IMGD 4000 Extra Credit

	Interactive Media & Game Development Worcester Polytechnic Institute	IMGD

IMGD 4000: Technical Game Development II
Extra Credit!!
Due: Tuesday, May 6, 2014 at 11:59pm (Midnight)

Extra Stuff: So, I guess if you are reading this, then there was not enough work for you to do in this course, or you faltered on one (or more) of the existing grading opportunities. Either way, here are some extra topics for you to work on, should you be so inclined, for the game Jäger: The Hunt for Crazy Gert's Gold!.
Each one is worth en extra 5% to your grade.

Occlusion culling
Generating large mazes means there is lots of geometry to be processed when rendering, doing collision detection, etc. By default, Unity Pro uses the Umbra occlusion culling software to reduce the amount of geometry that needs to be processed. Occlusion culling is one method of speeding scene processing. More to come!

Advanced Camera Movement
Add advanced camera movements to the game. For example, when the player enters the Boss room, add a short camera movement to highlight the space and Boss, maybe with a cool animation of the Boss getting ready.

Maze Map
Add a HUD element showing all the regions of the map the player has traversed. Also, show the current location of the player on the map, make the map rotate (forward-up map) or make the player icon rotate (North-up map).

Documentation: You must create adequate documentation, both internal and external, along with your project. The best way to produce internal documentation is by including inline comments. The preferred way to do this is to write the comments as you code. Get in the habit of writing comments as you type in your code. A good rule of thumb is that all code that does something non-trivial should have comments describing what you are doing. This is as much for others who might have to maintain your code, as for you (imagine you have to go back and maintain code you have not looked at for six months -- this WILL happen to you in the future!).
I use these file and function (method) headers, in my code. Please adopt these for all your projects.
Create external documentation for your program and submit it along with the project. The documentation does not have to be unnecessarily long, but should explain briefly how you altered the source files, and which art assets you created.

Submission: All documents are to be submitted electronically via turnin by 11:59pm (Midnight) on the day the assignment is due.

Build a web player executable for your modified game:

Select Demo scene

File > Build Settings > Web Player > Build

Test the web executable by clicking on the .html file in the folder created by the build command. If the TA tries to run your demo and it does not run, you will fail this assignment. He will give you one chance to correct it.

Copy all of the scripts (not art assets, if any) that you created or modified to the folder created by the build command above. You can organize these into subfolders if you wish.
Do NOT try to zip up the complete Unity demo, including all the art assets, because the file will be too big for turnin!

Prepare a plain text file, README.txt, in which you briefly describe the changes and extensions you have made to the demo code. Be specific about which classes and methods you have modified or added, and what you were trying to achieve. Add the README.txt file to the web folder.

Zip the web folder. Thus we can play the game to see what it does and look at your scripts to see what you've done.

When you are ready to submit, zip everything up into a single archive file.
Name the file Lastname1Lastname2_extra.zip.
You will use the Web-based "Turnin" facility to submit your work. Information about submitting can be found here:
http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~kfisler/turnin.html.
Choose one of your team members to submit the document.
Your WPI user ID should be used to login, and you should have been emailed a password.
The Turnin assignment ID is extra.

Academic
Honesty: Taking credit for work you did not do or getting unauthorized help on assigments or exams is cheating.

If you are in doubt, ask the instructor first!

Cheating is a serious offense, punishable by an automatic NR for the course.

Remember the policy on Academic Honesty: You may discuss the project with others, but you are to do your own work. The official WPI statement for Academic Honesty can be accessed HERE.

Extra Stuff:	So, I guess if you are reading this, then there was not enough work for you to do in this course, or you faltered on one (or more) of the existing grading opportunities. Either way, here are some extra topics for you to work on, should you be so inclined, for the game Jäger: The Hunt for Crazy Gert's Gold!. Each one is worth en extra 5% to your grade. Occlusion culling Generating large mazes means there is lots of geometry to be processed when rendering, doing collision detection, etc. By default, Unity Pro uses the Umbra occlusion culling software to reduce the amount of geometry that needs to be processed. Occlusion culling is one method of speeding scene processing. More to come! Advanced Camera Movement Add advanced camera movements to the game. For example, when the player enters the Boss room, add a short camera movement to highlight the space and Boss, maybe with a cool animation of the Boss getting ready. Maze Map Add a HUD element showing all the regions of the map the player has traversed. Also, show the current location of the player on the map, make the map rotate (forward-up map) or make the player icon rotate (North-up map).
Documentation:	You must create adequate documentation, both internal and external, along with your project. The best way to produce internal documentation is by including inline comments. The preferred way to do this is to write the comments as you code. Get in the habit of writing comments as you type in your code. A good rule of thumb is that all code that does something non-trivial should have comments describing what you are doing. This is as much for others who might have to maintain your code, as for you (imagine you have to go back and maintain code you have not looked at for six months -- this WILL happen to you in the future!). I use these file and function (method) headers, in my code. Please adopt these for all your projects. Create external documentation for your program and submit it along with the project. The documentation does not have to be unnecessarily long, but should explain briefly how you altered the source files, and which art assets you created.

Submission:	All documents are to be submitted electronically via turnin by 11:59pm (Midnight) on the day the assignment is due. Build a web player executable for your modified game: Select Demo scene File > Build Settings > Web Player > Build Test the web executable by clicking on the .html file in the folder created by the build command. If the TA tries to run your demo and it does not run, you will fail this assignment. He will give you one chance to correct it. Copy all of the scripts (not art assets, if any) that you created or modified to the folder created by the build command above. You can organize these into subfolders if you wish. Do NOT try to zip up the complete Unity demo, including all the art assets, because the file will be too big for turnin! Prepare a plain text file, README.txt, in which you briefly describe the changes and extensions you have made to the demo code. Be specific about which classes and methods you have modified or added, and what you were trying to achieve. Add the README.txt file to the web folder. Zip the web folder. Thus we can play the game to see what it does and look at your scripts to see what you've done. When you are ready to submit, zip everything up into a single archive file. Name the file *Lastname1Lastname2_extra.zip. You will use the Web-based "Turnin" facility to submit your work. Information about submitting can be found here: http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~kfisler/turnin.html. Choose one of your team members to submit the document.* Your WPI user ID should be used to login, and you should have been emailed a password. The Turnin assignment ID is extra.

Academic Honesty:	Taking credit for work you did not do or getting unauthorized help on assigments or exams is cheating. If you are in doubt, ask the instructor first! Cheating is a serious offense, punishable by an automatic NR for the course. Remember the policy on Academic Honesty: You may discuss the project with others, but you are to do your own work. The official WPI statement for Academic Honesty can be accessed HERE.

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