Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development, 3rd edition

Foreword

Preface

PART I Game Design and Paper Prototyping

Chapter 1 Thinking Like a Designer

You Are a Game Designer

Bartok: A Game Design Exercise

The Definition of Game

Summary

Chapter 2 Game Analysis Frameworks

Common Frameworks for Ludology

MDA: Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics

Formal, Dramatic, and Dynamic Elements

The Elemental Tetrad

Summary

Chapter 3 The Layered Tetrad

The Inscribed Layer

The Dynamic Layer

The Cultural Layer

The Responsibility of the Designer

Summary

Chapter 4 The Inscribed Layer

Inscribed Mechanics

Inscribed Aesthetics

Inscribed Narrative

Inscribed Technology

Summary

Chapter 5 The Dynamic Layer

The Role of the Player

Emergence

Dynamic Mechanics

Dynamic Aesthetics

Dynamic Narrative

Dynamic Technology

Summary

Chapter 6 The Cultural Layer

Beyond Play

Cultural Mechanics

Cultural Aesthetics

Cultural Narrative

Cultural Technology

Authorized Transmedia Are Not Part of the Cultural Layer

The Cultural Impact of a Game

Summary

Chapter 7 Acting Like a Designer

Iterative Design

Innovation

Brainstorming and Ideation

Changing Your Mind

Scoping!

Summary

Chapter 8 Design Goals

Design Goals: An Incomplete List

Designer-Centric Goals

Player-Centric Goals

Summary

Chapter 9 Paper Prototyping

The Benefits of Paper Prototyping

Paper Prototyping Tools

Paper Prototyping for Interfaces

A Paper Prototype Example

Best Uses for Paper Prototyping

Poor Uses for Paper Prototyping

Summary

Chapter 10 Game Testing

Why Playtest?

Being a Great Playtester Yourself

The Circles of Playtesters

Methods of Playtesting

Other Important Types of Testing

Summary

Chapter 11 Math and Game Balance

The Meaning of Game Balance

The Importance of Spreadsheets

Examining Dice Probability with Sheets

The Math of Probability

Randomizer Technologies in Paper Games

Weighted Distributions

Weighted Probability in Google Sheets

Permutations

Using Sheets to Balance Weapons

Positive and Negative Feedback

Summary

Chapter 12 Guiding the Player

Direct Guidance

Indirect Guidance

Teaching New Skills and Concepts

Summary

Chapter 13 Puzzle Design

Scott Kim on Puzzle Design

The Steps of Solving a Puzzle

Puzzle Examples in Action Games

Designing and Developing Puzzle Games

Summary

Chapter 14 The Agile Mentality

The Manifesto for Agile Software Development

Scrum Methodology

Burndown Chart Example

Creating Your Own Burndown Charts

Summary

Chapter 15 The Digital Game Industry

About the Game Industry

Game Education

Getting Into the Industry

Don't Wait to Start Making Games!

Summary

PART II Programming C# in Unity

Chapter 16 Thinking in Digital Systems

Systems Thinking in Board Games

An Exercise in Simple Instructions

Game Analysis: Apple Picker

Summary

Chapter 17 Introducing Unity Hub and the Unity Editor

Downloading Unity

Introducing Our Development Environment

Creating a Unity Account

Checking Out a Sample Project

Creating Your First Unity Project

Learning Your Way Around Unity

Setting Up the Unity Window Layout

Summary

Chapter 18 Introducing Our Language: C#

Understanding the Features of C#

Reading and Understanding C# Syntax

Summary

Chapter 19 Hello World: Your First Program

Creating a New Project

Making a New C# Script

Making Things More Interesting

Summary

Chapter 20 Variables and Components

Introducing Variables

Statically Typed Variables in C#

Important C# Variable Types

The Scope of Variables

Naming Conventions

Important Unity Variable Types

Unity GameObjects and Components

Summary

Chapter 21 Boolean Operations and Conditionals

Booleans

Comparison Operators

Conditional Statements

Summary

Chapter 22 Loops

Types of Loops

Set Up a Project

while Loops

do...while Loops

for Loops

foreach Loops

Jump Statements within Loops

Summary

Chapter 23 Collections in C#

C# Collections

Using Generic Collections

List<T>

Dictionary<Tkey, TValue>

Array

Multidimensional Arrays

Jagged Arrays

Jagged List<T>s

Choosing Whether to Use an Array or List

Summary

Chapter 24 Functions and Parameters

Setting Up the Function Examples Project

Definition of a Function

What Happens When You Call a Function?

Function Parameters and Arguments

Returning Values

Returning void

Function Naming Conventions

Why Use Functions?

Function Overloading

Optional Parameters

The params Keyword

Recursive Functions

Summary

Chapter 25 Debugging

Getting Started with Debugging

Stepping Through Code with the Debugger

Summary

Chapter 26 Classes

Understanding Classes

Class Inheritance

Summary

Chapter 27 Object-Oriented Thinking

The Object-Oriented Metaphor

An Object-Oriented Boids Implementation

Summary

Chapter 28 Data-Oriented Design

The Theory of Data-Oriented Design

DOTS Tutorial and Example

The Future of Unity DOTS

Summary

PART III Game Prototype Tutorials

Chapter 29 Apple Picker

What You Will Learn

The Apple Picker Prototype

The Purpose of a Digital Prototype

Preparing

Coding the Apple Picker Prototype

GUI and Game Management

Summary

Chapter 30 Mission Demolition

What You Will Learn

The Mission Demolition Prototype

Getting Started: Mission Demolition

Game Prototype Concept

Art Assets

Coding the Prototype

From Prototype to First Playable

Summary

Chapter 31 Space SHMUP -- Part 1

What You Will Learn

Getting Started: Space SHMUP

Setting the Scene

Making the Hero Ship

Adding Some Enemies

Spawning Enemies at Random

Setting Tags, Layers, and Physics

Making the Enemies Damage the Player

Restarting the Game

Shooting (Finally)

Summary

Chapter 32 Space SHMUP -- Part 2

What You Will Learn

Getting Started: Space SHMUP -- Part 2

Enemy to Enemy_0

Programming Other Enemies

Shooting Revisited

Showing Enemy Damage

Adding PowerUps and Boosting Weapons

Race Conditions & Script Execution Order

Making Enemies Drop PowerUps

Enemy_4 -- A More Complex Enemy

Tuning Settings for the Game Entities

Adding a Scrolling Starfield Background

Summary

Chapter 33 Prospector Solitaire -- Part 1

What You Will Learn

The Prospector Game

Getting Started: Prospector Solitaire

Build Settings

Setting Up the Unity Window Layout

Setting Up the Camera and Game Pane

Importing Images as Sprites

Constructing Cards from Sprites

Implementing Prospector in Code

Implementing Game Logic

Summary

Chapter 34 Prospector Solitaire -- Part 2

What You Will Learn

Getting Started: Prospector -- Part 2

Additional Prospector Game Elements

Adding GUI Elements to Display the Score

Building and Running Your WebGL Build

Summary

Chapter 35 Dungeon Delver -- Part 1

What You Will Learn

The Dungeon Delver Game

Getting Started: Dungeon Delver

Setting Up the Cameras

Understanding the Dungeon Data

Showing the Map with a Unity Tilemap

Adding the Hero

Giving Dray an Attack Animation

Dray's Sword

Programmatic Collision in Unity Tilemap

The InRoom Script

Enemy: Skeletos

Keeping GameObjects in the Room

Aligning to the Grid

Moving from Room to Room

Making the Camera Follow Dray

Summary

Chapter 36 Dungeon Delver -- Part 2

What You Will Learn

Getting Started: Dungeon Delver -- Part 2

Dungeon Delver -- Part 2 Overview

Implementing TileSwaps

Swapping in LockedDoor GameObjects

Implementing Keys and Unlocking Doors

Adding GUI to Track Key Count and Health

Enabling Enemies to Damage Dray

Making Dray's Attack Damage Enemies

Modifying Enemy to Take Damage

Picking Up Items

Enemies Dropping Items on Death

Implementing a New Dungeon -- The Hat

Implementing a Grappler

Summary

Part IV Next Steps

Chapter 37 Coding Challenges

What Is a Coding Challenge?

Getting Started on a Coding Challenge

Filling in the Blanks

How to Approach Each Challenge

Chapter 38 Beyond This Book

Continue to Learn Unity Development

Build a Classic Game

Start a Small Game Project or Prototype

Make Games for Lifelong Enrichment

Consider Going to School for GameDev

Explore Advanced Game Design

Finally, Drop Me a Line

PART V Online Appendices

Appendix A Standard Project Setup Procedure

The Set Up Sidebar for Tutorial Projects

Setting Up a New Project

Importing a Starter UnityPackage

Setting the Scene Name

Setting the Game Pane to Full HD (1080p)

Setting Up a WebGL Build

Understanding Unity Version Control

Summary

Appendix B Useful Concepts

Topics Covered

C# and Unity Coding Concepts

Attributes

Automatic Properties

Bitwise Boolean Operators and Layer Masks

Coroutines

Unity Example--Coroutines

Delegates, Events, and UnityEvents

UnityEvents

Enums

Extension Methods

Interfaces

Unity Example--Interfaces

Unity Makes Frequent Use of Interfaces for Observer Pattern

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) in Unity

Lambda Expressions =>

Naming Conventions

Object-Oriented Software Design Patterns

Component Pattern

Observer Pattern

Singleton Pattern

Strategy Pattern

More Information on Design Patterns in Game Programming

Operator Precedence and Order of Operations

Race Conditions

Unity Example--Race Conditions

Recursive Functions

String Interpolation -- $""

StringBuilder

Structs

Unity Messages Beyond Start() and Update()

Life-Cycle Messages

Frame-Based Messages

Physics-Based Messages

Variable Scope

XML

XML Documentation in C#

Math Concepts

Cosine and Sine (Cos and Sin)

Unity Example--Sine and Cosine

Dice Probability Enumeration

Unity Example--Dice Probability

Using Data-Oriented Design to Improve the DiceProbability Code

Dot Product

Interpolation

Linear Interpolation

Time-Based Linear Interpolations

Linear Interpolations Using Zeno's Paradox

Interpolating More Than Just Position

Linear Extrapolation

Easing for Linear Interpolations

Bezier Curves

Three-Point and Four-Point Bezier Curves

A Recursive Bezier Curve Function

A Data-Oriented Bezier Function

Pen-and-Paper Roleplaying Games

Tips for Running a Good Roleplaying Campaign

User Interface Concepts

Complex Game Controller Input

Input Manager Mapping for Various Controllers

Right-Click on macOS

Control-Click = Right-Click

Use Any PC Mouse

Set Your macOS Mouse to Right-Click

Set Your macOS Trackpad to Right-Click

Appendix C Online Reference

Tutorials

Unite Conference

Unity's YouTube Channel

Programming

Searching Tips

Finding and Creating Assets

Other Tools and Educational Discounts

Appendix D Tips for Teaching from This Book

The Goal of This Appendix

Teaching Introduction to Game Design

Teaching Introduction to Game Programming

More Information Is Available