CPT306 Individual Project

Principles of Computer Games Design

Coursework Assignment Specification

2024/25 Semester 2

Master’s Degree – Year 1

Coursework Assignment Number: 4 of 4

Method of Working: Individual

Coursework Title: Creating a 3D Game

Percentage (%) Weighting: 40% of the overall module marks

Date and time of publication: 9:00 am on Tuesday, 15 April, Week 9

Date and time for submission: 11:59 pm on Sunday, 18 May, Week 13

General Instructions

1.   One copy of this assignment should be handed via the module Learning Mall page at http://learningmall.xjtlu.edu.cn no later than the time and date shown above, unless an extension has been authorized by the module leader.

2.   Before submission, each student must complete module coursework submission form obtainable from the module Learning Mall page. This assignment is being marked by student name and id, please ensure that you complete the correct coursework submission form.

3.   Format of the coursework assignment submission:

A ZIP file should be submitted via the Learning Mall module page, containing the deliverables outlined in the “What to Submit” section of the coursework assignment specification.

4.   Use of unfair means:

You are reminded of the University’s Code of Practice on the Use of Unfair Means and that the work you submit for assignment should contain no section copied in whole or in part from any other source unless where explicitly acknowledged by means of proper citation.

5.   Late penalties:

For work submitted late the penalty is loss of 5% marks per day. Work that is 5 or more days late will automatically be graded as FAIL, and no re-submission will be allowed.

The story so far …

An unknown entity forces the player into a gladiatorial arena. The player must overcome the gladiator creatures in order to earn the ability to escape the gladiator.

Scenario, Player Movement, Release Skills, and Camera (30 points)

A schematic diagram of the game scenario is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Concept of environments for survival game.

The whole environment should achieve the following basic requirements (10 points):

1. Map and obstacle design

.    Map size: 35 x 35 units.

.    Obstacle Types:

Obstacles contain two types, a base obstacle and a self-defined obstacle that is a patchwork stack of base obstacles.

.    Number of obstacles and height requirements:

The map contains at least 15 base obstacles, each of which is a 1x1 unit square; the map contains at least 5 self-defined obstacles with a height of 2 units, i.e., a maximum of two  1x1 unit squares stacked vertically.

.    Obstacle Shapes:

Obstacles may be shaped by combining one or more 1x1 unit squares into a custom shape, but may not exceed 2 units in height (i.e., a maximum of two 1x1 unit obstacles may be stacked vertically, no rules for horizontally).

.    Moveable Obstacles:

Design at least 5 moveable obstacles to add a dynamic element.

2. Enemy design

.    There is only one enemy (Boss) in the game, excluding skill summoned enemies.

.    Boss Design:

Boss can only move randomly within an 8x8 unit area and cannot leave the area.Boss movement can be as simple as randomly moving up and down or left and right.

3. Character Design

.    Boss Image:

Boss image can be freely designed, but the size cannot exceed 4x4x4 units.

.    Hero Character:

There can only be one Hero Character, and the image can be freely designed, but the size cannot exceed 1x1x1 units.

4. Skill Coin Designs

.    Maximum 3 Skill Coins: Each game can only have a maximum of 3 Skill Coins, which are used by players to unlock new skills.

.    How Skill Coins appear: Skill Coins appear randomly at certain locations on the map, and only one can appear at a time.

.    Skill Coin Image: Skill Coins can be freely designed, but cannot exceed 0.5x0.5 units in size.

Note: If you fail to meet the above-mentioned requirements, it will affect the implementation and performance of subsequent functions, you will lose a significant number of points.

The Hero’s movement control and release skills control should follow these methods (15 points):

. Right mouse button clicks on the map (not on obstacles), the clicked place will appear a movement indicator (size not more than 1 * 1 unit), then the Hero will move to the indicator. Once the Hero moves to the indicator, the indicator will disappear. (5 points)

. Left  mouse  button is used  to release  skills. Interaction methods  can be  freely  designed. Potential interactions include, but are not limited to, the following: long-press to release a skill continuously, long-press and release to release a power-up skill, short-press to release a skill, and so on. The direction of the skill release and the target interaction can be freely designed based on the left mouse button interaction and the mouse position on the screen. (The Attack Indicator contains 5 points, with 5 points awarded for being easy to understand and creative; 2 points for each type of attack interaction, up to a maximum of 5 points)

Camera of game scenes (5 points):

.    The center of the camera must always be aimed at the center of the map (Boss);

.    Press and hold Q and the camera will rotate clockwise around the map, press and hold E for counterclockwise.

Skills Implementation (30 points)

Both Boss and Hero in the game can release skills (they have the same selectable skills). The skills they carry in each game can be categorized into two types, attack skills and functional skills. Functional skills include defense skills and healing skills. Considering the different difficulties in implementing skills, we classify the difficulties into 5 levels as follows (when the implementation difficulty of a skill satisfies more than one level of difficulty determination, we will take the highest difficulty satisfied):

Level 1. Release an entity that travels in a straight line (e.g. bullet).

Level 2. Release a skill that moves along a certain trajectory (e.g., a parabola); Release a skill that requires energy storage;  Release a skill that can add an effect to an entity directly  (e.g.  heals, invincibility, sustained damage).

Level 3. Release an area-of-effect (AOE) skill; Release a skill that has an entity body and will self- destruct after a certain period of time.

Level 4. Releases a skill that has an entity that can be attached to another entity (Boss, Hero, Floor, Obstacle, etc.) for a period of time. Eligible skills include, but are not limited to, mines, time-delayed bombs, etc.

Level 5. The released skills have additional attributes and can interact with other objects. (For example, a flame skill can burn an enemy, a freeze skill can freeze an enemy, and an electric shock skill can paralyse an enemy for a short period of time.)

The category of skills includes a total of 30 points. Achieving Level 5 directly earns 10 points. Achieving levels 1 and 2 awards 1 point. Achieving levels  3 and 4 awards 3 points. The highest cumulative score for Level 1-4 implementation is 20 points.

It is important to note that the scores for Levels 1 through 4 above represent the base score only. If a demonstrated skill is not clear, scores will be deducted. Here is an example. If you implement an AOE skill without clearly indicating its range of effect, you may receive fewer than the full 3 points, potentially earning 2 or even 1 point instead. Additionally, there should not be the same skills appearing. Skills with the same effect but different numerical values are considered the same skill and should not be repeated.

Skills Selection and Shopping System (15 points)

The skill system in the game must meet the following requirements (6 points):

.    Hero and Boss both carry at least one attack skill and one functional skill;

.    Hero and Boss each carry a total of no more than 4 skills in the game;

.    In the game, players can switch the skill they want to release by using the four numeric buttons

1, 2, 3, and 4.

In the main menu of the game, a Skill button needs to be included. After clicking to enter the Skill menu, players will be able to perform. the following operations (9 points):

.    Players can choose which skills to carry for the coming game (up to 4 skills);

.    Players can unlock the skills by using the Skill Coins obtain in the game;

.    The player's profile is automatically saved locally after exiting the game and can be automatically read when re-entering the game.

User Interface and Gameplay (10 points)

The user interface in the game needs to meet the following requirements (4 points):

.    Boss and Hero's health levels are clear;

.    Clearly display the currently selected skill in the game;

.    Clear display of skill cooldown time;

.    Display prompt messages correctly after Hero wins or is defeated.

In addition, the default difficulty of the game needs to ensure that players can complete the game within 60-120 seconds (6 points).

Training Ground (5 points)

A training ground is accessible through the main menu of the game and consists of only two entities, the Hero and a Boss. In the training ground, the Boss does not have any skills but has an exceptionally high health level. Additionally, the player has the freedom to choose and release any skill for the Hero at any time, with the interaction/method of selection being freely designed.

Note: As the training ground scenario can greatly assist you in testing your newly developed skills, it is strongly recommended to develop this scenario first.

Functions that can help you hit high scores (10 points)

Implementing the following requirements can help you achieve a perfect score for your assignment (4 points):

1.   Has Background Music and Sounds Effect.

2.   Contains a Difficulties Selection function.

3.   Boss's skills are randomly selected, and Boss’s appearance is randomly generated.

4.   Has a skill guidebook.

In addition, an exquisite skill selection menu will help you earn up to 3 points, a well-made training ground can also contribute up to 3 points.

Any requirements not mentioned will not help you earn more points.

Implementation

You have been  asked to write your  own  code to  implement the  game using Unity  and  C#.  The programming logic and environment for the game should be created by you. You can use materials from the web such as texture maps, models, bone animations. You may also use AI tools to help you implement simple features or to help you generate mapping material. Disallowed behaviors include, but are not limited to: extensive use of existing demos on the web, copying other people's assignments, assignments written by other people, game logic not written by yourself.

Game specification

After finishing the implementation of your game, you need to write a game description with document (.doc) file format. This document states the following information:

.    The version of Unity you used to develop the game.

.    The interactive methods of attacks in the game.

.    Skills Introduction. (Really Important) In this introduction, you need to provide the following information  for  each  skill  you  have  implemented:  the  difficulty  level,  specific  numerical information, and the interaction method for releasing.

.    Whether you used AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to assist you in completing your assignment. If you used an AI tool, briefly state which AI tool you used and what problems you used the AI tool to help you solve. (Use AI tools will not influence your mark)

If you have any special issues about the game, you can also write down in the game description.

Some common questions

Q1: Can obstacles be destroyed?

A1: You can freely design.

Q2: Can bullets / skill penetrate obstacles?

A2: You can freely design.

Q3: Can the Hero penetrate obstacles / Boss?

A3: Under normal circumstances, it is not possible, but skills can be used to penetrate walls.

Q4: Does the game have to end with either the Boss or the Player dying?

A4: No. In order to fulfill the requirement of ending the game within 120s, you can add some game mechanics. These game mechanics include, but are not limited to, a 120 second countdown, where the game ends when the countdown reaches zero. Additionally, when the timer reaches the 90-second mark, the player's health gradually decreases, reaching zero by the 120-second mark. Furthermore, at the 90- second  mark,  the  boss  activates  berserker  skills,  significantly  increasing  its  damage  output.  It's important to make these effects as noticeable as possible in the game.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to send an email.

What to Submit

Your ZIP file should include these files:

.    Submission form  (.pdf).  The  submission form. should be properly completed with your signature. It is available on Learning Mall.  Submission form. with incorrect  information certainly will affect your marks, so carefully complete the submission form. The submission form. should be properly named as mentioned below.

.    The entire Unity project (folder).

.    Executable file of your game (.exe). Please build your game and include all the related built files in the submitted ZIP file. Note that, the target platform. should be Windows.

.    Game specification (.doc). This file is really important.

.    A skill demonstration video (.mp4). Display the release animation for each of your skills. Skill names and difficulty levels need to be marked. Up to 90 seconds.

Please make sure all the required files can be opened and run properly on a Windows computer. Please use your First Name, Last Name and Student Number to name above mentioned files and the ZIP file—for example Xiaoming_Wang_999999 will be the name of the files module leader would be submitting, with 999999 being as his student number. Any submissions with improper or incomplete file names certainly will affect your marks, so carefully name your files.