--- tags: 3d-lab --- # designLab 20221202 notes * game engines: what are they? why are they interesting? * if you had an assignment based on video games, what would you want that to look like? * two groups * building your own game from scratch * modifying a template ## part 1: what is a game engine? * DCC: digital content creation, * can be * 2D * or 3D * or audio * we put these things into environments where you can build a world and interact with these things * game engines are the space where you build that world and put all of these things together * unity is a game engine * what can unity be used for? * virtual galleries and museums * VR environments for exploration * character going through a world and taking on different challenges and obstacles * unity has the most export options * is the industry standard, along with Unreal * what would an assignment look like in a video games course? what would you want to do? * make up a new sport in a virtual world * a world in which our dominant identity categories are absent * immersive worlds with elaborate landscapes * game about immunology and how pathogens are attacked (a learning game) * lighting design modeling (for a lighting design course where students are tasked with creating lighting for a set) * synth for a game - modeling video game sounds and tapping into compression, etc. * unity basics * hierarchy: this is where you click on objects to edit, move them (cannot click them in the scene!) * transform tool bar: tools that allow you to manipulate individual objects * view: lets you pan across the scene * move: lets you move an object along axes * rotate: rotate along an axis * scale: change object size * rect tool: editing the rectangle that goes around the object (so does all of the above at once) * transform tool * scene: shows you what's going on * game * inspector * GameObject menu: where you can add objects to your scene * arrow keys: another way to navigate the scene * gizmo in top right of the scene: yet another way to navigate the view of the scene! * inspector panel: where you can add, edit, change things * position (can type in different coordinates) * this is also where you add in physics (requires coding or a physics package online!) * project folders * assets: all of the things you can import into a scene * drag and drop them into your hierarchy and they'll appear in your scene! * console: will show you errors in your code * game view: you will enter into what your game currently looks like * do NOT make changes while you're playing your game! it will not save!!! * unity asset store: where you can download assets for your game (google it!) ## part 2a: carly ## part 2b: chris * working with templates * changing the surface level of a game so that the game acts differently and you learn something from this * let's change multiple components that give a video game its mood or vibe * music * color * can change the color of different objects * skybox: changes the color of the rest of the world/the "sky" * textures * metallic * roughness/smoothness * camera: can change it so it's tighter/right behind your camera * vertical FOV: the lower the number, the more the POV will be over the shoulder of you're character * character * change speed of character * can add audio clips to change the sounds the character makes when they do different things when you hit particular buttons/do particular actions * you can search for things in the project folder tab by just typing into the search bar * player minifig * can apply a music/sound to the character this way * select it in the hierarchy * find your music in the asset folder ## part 3: debrief * you learn a lot about physics! * lots of troubleshooting! * it takes a long time to make a video game * importance of using existing assets! * built in tutorials in unity are useful