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# System prepended metadata

title: designLab 20221202 notes
tags: [3d-lab]

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tags: 3d-lab
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# 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