Semester(s) Offered:
Credits: 4
Course Call Number: GAMES-UT 325
Prerequisite(s): Intermediate Game Development
3D Game Studio: Unity is a practical course that introduces students to the methods, tools and principles used in developing three-dimensional games. This class builds on the foundations laid by the Intermediate Game Development course, which teaches students the 2D basics of the popular Unity game engine. Over the course of the semester, students learn all the technical and design fundamentals that are peculiar to the development of contemporary 3D games: geometry, light, materiality, the camera, use of 3D space, and ways of seeing. The focus in this class is on solo work, since it aims to build the specific set of skills that students will need to make 3D games in later classes. Only basic code skills are required, however.
Unity is an industry favorite for small-to-mid sized studios. Compared to its main competitor, Unreal Engine, it is lighter-weight and more agnostic regarding a game’s design. It is better suited than Unreal for experimental, exploratory work, and for work that targets mobile platforms.
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1) Understand the technical basics behind all the major constitutive components of a modern 3D game.
2) Perform basic implementation tasks in a content-focused 3D game in the Unity game engine, for every major constitutive component of that type of game.
3) Understand the various implementation-level design considerations involved in these systems, and some of the historical context through which they have been developed.
4) Use 3D game elements in an intentional way, toward the production of experimental, creative, exploratory work.
A similar class, GAMES-UT 326, is offered on the Unreal Engine platform. You should not take both.