Group Project Proposal Activity

Today’s class is all about getting you ready to start your group project! In this activity you will:

• Identify your group memebers
  • Provide each group member’s GitHub account name
    • If you don’t have a GitHub account, take a few minutes to make one (they are free)
• Create a development group name
  • Pretend your a cool indie startup
• Describe your project idea
• Indicate days/times your group will meet to work on the project
  • You must indicate a MINIMUM one day a week where you will all plan to meet in-person to discuss progress and plan independent work to complete before the next meeting
  • If possible, include time in the meeting so you can all work together in-person (like a game jam or hack-a-thon).
  • Communication will be very important for this project!
• Include a conduct policy drafted by your team to include expectations for group interactions such as:
  • You will come to meetings prepared to work/discuss the project
  • Ensure respectful discussion and discourse about the project and it’s direction
  • Making the group a welcoming place to encourage ideas and opinions for discussion
    • Not every idea may make it into the game, but everyone should be able to be heard and participate in the design process
  • How will you attempt to resolve any conflicts that might arise?
  • etc.

I’ll also have scratch paper so you can sketch out your ideas.

DO NOT START YOUR PROJECT UNTIL YOU ARE PROVIDED A GITHUB REPOSITORY TO COMMIT YOUR WORK Without a proper .gitignore file git will commit content to the repository that will make it difficult for your team members to work with you.

Requirements

Team Formation

Teams will primarily be groups of three. Since we have 26 people in the class this means there will be two groups of four. If you decide to form a group of four, it will be expected that the quailty of your final project will reflect having an extra team member.

Project Idea - minimum 2 paragraphs

While the project idea is free form, it must be a 3D visual application, and must feature interactivity. While you might not know implementation specifics, the idea you present should be fully formed. For example if you are making a game, you should have an idea of the genre (type of game), features, core gameplay loop (what the player does in the game), and progression. If you decide that you want to implement a data visualization/simulation you will need to describe the dataset as well as the purpose and features of the application.

A Word on Project Scope

Make sure to keep your game focused. Some of the best games ever made have a simple premise that is executed very well. That’s what we are looking to accomplish here. You won’t have time for everything you want to do, so when you are thinking about features for your game, consider first the minimum pool of features to achive the goal (the MUST HAVEs). Ask yourself what does this game need to be “complete”? You don’t have to discard other ideas, but you will want to set them aside in the event that you have extra time (the WANT TO HAVEs). Once the MUST HAVEs are implemented and refined, THEN you can start working on the WANT TO HAVE features.

Team Conduct Policies

This can be a bulleted list, but should clearly outline conduct expectations to make your group a respectful and productive environment. Make sure EVERYONE in the group contributes to this section and AGREES on the policies.

Development Platform

The preferred development platform will be Unity. If you opt for a different platform you will need explicit permission from the professor and agreement among your team. Keep in mind that selecting a different development platform may limit the amount of question and answer support from your professor if bugs/issues arise. If you select a development platform other than Unity you must explicitly include the platform in your project proposal.

Submission

A template Markdown document will be provided via gitkeeper and completed based on the items described above and submitted via gitkeeper. EACH TEAM MEMBER MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF THIS DOCUMENT TO GITKEEPER

If you finish this before the deadline, you may email me and I will setup your project repository early. It will contain a Standard Unity URP starter project, custom .gitignore, and your README.md file.

Grading

You will earn up to 50 points for this exercise, broken down as follows:

• 5 pts - Identify your group memebers and development group name
• 5 pts - Group members (3-4) all have GitHub account names
• 15 pts - Clarity of project explanation
• 10 pts - Meeting day(s) and time(s) established
• 15 pts - Conduct Policies