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This exclusive course is part of the program:
Digital Game Design: Getting Started with Perlenspiel
Go at your own pace
4 Sessions / 6 hours of work per session
Included w/ premium membership ($20/month)
Skill Level
Beginner
Video Transcripts
English
Topics
Gaming, Javascript, Digital Game Design

Not available for purchase in India

Starts Apr 16, 2019

Synthesis: Realizing Game Ideas in Code

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Go at your own pace
4 Sessions / 6 hours of work per session
Included w/ premium membership ($20/month)
Skill Level
Beginner
Video Transcripts
English
Topics
Gaming, Javascript, Digital Game Design

Not available for purchase in India

Course Description

This course completes our survey of Perlenspiel’s API with a look at two of the engine’s most powerful and versatile subsystems: grid planes and sprites. Other topics include procedural color generation and the use of custom image files for designing and implementing multi-function game maps, concluding with a discussion of two issues of critical importance to game designers: titles and endings.

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schedule

This course is in adaptive mode and starts Apr 16, 2019. Learn more about adaptive courses here.

Session 1: Worldbuilding in Color
This session demonstrates procedural color generation and advanced techniques for navigation control, and introduces the API’s versatile plane subsystem.
6 lessons
1. Computing Color Variety
2. Shade Algorithm
3. Fixing Color Bugs
4. Intro to Grid Planes
5. Color in Bead Planes
6. Multiplane Rendering
Session 2: Sprite Subsystem
Perlenspiel’s powerful API subsystem for creating and manipulating both solid and image-based sprites is introduced.
8 lessons
1. Intro to Sprites
2. Solid Sprites and Image Sprites
3. Sprite Positioning and Planes
4. Solid Demo
5. Image Demo
6. Sprite Collision/Overlap
7. Collide Demo
8. Other Commands
Session 3: The Game Map
Methods for using custom image files to design and implement multi-functional game maps are discussed, together with a strategy for simulating limited visibility.
7 lessons
1. Retrofitting for Sprites
2. Game Framework
3. Image Asynchronicity, Capture and Dump
4. Loading and Transforming Maps
5. Picking Up Shards
6. Doors & Modifying Pathmaps
7. Simulating Visibility and Memory
Session 4: Finessing Appearance and Experience
The simple adventure game we’ve developed to demonstrate Perlenspiel’s capabilities is completed with the addition of non-player characters (NPCs) and doors. The course concludes with a brief discussion of two critical design issues: titles and endings.
6 lessons
1. Engineering Motivation
2. You Will Meet a Tall Gray Stranger: Motivating with NPCs
3. Haven’t We Met Before? Organizing NPC Encounters
4. The Gate is Locked: Inciting Curiosity with Doors
5. Lying in Wait: Installing a Villain
6. First and Last Impressions
Learning Outcomes

Below you will find an overview of the Learning Outcomes you will achieve as you complete this course.

Instructors And Guests
What You Need to Take This Course

Prior Knowledge: This program is at a beginner level. However, prior familiarity with digital games and the basic principles and tools of software engineering are recommended.

Materials: No special materials required.

Equipment: Computer with broadband Internet access and a updated web browser, preferably Chrome or Firefox. Installation privileges may be required if a student wishes to employ an integrated development environment (IDE) for project work.

Software: (Optional but strongly recommended) An interactive development environment (IDE) for HTML/JavaScript such as WebStorm (JetBrains), Brackets (Adobe) or Atom (GitHub).

Additional Information

Please note: Taking part in a Kadenze course as a Premium Member does not affirm that the learner has been enrolled or accepted for enrollment by Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

If a student signs up for the Digital Game Design program, it is recommended that these courses are taken sequentially.

Peer Assessment Code of Conduct: Part of what makes Kadenze a great place to learn is our community of learners. While you are completing your Peer Assessments, we ask that you help us maintain the quality of our community. Please:

  • Be Polite. Show your fellow learners courtesy. No one wants to feel attacked - ever. For this reason, insults, condescension, or abuse will not be tolerated.
  • Show Respect. Kadenze is a global community. Our learners are from many different cultures and backgrounds. Please be patient, kind, and open-minded when discussing topics such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other potentially controversial subjects.
  • Post Appropriate Content. We believe that expression is a human right and we would never censor our learners. With that in mind, please be sensitive of what you post in a Peer Assessment. Only post content where and when it is appropriate to do so.

Please understand that posts which violate this Code of Conduct harm our community and may be deleted or made invisible to other learners by course moderators. Learners who repeatedly break these rules may be removed from the course and/or may lose access to Kadenze.

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