INFOB1PGT 2011-2012 (vereisten)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Every team member is individually responsible for the success of the project. The team and each of its members have to make sure that the deliverables (cf. below) are finished and submitted in time. Each team member should contribute equally to the project. Since this course is credited with 7.5 ECTS, this means about 200 working hours per person (1 ECTS relates to 25-30h). In order to verify your contributions (both time and quality wise), each member is supposed to keep a logbook. This should at least contain the working hours you put in each day, a short description on what you have done, and it should be updated at least once a week (preferably the day before the meeting with the tutor, so he can check your progress before the meeting). The form of the logbook has to be dicussed with the tutor who has to make the final decision about it. A good possibility that has worked well for many groups in the past is using a Google docs spreadsheet that is accessible by all team members and the tutor. Further notice that for the weekly team meetings and the 1st, 4th, and 5th lecture attendance is mandatory. Failure to show up can result in a deduction of your final grade or your exclusion from this year's course. For the programming, you are requested to use the SVN server of the department for version control. Info about this will be given in the 3rd lecture. In the middle of the project, there will be a deadline when you have to upload your code to the SVN server, so the teaching assistant can give you comments on coding style and documentation. He will also check your final code in order to consider your style and documentation in the final grading.

How to deliver: Meeting times and procedure for keeping a logbook should be arranged individually per team with its tutor. There will be two deadlines for uploading your code to the SVN server (together with the intermediate and final report, cf. below). Other than that, teams have to arrange it individually with their tutor if and when they have to upload code to the SVN server or not.

DEADLINE: weekly (upon arrangement with tutor)

DELIVERABLE "INITIAL WEBSITE" (deadline: monday, november 21, 2011)

In order to promote your team, you are supposed to create an initial website (that will later serve as the website to promote your game). This site should at least contain your team's name and a short description of each of the team members. You are free to add further infos, e.g. a team logo, info on the game you want to implement, etc. The team member descriptions shouldn't be a full biography, but rather a short introduction of yourself. If you have special skills that will be useful in the game development process (e.g. you are an experience programmer or good at graphics design), you could also mention them. For examples, you can check out the websites of last year's teams (click on the team names). Notice however that these are the final websites, so some teams have removed their bios or changed the site completely.

How to deliver: due to organizational issues, websites can only be installed by the teaching assistant. Hence, you have to arrange a meeting and meet with him. Notice that you can change your website later at any time by arranging another meeting.

DEADLINE: monday, november 21, 2011

DELIVERABLE "ANALYSIS DOCUMENT" (deadline: friday, november 25, 2011)

The analysis document is a document describing what game you want to make, how it works, and what kind of technology is been used (or not used): further info (pdf). As indicated in the related PDF file: the document should be "nice", meaning it should leave a good first impression when you give it to someone. Keep in mind that the results of your project can be the first entry in a portfolio that you will build during your studies and that can help you scoring a job in the gaming industry afterward.

How to deliver: as pdf file via email to your tutor. Please include the teaching assistant S.H.Pool@students.uu.nl in the "cc", put your team name in the subject, and start the subject with [INFOB1PGT] in order to make our lifes easier.

DEADLINE: friday, november 25, 2011

DELIVERABLE "DESIGN DOCUMENT" (deadline: friday, december 2, 2011)

The design document describes how the game will be made, what is necessary for that, what technology is used and its effect on the gameplay, etc.: further info (PDF). As indicated in the related PDF file: the document should be "nice", meaning it should leave a good first impression when you give it to someone. Keep in mind that the results of your project can be the first entry in a portfolio that you will build during your studies and that can help you scoring a job in the gaming industry afterward.

DELIVERABLE "MIDTERM REPORT & CODE (SVN)" (deadline: december 19, 2011)

The purpose of the midterm report is to give yourself an opportunity to reflect on your status and progress so far, identify problems, and if necessary revise and improve your plans. In order to do this, you have to fill out the following midterm report template (DOC). Instructions are given at the beginning of the template. The template can be filled out in Dutch, even if it is written in English. I just didn't find s.o. to proofread my Dutch on such a short notice, so I decided to play save and write it in English. Sorry for that and "excuses voor het ongemaak" :)

In addition, you should upload the code that you have produced so far to the SVN server (if you haven't done so already). Make sure that it is well structured, easy to read, and reasonably documented. The TA will have a look at it and rate it according to these criteria (i.e. he will only look on your coding style, not on what you actually have implemented by then). Unless your code is totally horrible, there will be no direct consequences for you. However, you should take this serious, since his comments will help you avoid a negative impact on your grading if we are not satisfied with the quality of your final code (which will be checked more carefully).

How to deliver: For the report, create a PDF file of your report, name it "teamXY_midtermreport.pdf" (with XY being your team number as listed on the teams page), and email it to your tutor and the TA. For the code, simply upload it to your SVN server and send a short email note to the TA that this is the version he should check.

DEADLINE: december 19, 2011

DELIVERABLE "MIDTERM PRESENTATION" (deadline: december 21, 2011, 13:15-17:00)

The purpose of the midterm presentation is to have an intermediate evaluation of the project in order to verify and analyze your performance so far, and to identify and avoid potential future problems.

Scheduling & attendance: Before the event, all teams will be split into two groups. The first will present in the time slot between 13:00-15:00, the second from 15:00-17:00. All team members have to be present in their designated time slot (i.e. the whole 2h). You are of course welcome to join the other timeslot as well (i.e. stay for the whole 4h). The schedule and group assignment will be announced on the website in time.

Procedure: Each team has 10 min presentation time: 5 min for a short presentation of their status and plans, 5 min for questions and discussions with the audience. Because of the limited time, the schedule is strict: After 5 min presentation time, we will stop you and start the discussion, which again will stop promptly after 5 min. During this discussion, the following team has to prepare (e.g. get on stage, connect their laptop, etc.), because their presentation starts immediately afterward. There will only be one break within the 2 hours.

Practical issues: The presentations will take place in AARD-KLEIN. You can use the data projector and audio installation there. Bring your own laptop and make sure it is working (e.g. you might want to check your laptop on the data projector BEFORE the actual event starts!). If you are not able to bring your own laptop or want to use special equipment, contact the TA about it at least one week before the event. We'll try our best to help you.

What to present: Given the short time, we recommend a short introduction about your goals (1 min), a short demo of your current status (3 min), and a short discussion of your future plans, potential problems, etc. (1 min) that naturally leads to the discussion with the audience. You should aim for "showing something running," e.g. a very first demo of your game that illustrates the idea of both the game and the extension. Of course, depending on your individual goals and circumstances, you might not be able to do this. So, this is not a mandatory, but very strongly recommended requirement. But if you don't have s.th. to show by then, have at least a convincing answer ready when we ask "why not?" ;)

Relevance and impact of your presentation: If you don't do well in the presentation, there will be no direct consequences other than embarrassment and shame for screwing up in front of your fellow students - meaning that you will not get a grade for your presentation. However, it can have an indirect influence on your final grade. It is an opportunity to reflect on your work so far, and, if necessary, revise your goals, change your team organization, identify your weaknesses, and start related actions to improve (including potential revisions of your original plans, if necessary). The more critical you are with yourself, your performance, progress, plans, goals, etc., the more likely it is that you will succeed in the end. Notice that from our side, this is also a good opportunity to identify and sort out "black sheeps," e.g. students who don't contribute enough, but think they can benefit from a good performance of their team mates. For those, there might of course be direct consequences.

How to deliver: well, be there and shine :) Remember to make sure that your stuff is running and to contact the TA in time, if you need special equipment.

DEADLINE: december 21, 2011, 13:15-17:00, AARD-KLEIN (schedule)

DELIVERABLE "REVISED DESIGN DOCUMENT" (deadline: december 23, 2011 (unless otherwise arranged with tutor))

You should schedule a team meeting with your tutor before Christmas in which you discuss your performance so far. Based on your midterm report, your presentation, and your performance as observed in the team meetings, the tutor can then decide that you should (for example) do a complete revision of your design document, write a small add-on specifying necessary changes, write an additional project plan, or (if everything is fine) don't do anything at all (aside from keeping up with the good work, of course). Notice that this is also a good opportunity to not only reflect on the status of the actual product you are developing, but also on how you work as a team and organize yourself (e.g. ask yourself, if you can do things more efficiently, if there are problems in the communication that could easily be solved, etc.).

How to deliver: as individually arranged with the tutor

DEADLINE: december 23, 2011 (unless otherwise arranged with the tutor)

DELIVERABLE "FINAL REPORT & CODE (SVN)" (deadline: january 30, 2011, 14:00 GMT+1)

You have to fill out the following report template (DOC). Instructions are given at the beginning of the template. The template can be filled out in Dutch, even if it is written in English.

In addition, you should upload the code that you have produced to the SVN server (if you haven't done so already). Make sure that it is well structured, easy to read, and reasonably documented. The TA will have a look at it and rate it according to these criteria.

How to deliver: For the report, create a WORD or PDF file, name it "teamXY_report.doc" or "teamXY_report.pdf" (with XY being your team number as listed on the teams page), and email it to your tutor and the TA. For the code, simply upload it to your SVN server and send a short email note to the TA that this is the version he should check.

DEADLINE: january 30, 2011, 14:00 GMT+1

DELIVERABLE "PROMOTION MATERIAL" (deadline: january 30, 2011, 14:00 GMT+1)

The promotion material includes

your game's website
a flyer for your game
a video trailer

The purpose of the promotion material is to, well, promote your game. We also want to use it as promotion material for the gametechnology bachelor program and as examples for the teams in next year's course. Make sure it looks nice, gives a good first impression, and illustrates the gameplay idea as well as your contributions (e.g. what technological enhancements it offers, etc.).

Details for each deliverable:

Website: Obey copyright rules. We (i.e. the university, department, teachers of the course, etc.) will not take any responsibility for the usage of inappropriate material. There is no strict size limit, but we recommend to keep it simple and small. About 2-3 pages are enough (e.g. 1 describing your team, 1 describing your product/game, and maybe an additional 1-2 with things such as further screenshots, etc.).
Flyer: Flyers should be in PDF. We will make printouts of them for the symposium. They will be used as a small poster / information board. Hence, flyers should be A4 size and one-sided. They should look nice and give good information about your game.
Video: The video will be uploaded to YouTube, so any format that plays on YouTube is fine. Obey copyright rules (including music tracks that you are planning to use; YouTube checks for this and we will not consider your video for the grading if they complain!). It should have a maximum length of 2 minutes. Longer videos will have a negative impact on your grading.

Content-wise, for all three deliverables, make sure to find the right balance between entertaining and informative - i.e. it should neither be pure fun advertising and marketing material nor just contain pure (boring) technical specifications or feature descriptions.

How to deliver:

Website: If you host it at the local site, arrange a meeting by email with the TA for Monday before the deadline to upload it. Make sure to arrange the meeting in time, since it might get busy! If you host it remotely on your own server, just make sure it is up and running by the time of the deadline. It is your own responsibility that your website is up and running during the whole week. Also notice that the jury might check the sites already before the jury day, so later changes (although possible) might not get considered in your grading.

Flyer: Make a PDF, name it "teamXY_flyer.pdf" (with XY being your team number as listed on the teams page), and email it to the TA (or give it to him when you meet him for the Website setup anyhow).

Video: Name your video "teamXY_video.FORMAT" (with XY being your team number as listed on the teams page and FORMAT the related ending of the format you are using). Upload it somewhere where we can download it, and email this link to the TA (or give it to him when you meet him for the Website setup anyhow). Do not just send us a link to a streaming site, but a link for direct download(!).

If you do not arrange a meeting with the TA, but send him everything by email, only send one mail that includes everything. If you want to arrange a meeting, again, contact him by email the week before to arrange a time.

DEADLINE: january 30, 2011, 14:00 GMT+1

DELIVERABLE "PRESENTATION & DEMO TO THE JURY" (deadline: february 1, 9:00-17:00 (schedule))

Your game and promotion material will be rated by an independent jury consisting of your tutor and four other members. This rating severs as a basis for your final grade (but individual marks can distinguish from it; cf. beoordeling for concrete infos about the grading procedure).

At least a week before the event, a time schedule will be put online. Together with two other teams, you'll be presenting your game to the jury members and answer their questions. In particular, each team gives a 10 min presentation, followed by a 10 min question and answer session for each team (during which at least one jury member will also play your game to see if it works and test the gameplay). Time limits will be strictly enforced. Hence, make sure that your stuff is up and running before your timeslot starts (there will be two rooms, so enough time to set it up, if you come in time).

Considering the presentation, notice that not all jury members know what you've been doing, so make sure to

introduce the game idea and
highlight your extensions and contributions.

There will be a data projector in the room, so if you want, you can display slides. Most importantly however, you should demonstrate your program (if you want, you can also use the data projector for that). Overall, be informative but also not boring. The jury is mostly interested in what you actually did and achieved, so make sure to present that well. Be well prepared (again, time limit is strict). We recommend that you practice your presentation beforehand. It is up to you if all or just some team members present - since the jury can still address members that are too silent during the Q&A session ;) Language can be Dutch or English, whatever you prefer.

Considering the question and answer session, the jury can ask you everything about your game, e.g. the actual game play, your concrete contributions, etc. and how you created it, e.g. the actual coding, particular problems that arised, etc. As you can see from the jury's rating form (cf. beoordeling), the major focus is on the end result. But of course, if necessary, issues about team work and the overall procedure could be discussed as well. The rating form should also give you a good idea of what issues you want to focus on in your presentation.

How to deliver: A schedule with individual time slots for 3-4 teams (1-1:20h) will be posed online before the event. Your team will only present and answer questions during 20 min of this time slot, but all team members are required to be present at the whole time slot, and attend the presentations and demos of the other teams scheduled during that time. There will be two rooms and the jury will switch between them between time slots. Hence, you can go to the room assigned to you before the designated time slot and make sure everything is set up and running. Meetings will start promptly and you will have no time to start and test your stuff when your time slot begins, so make sure to come early and test everything beforehand(!). Notice for example that it is NOT a matter of course that laptops immediately work when being connected to a data projector ;)

DEADLINE: february 1, 9:00-17:00 (schedule)

DELIVERABLE "BOX WITH FINAL GAME" (deadline: february 1, 9:00-17:00 (individual time slots TBA))

On the jury day, you also have to have a CD/DVD including cover and box with your final game, source, and all promotion material that you produced. The CD/DVD should have a nice, appealing cover that represents you game and contain:

the final product (incl. sources, executable, documentation)
the sources of your website
a pdf of your flyer
your video
a readme file

The content should be well structured and files should be easy to find (use meaningful folder and file names!). Include a short readme file describing the content of your CD, if there are any special requirements for your game (e.g. hardware such as web cam, Wii controller, etc. and software such as special libraries, OS versions, etc.) and how to start it. If it is impossible to make an executable that runs automatically (e.g. because your program has special hardware or software requirements) arrange it with your begeleider what should go on the CD and what not.

How to deliver: Hand it over to a jury member at the jury day during your designated time slot.

DEADLINE: february 1, 9:00-17:00 (individual time slots TBA)

DELIVERABLE "DEMONSTRATION AT THE SYMPOSIUM" (deadline: february 3, 13:00-17:00)

The symposium starts with a showcase where each team shows their game and people can walk around and play it. You are expected to setup your game at 13:00. The showcase officially starts at 13:30. Each team member is required to be present during the whole symposium (including the following award ceremony from 15:30-16:30; cf. symposium). Make sure you are well prepared to show and demonstrate your game (visitors can vote for an audience award!). Some team members should always be around at their demo, so people can play it. But you are of course also welcome to walk around and check out what the other teams did (and you can vote for the audience award, too).

Note: teams that are nominated for the best game award (cf. below) will also get a visit from the award committee members during the showcase.

How to deliver: Be there and

set up your game (at 13:00)

let the visitors play your game (13:30-15:00) and check out the other games

present at the award ceremony if you are nominated, or enjoy the others' presentations if you are not (15:30-16:30)

watch the award ceremony

receive an award or applaude the winners

receive the jury's rating of your game

enjoy the borrel :)

DEADLINE: february 3, 12:00-17:00

DELIVERABLE "PRESENTATION AT THE SYMPOSIUM" (only applicable to nominated teams) (deadline: february 3, 15:30-16:30)

After the jury day, five teams will get nominated for the best game award. They will be informed about their nomination in the evening of Feb 1. Nominated teams will get a visit from the award committee during the showcase and have to give a short presentation at the following award ceremony. Details about this will be emailed to them together with their nominations. If you are nominated, you have 1.5 days to prepare you presentation (Feb 2 and the morning of Feb 3).

How to deliver: Be there and give your best :)

DEADLINE: february 3, 15:30-16:30