Semester: 5
ECTS: 4
Lectures: 15
Practice sessions: 30
Independent work: 75
Module Code: 24-124-0244
Semester: 5
ECTS: 4
Lectures: 15
Practice sessions: 30
Independent work: 75
Module Code: 24-124-0244

Module title:


Prototyping and testing of computer games

Lecturers and associates:



Module overview:


The aim of this course is to teach students how to quickly create a simple prototype of a specific gameplay mechanic in a computer game. Creating game prototypes plays a crucial role in the early stages of game development when designing the core mechanics of a computer game, so it is important to know how to create and test prototypes quickly and efficiently.

This course will involve hands-on creation of a series of small prototypes of different gameplay mechanics for the purpose of testing the quality of the created mechanics and improving them. In addition to creation, students will learn the basics of game testing, including how to organize testing, create test cases, and report bugs. Testing is one of the key phases of game development where we verify whether the game is technically stable enough, if all game features work correctly, and if it is ready for further development phases.

This course is important for game developers because in the early stages of game development, programmers collaborate with designers, and it is necessary to create a playable prototype as soon as possible so that the mechanics of the computer game can be improved through iterative design. Game developers need to know how to quickly and efficiently create a functional prototype of basic gameplay mechanics.

Students will learn:
- What rapid prototyping is
- The role of prototyping and testing in the game development process
- Prototyping control mechanics through input devices
- Prototyping basic mechanics of various computer game genres
- Prototyping artificial intelligence in computer games
- Prototyping 2D computer games
- Prototyping 3D computer games
- Best practices for prototyping gameplay mechanics
- Game testing methodologies
- How to adapt testing to gaming platforms
- Planning and approach to game testing
- Different types of testing, their differences, and why they are important
- Writing test cases and bug reports
- How game testing impacts game development

Literature:


Required readings:
1. Bond, J. G. (2017) Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development: From Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#. 2nd edn. Addison-Wesley Professional.

2. Finska, Nikolina (2023) Modern Game Testing, 1st edn. Packt Publishing.

Supplementary readings:
1. Macklin, C. (2016) Games, Design and Play: A detailed approach to iterative game design. Addison-Wesley Professional.