[game_edu] Brenda Braithwaite's game_edu rant at GDC

[Adam Parker]

Hi,

We've also had success with designers working in UDK without programmer
support. This was not by choice for them btw, but was a necessity arising
out of limited programmer numbers in their cohort.

Our students built a sidescrolling puzzle/platformer with a vibrant
secondary world - a Psychonauts feel, according to several users during
playtesting - by using Kismet and a little Unrealscript hacking. Some of
what they wanted, such as variable gravity or transformable origami
characters with variable powers, could not be achieved due to limits on
their understanding of code. (On the other hand, we got a good lesson in
positive scope reduction to polish core experience, so a win nonetheless.)

On the language point, you might be also interested to know that our design
students are getting into C# through Unity. We now have two groups of twenty
(from a cohort of around 95) who are building their abilities through
student-initiated and facilitated tutorials. I was surprised, but
pleasantly, when they organised and ran these weekly sessions independent of
our curriculum.

As we were bringing Unity into the curriculum this year, my initial
suspicion had been that it might have been a little too intense a language
for first years, and so was planning to run with Javascript instead when we
hit it in our prototyping courses later this year.

Happily, this doesn't seem the case. They're all helping each other pop out
top down shooters and collaborating around C# code as much as mechanics. I'd
now recommend looking at C# if the mix is right for your designers.

This outcome also helps the self-directed learning and student culture
building agendas that I have, and in future might allow academic staff to
focus instead on developing deeper practice awareness and theoretical
integration, so FTW all round... :)

There's obviously a boundary on how far the tools support designerly
activity at present, but we seem to be moving towards a Photoshop for games.
At least, students are looking for it.

~Adam

(PS: I would happily wander over to Python, given the context...Also, the
point about Unrealscript as crufty is valid. Though a good handle on its
vagaries will allow for quality work to appear, of course.)



On Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 8:10 AM, Mike Reddy <Mike.Reddy at newport.ac.uk>wrote:


> Just today, as it happens, three former students from the Arts side (i.e.

> Not programmers) showed off their IGF recognised Indiecade prize winning

> game, Q.U.B.E. (www.qubegame.co.uk). They had used UDK and scripting. If

> you look at this, I'm actually envious that such a cool creation could have

> NO programmers involved. As with everything, tools develop to "outneed"

> their creators. But again, this reinforces Brenda's point.

>

> Mike

> P.S. Anyone need a washed out programmer?

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-- 
Adam Parker
Senior Lecturer, Games Design
Qantm College

Qantm College Melbourne Campus
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South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia

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