Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Develop a plan for game content creation, export, and integration using the appropriate game content pipeline sequence.
• Create efficient modeling, texturing, rigging, and animation suitable for use in real-time gaming engines.
• Test completed game assets in game engines for functionality, aesthetics, and appeal.

Course material will be presented in a lecture format. This course is designed to maximize learning through the use of strategies such as outcome based instruction, collaborative learning, contextual application and performance based assessment. Lecture material will consist of discussion, diagrams, multimedia, and other educationally sound practices. Other activities will include hands-on utilization of production software. Demonstration and handout materials will be provided.

Assessment will be based upon a combination of in-class participation, attendance, examinations, and quality of the multimedia project(s). Determination of problem solving skills, team work, and communication skills may also be included.

1. THE GAME CREATION PIPELINE
1.1. Indie vs. large scale development
1.2. Roles: Producer and Publisher
1.3. Development roles: Designer, Artist, Programmer, Level Designer, Sound Engineer, Tester
1.4. Pre-production, production, and testing
1.5. Milestones
1.6. Crunch time, post-production, outsourcing, and marketing
2. MODELING FOR GAMES
2.1. Game modeling considerations
2.2. Optimization of polygon counts
2.3. High polygon models for texture baking
3. TEXTURE MAPPING FOR GAMES
3.1. UV mapping optimization
3.2. Creating real-time texture maps
3.3. Physically Based Rendering maps and their functions
3.4. Normal map creation methods
3.5. Transfer maps, XNormal, and Crazybump
3.6. Testing look of texture maps on real-time shaders
4. RIGGING FOR GAMES
4.1. Rigging that will work in engines
4.2. Smooth binding joints to game models
5. ANIMATION FOR GAMES
5.1. Keyframing animation cycles
5.2. FPS considerations
5.3. Baking keyframes into blank spaces
6. EXPORTING ASSET TO GAMING ENGINES
6.1. Ensuring that the model, texture, rig, and animation export properly
6.2. File formats and naming conventions
6.3. Proper importing into engine
6.4. Testing for issues
7. CLASS GROUP PIPELINE
7.1. Working with a team
7.2. Consideration of your fellow artists and the pipeline
7.3. Content management software and use