Planning and Brief Development

Introduction to Assessment Task 2 Computer Programming to Develop a Game Prototype

Initial Brief
Your project involves developing a small computer game that appeals to a broad demographic (i.e. Year 11 students). You have already selected a subsection of this demographic through surveying and data collection (i.e. your final stakeholders) and developed three possible game ideas. You must now select one of these game ideas to program and develop into a working prototype. You will select the appropriate programming language to build your game in, select and/or create your sprites, plan your storyboard and create flowcharts outlining how your game is to work. There are some specifications that your game must adhere to and you will need to consider these when planning and refining your brief. Your game must: contain multiple Rooms (Levels) (minimum of 3 levels) contain multiple objects, events, sounds and sprites. have some way for the player to interact with it. use simple graphics, or open source alternatives. No sprite rips. Must not contain any copyright material (images, sounds, music, or even other peoples code). make use of conditional statements & loops (the step event is a loop). include a Title screen with the buttons Play and Quit that function. include a Game Over screen and a Win screen (if it fits the game), as well as the High Score chart (if it fits the game). include a Help page which has instructions for the game. meet the interests of your stakeholders. You should justify your game design document by referring to these stakeholders.

Game Design Document

NB: Creating the Game Design Document is not part of the assessment, but leads into the assessment task for Achievement Standards 1.4 and 1.46. It is imperative that you complete it satisfactorily, or you will not be able to attempt the Achievement Standard without a brief that allows you to achieve. You will have to complete your Game Design Document and Final Brief, and get these checked off by your teacher before you program and implement your game prototype (AS 1.4 and 1.46). As part of your last assessment task, you selected your stakeholders and developed three proposed game ideas. Your next step is to develop your best idea and create a Game Design Document. This document will serve as your guide to the actual programming and implementation of your game prototype. Your Game Design Document will contain the following headings: Target Demographic of the Game/Stakeholders Game Idea and Environment Game Resources Story Board Flowchart

The following pages contain a check list of steps that you should use to develop your Game Design Document and Final Brief. Planning should include written notes, storyboards, and flowcharts. You can do this task on the computer or in your visual diary. Your Game Design Document will expand upon the requirements set forth in the Initial Brief and as such, will help you to write a Final Brief, as it outlines what you are making, who you are making it for and how you are going to make it

Task Checklist
Step 1 Describe target demographic, stakeholders and game idea Teacher Sign-Off Target Demographic and Stakeholders What demographic is your game being made for? Who are you stakeholders, what preferences do they have and what feedback did they give you regarding your game ideas? NB: If you have not yet done so, you will need to gather feedback from your stakeholders on your three game ideas from your previous project.

The Game Idea and Environment Of your game ideas, which one has the most positive feedback? Why do you think this might be? Select and expand upon your best game idea based on your stakeholder feedback. Write up a paragraph that describes what the game is about. What is the environment in which the game is set?

Step 2 Plan the Game Resources Sign-Off What software will you use to create your Game? What sprites/graphics will you use to create your game? What sound files or music will you require? What objects do you require and how do they interact with one another?

Step 3 Create the Story Boards Sign-Off Develop a storyboard for your game including the title page, each level, plus the help screen. Annotate the storyboard to indicate the main objects and events. Describe how the player will interact with the game (e.g. key presses, mouse clicks)

Step 4 Flowcharting Sign-Off For each major object in your program, develop a flowchart and description explaining how it will work. Include the events & actions that each object will require.

Step 5 The Final Brief Sign-Off Write your Final Brief summarising everything you have planned in your Game Design Document in a concise, easy to follow format. Expand upon specifications.