphics for representation (e.g. animated sprites, tile maps, GUI) and implement occlusions
  • Switch between coordinate spaces and use vectors and affine transformations to manipulate objects and camera viewpoints
  • Implement simple methods of 2D collision detection to realize game logic

Workload

• The course has a total workload of 62.5 hours, consisting of:
  • 2 SWS (lectures and lab sessions)
  • 10.5 hours of lectures
  • 10.5 hours of lab sessions
  • 41.5 hours of assignments and autonomous studying (approximately 4-5 hours per week)

Grading

• The course is graded based on:
  • 70% of the final grade comes from three tests (see Wiki)
  • 30% of the final grade comes from three "bigger" assignments:
    • Basic SFML setup (game loop, transformations, time)
    • Basic engine (asset handling, sprite animation, sound, input)
    • Final engine (components, collisions, and basic physics)

Sources

• Core literature: "Game Coding Complete" 4th edition by McShaffry and Graham
• Additional literature:
  • https://github.com/miloyip/game-programmer
  • https://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/
  • "Game Engine Architecture" 3rd edition by Jason Gregory
• Videos:
  • http://www.cs.mun.ca/~dchurchill/teaching.shtml
  • https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ-W1KE9EYfdxhL6S4twUNw
  • https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0JB7TSe49lg56u6qH8y_MQ

Why to become a game developer?

• Reasons to become a game developer include:
  • Using creative and analytical skills
  • Working in an enthusiastic and casual environment
  • Enjoying a steady career in a dynamic industry
  • Earning a competitive salary
  • Making a career out of helping people have fun
  • Having international job opportunities
  • Having the possibility to easily change the branch of industry if desired

The World of Game Development

• Roles in a game development project include:
  • Artist
  • Game engineer
  • Designer
  • Quality assurance
  • Producer
• Game development involves various aspects, including:
  • Gameplay
  • Game world
  • Game mechanics
  • Characters
  • Quest
  • Atmosphere
  • Story
  • Animation
  • Graphics
  • Input
  • Network
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Physics
  • Audio

Game Engines

• A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games.
• It typically includes relevant libraries and support programs.
• Game engines can also refer to the development software utilizing this framework, offering a suite of tools and features for developing games.
• The core functionality of a game engine may include:
  • Rendering engine (renderer) for 2D or 3D graphics
  • Physics engine or collision detection (and collision response)
  • Sound
  • Scripting
  • Animation
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Networking
  • Streaming
  • Memory management
  • Threading
  • Localization support
  • Scene graph
  • Video support for cinematics

SFML – Simple and Fast Multimedia Library

• SFML is not a game engine, but a library that provides a simple interface to the various components of a PC.
• It is composed of five modules:
  • System
  • Window
  • Graphics
  • Audio
  • Network
• SFML is multi-platform, supporting Windows, Linux, and macOS (with plans to support Android and iOS).
• SFML is multi-language, with official support for C++ and C#, and unofficial bindings for other languages.

Practical Part of this Course

• The practical part of the course involves building a simplified game engine using SFML.
• This will help students understand the internal processes of a game engine.