Table of Contents
- Intro
- Unit 1: Overview and Instructions
- Unit 2: Technicality and Objectives
- Unit 3: Concept Art and Examples
- Unit 3.5: Game Link and Tutorial
- Unit 4: Self Reflection
- Conclusion
- Citations
Introduction
Seeing as the entire objective of this class is to lead us into individual game projects, it was inevitable that I would eventually find myself in this position. As a class we have been tasked with making our own educational games, with each student taking a different approach to the project. In my particular case, I chose a section of curriculum that any 2nd-grader would find familiar, simple addition and subtraction. I chose this for two reasons; 1: It is easy to implement, and 2: It's relevant. Simple math like this often makes up the backbone of most elementary school lessons, and the simple 1+1 equations are easy to present and build upon with students.
Aside from this, I also sought to make the game interesting for the player, especially players within the K-2 age range. And to meet this goal I decided to go with a castle theme for the entire level, for the sake of engaging the player while their solving math problems, which don't exactly have a great track record for being engaging.
The rest of this PBM will go into greater detail on why I made these particular design decisions, and how they ultimately come together to make this final educational product.
Seeing as the entire objective of this class is to lead us into individual game projects, it was inevitable that I would eventually find myself in this position. As a class we have been tasked with making our own educational games, with each student taking a different approach to the project. In my particular case, I chose a section of curriculum that any 2nd-grader would find familiar, simple addition and subtraction. I chose this for two reasons; 1: It is easy to implement, and 2: It's relevant. Simple math like this often makes up the backbone of most elementary school lessons, and the simple 1+1 equations are easy to present and build upon with students.
Aside from this, I also sought to make the game interesting for the player, especially players within the K-2 age range. And to meet this goal I decided to go with a castle theme for the entire level, for the sake of engaging the player while their solving math problems, which don't exactly have a great track record for being engaging.
The rest of this PBM will go into greater detail on why I made these particular design decisions, and how they ultimately come together to make this final educational product.
Unit 1: Overview and Instructions
The particular game that I have decided to create is called Rumble Fort, with a heavy focus on medieval architecture and older furniture. The reason I chose this design was not only to liven up the overall atmosphere of the environment, but to appeal to the target audience, which would be groups of mostly 2nd graders. Being able to engage that target audience is essential to ensuring that the game is at least somewhat interesting, seeing as a subject like math is the main focus.
The game itself is quite linear, using controls like WASD to move and space to jump, with the main objective just being to reach the end of the level. This level of simplicity is also another reason as to why design and overall visual appeal need to stand out, as they are meant to fill the void that the gameplay leaves behind.
The game itself is quite linear, using controls like WASD to move and space to jump, with the main objective just being to reach the end of the level. This level of simplicity is also another reason as to why design and overall visual appeal need to stand out, as they are meant to fill the void that the gameplay leaves behind.
Unit 2: Technicality and Objectives
On a technical standpoint, the level itself has a LOT of individual assets, the majority of which were provided through the Unity Asset Store. I made use of modular design and the ProBuilder tool in order to shape these individual assets to create the final product, as well as leave it in a state that is easy to edit. Doing this means that I can quickly make iterations to the design and mechanics once I inevitably receive reviews from peers. Especially due to one of the main faults in the level design, the lack of code, as a result of my personal struggles with programming. To compensate for this lack, I built the game in a way that there are very few ways to be physically blocked from progressing, but rather the player would run into a mental block.
The presence of math problems means that the player needs to make use of basic mathematics in order to pick the correct hallway and progress through the game, with the ultimate objective being to reach the goal post at the very end of the levels. There are no scripts in place to streamline this process at the moment, but surely will be added if these issues are seen as glaring by future peer reviewers.
Seeing as the game is made in the Unity Engine, the playable version of it is accessed through the Unity Play function, which provides direct access to the original Unity build.
The presence of math problems means that the player needs to make use of basic mathematics in order to pick the correct hallway and progress through the game, with the ultimate objective being to reach the goal post at the very end of the levels. There are no scripts in place to streamline this process at the moment, but surely will be added if these issues are seen as glaring by future peer reviewers.
Seeing as the game is made in the Unity Engine, the playable version of it is accessed through the Unity Play function, which provides direct access to the original Unity build.
Unit 3: Concept Art and Examples
A major part of any form of development process is providing a proof of concept, which is exactly why I took the time to make a number of sketches and early iterations of the final Rumble Fort level. Doing this not only fleshes out the final product but helps work out any flaws or bugs that might be present before later stages of the development process are reached.
Now that plenty of context has been given to this parkour level, it's about time that the game itself be presented, so the points mentioned earlier can be proven.
Unit 3.5: Game Link and Tutorial
Instructions: Your objective is to reach the end of the level without falling off the castle walls, as well as solve math questions along the way in order to find the correct path to freedom!
There are already a set of instructions in-game, but here they are again just for convenience.
- W, A, S, and D keys to move (W=Forward, A=Left, S=Backwards, D=Right)
- Spacebar to jump
- Shift key to sprint (Sprinting might make jumping more difficult, so be careful!)
There are already a set of instructions in-game, but here they are again just for convenience.
- W, A, S, and D keys to move (W=Forward, A=Left, S=Backwards, D=Right)
- Spacebar to jump
- Shift key to sprint (Sprinting might make jumping more difficult, so be careful!)
Unit 4: Self-Reflection
All in all, this entire project had a good number of ups and downs, all of which ended up helping me refine the formula as well as place crucial markers on what I may need to work on later. My issues mainly came in the process of adding code, which ended up becoming completely absent on account of my struggles with programming as a whole. This fault in the design does leave a lot to be desired in the final product, which is exactly what I plan to work on moving forward. I hope to add some basic levels of code once I get the chance to with the upcoming revisions, for the sake of making the gameplay more straightforward and harder to exploit.
That being said, the pros that I ended up coming across were mostly in the base mechanics and visual design. I feel that the education aspect of the game was easily implemented and can be further improved with the additions of code. That and the overall theme was easy to maintain all the way through the level, making it appealing and consistent for the player.
In conclusion, I believe that this is a great start! And can certainly be improved upon in time.
That being said, the pros that I ended up coming across were mostly in the base mechanics and visual design. I feel that the education aspect of the game was easily implemented and can be further improved with the additions of code. That and the overall theme was easy to maintain all the way through the level, making it appealing and consistent for the player.
In conclusion, I believe that this is a great start! And can certainly be improved upon in time.
Conclusion
On a learning standpoint, the assignment of producing this game served its purpose in the end by giving us all a chance to experience how the game design process feels and operates firsthand. As is the point of many development processes, the point is also to leave room for improvement and be open to feedback in order to determine what particular improvements are needed. I hope to get plenty of feedback in our upcoming peer reviews, as they should be able to confirm any issues that I may have also decided were prominent or point out new ones that I may have been completely unaware of. I look forward to that moment with anticipation and a slight level of anxiety.
Citations
All of the following are Unity assets used to create Rumble Fort, and their respective owners.
Cartoon Castle Building Kit Asset: Courtesy of A3D
Realistic Tree 9 Asset: Courtesy of Pixel Games
LowPoly Rocks Asset: Courtesy of SnowFiend Studios
Modular Medieval Weapons Asset: Courtesy of Alexandr Voevodov
Free pack of medieval weapons Asset: Courtesy of Osmann
Low Poly Skeleton Asset: Courtesy of asoliddev
Mini first person controller Asset: Courtesy of Vitefait
Chair and Armchair Asset: Courtesy of AkSdev
Wooden PBR Table Asset: Courtesy of Intercido
Cloth animation based flag Asset: Courtesy of telecaster
Cartoon Castle Building Kit Asset: Courtesy of A3D
Realistic Tree 9 Asset: Courtesy of Pixel Games
LowPoly Rocks Asset: Courtesy of SnowFiend Studios
Modular Medieval Weapons Asset: Courtesy of Alexandr Voevodov
Free pack of medieval weapons Asset: Courtesy of Osmann
Low Poly Skeleton Asset: Courtesy of asoliddev
Mini first person controller Asset: Courtesy of Vitefait
Chair and Armchair Asset: Courtesy of AkSdev
Wooden PBR Table Asset: Courtesy of Intercido
Cloth animation based flag Asset: Courtesy of telecaster