Sonoma State University
Department of Computer Science
CS-330: Introduction to Game Programming
Game Project Proposal

OBJECTIVE:

• What will be the objective of your game?
• Is there a targeted audience? What will be the ESRB rating? Please do not choose "Rating Pending".

DELIVERABLES:

• Your game must be a 2D game (as opposed to a 3D game). I'm adding this requirement to all CS-330 game proposals for simplicity and time constraints.
• The game should be considered a prototype (as opposed to a completed product). As a prototype, what is the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for this game?
• I'm much more impressed with a sparse incomplete game that meets the team's MVP rather than an overly-optimistic and grandiose game that meets some stretch goals but DOES NOT meet the team's MVP. I'm not seeking a perfect game! It's a prototype! Strategically, write up a detailed MVP and only meet those requirements.

Minimum-Viable Product

• When defining the MVP for your game project, I suggest writing it as a detailed bulleted list of features. The MVP features listed should be:
  
  • Realistic (completed within the semester timeline).
  • Actionable: the MVP items are specific (as opposed to vague).

Note: I expect your team to meet the objectives listed in the MVP when your team completes your game prototype!

GAME MECHANICS:

• The game mechanics section below is paraphrased from The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Game Mechanics blog

Action mechanics:

• How will the player control the character in the game? Examples: keyboard, mouse, rotate and tilt a smart phone (accelerometer), gesture control (touch pad), generic wireless game controller?
• How will the player's character interact in the game? Examples: crouching, running, or jumping over obstacles, swinging a sword, shooting a projectile, picking up secret keys, opening a treasure chest.

Strategy mechanics:

• How will the player advance through the game? Examples: solving puzzles or fighting enemies (combat strategy).

Exploration mechanics:

• How will the player explore the game world and what will they find? Examples: searching for hidden secrets, weapons, or treasure.

Resource management mechanics:

• How will resources be distributed throughout the game world? Examples: money, food, drink, bullets, arrows, health packs, power ups.
• Given the resource scarcity, what strategies will the player need to follow in order to advance in the game?

Role-Playing Mechanics:

• How will the player level-up their character (gaming experience) in terms of strength, stamina, intelligence, etc.

ART ASSETS:

• If you will be using free-to-license graphics-based game art assets, please provide information about the the asset source (URL, title and type of digital media such as DVD, etc.).
• If you will be using free-to-license sound-based game art assets, please provide information about the asset source (URL, title and type of digital media such as MP3, etc.).
• If you will be creating your own graphics-based art assets, please indicate what tools you plan to use to create these graphics.
• If you will be creating your own sound-based art assets, please indicate what tools you plan to use to create audio.

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE:

• Will this game be developed for mobile phones (i.e. iPhone or Android), tablet, notebook computer, or desktop computer?
• Will the game require certain minimum hardware specifications (GPU memory, drive space, screen resolution, etc.)?
• What version of the Godot game engine will your application be built with?
• What operating system will the game run on (i.e. iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows 10, 11, GNU/Linux)?
• Will there be other software software dependencies?

PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

Team roles:

• Please identify and list the responsibilities of each team member.

Decision making and problem resolution:

• How will your team make decisions? Is it by team vote? Is it up to the team-lead?
• How will you resolve a deadlocked vote?
• How will you resolve disagreement?
• How will you resolve non-communicative team members?
• How will you resolve inactive team-members who are not contributing to the project?

Meeting frequency and modality:

• How will your team communicate (e.g. Discord, Slack, Facebook, IRC, SMS, etc.).
• Will your communication be on a regular basis? What frequency (e.g. once a week)?

Project coding standards:

• Please list any coding standards (if applicable) the team has agreed upon which impact the game project's readability, maintainability, efficiency, reliability, and reusability.

Project repository:

• How will your team maintain and revise your software (e.g. Github, SourceForge, Bitbucket, etc.)?

Game Project Proposal Rubric

CRITERIA	RATINGS			POINTS
OBJECTIVE: What are the game's objectives and what will be the game's content rating as outlined by the Entertainmment Software Review Board (ESRB)?	Proficient 1 point The goal(s) of the game are clearly summarized and easy to understand for a prospective game player. The game includes one of the following ESRB ratings: "Everyone", "Everyone 10+", "Teen", "Mature 17+", or "Adults Only 18+".	Satisfactory 0.7 point The goal(s) of the game are overly complicated or too detailed and lack a clear summary for a prospective player. The game includes one of the following ESRB ratings: "Everyone", "Everyone 10+", "Teen", "Mature 17+", or "Adults Only 18+".	Below Expectation 0 points The game proposal lacks an objective. The ESRB rating is not included or is set as "RP" (Rating Pending). "RP" not an acceptable rating!	1 point
DELIVERABLES: What are the the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) objectives for the proposed game?	Proficient 3 points The objectives in the MVP are clearly-defined and tangible. Overall, the MVP seems reasonable for a team of four students to complete within the semester. Optional stretch-goals may be listed but those goals are clearly identified and will only be pursued once the MVP is satisfied.	Satisfactory 2.1 points The MVP contains some clearly-defined objectives that are both tangible and reasonable to complete by end of semester by a team of four students. Some objectives in the MVP could use minor refinement for clarification or should be placed outside of the MVP into stretch-goals once the MVP goals are completed. Overall, the MVP seems achievable.	Below Expectation 0 points The game proposal lacks detail concerning a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The team will be required to resubmit a new game project proposal with a point penalty for late-submission.	3 points
GAME MECHANICS: What rules, elements, and processes define the proposed game?	Proficient 3 points The game proposal includes detailed information, where applicable, about the following game mechanics: action mechanics, strategy mechanics, exploration mechanics, resource management mechanics, and role-playing mechanics.	Satisfactory 2.1 points The game proposal includes some of the following game mechanics: action mechanics, strategy mechanics, exploration mechanics, resource management mechanics, and role-playing mechanics OR the game mechanics may be somewhat vague or lacking in detail.	Below Expectation 0 points The game proposal does not mention any game mechanics.	3 points
ART ASSETS: How will graphics and sound be implemented in the proposed game?	Proficient 1 point The game proposal includes sources for license-free graphics and sound art assets to be used in the game. If applicable, information about the source for the graphics or sound art assets is included in the report (e.g. URL to art asset, title of digital media and media format for the art asset, etc.). If the team will be creating their own graphics or art assets, the software and/or hardware necessary to create such art assets is listed.	Satisfactory 0.7 point The game proposal makes a vague reference to graphics or sound art assets but it isn't clear where these art assets will come from; OR the proposal lacks detail on the software or hardware necessary to create the sound and/or graphics art assets (if applicable).	Below Expectation 0 point The game proposal does not mention graphics or sound art assets.	1 point
SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE: What software and hardware is required to play the proposed game?	Proficient 1 point The game proposal includes hardware requirements the game will be built for (e.g. desktop computer, iOS, Android, minimum ram, GPU, etc.). The proposal includes hardware controllers required to play the game (e.g. keyboard, mouse, generic wireless game controller, etc.). The proposal includes compatible operating system type and version. The proposal indicates the required minimum version of the Gadot game engine. The sources and versions of any dependency libraries are included.	Satisfactory 0.7 point The game proposal includes some hardware requirements necessary to play the game but the requirements are incomplete or vague.	Below Expectation 0 point The game proposal contains no software or hardware requirements to play the proposed game.	1 point
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: How will the game project will be managed?	Proficient 1 point The game proposal includes detailed information about the frequency of team meetings and meeting modality (e.g. Discord, Slack, Zoom, in-person, etc.). The proposal includes information on how the team will resolve conflict. The proposal includes coding-standards the team has agreed upon. The proposal includes a source repository in which the game project will be managed. There are no spelling errors or grammatical errors.	Satisfactory 0.7 point The game proposal includes some information about how the team will manage the project but the project management details are vague or missing.	Below Expectation 0 point The game proposal does not include any project management details.	1 point
Total points: 10