PristupačnostFundamentals of digital game development
Data is displayed for the academic year: 2025./2026.
Exercises
Course Description
As part of this course, students will learn the basic concepts necessary for understanding and developing video games using the Unity development environment. Lectures consist of both theoretical and practical components. The theoretical part will cover fundamental concepts of video game development, which students will then be required to implement during the practical sessions.
The introductory lectures will address the key characteristics of the game industry and the basics of using the Unity3D development environment. Topics will include core video game concepts such as creating 2D and 3D graphics, importing elements into Unity, and working with sound and materials. Students will also learn the basics of working with cameras and lighting, as well as animations, particle systems, spawn points, and user interface creation.
The course will also cover advanced topics such as physics simulation, programming complex behaviors, pathfinding, and implementing networking functionalities. Students will work in groups to develop a prototype game based on their own ideas, through which they will demonstrate the knowledge acquired.
The goal of the course is not only to equip students with the skills to develop video games, but also to introduce them to teamwork—an industry standard practice—and familiarize them with all the components and roles involved in the game development process.
Prerequisites
Passed courses: Programming and Software Engineering, Algorithms and Data Structures. Basic knowledge of C# or JavaScript programming languages
Study Programmes
University graduate
[FER3-HR] Audio Technologies and Electroacoustics - profile
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(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Communication and Space Technologies - profile
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(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Computer Engineering - profile
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(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Computer Science - profile
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(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Control Systems and Robotics - profile
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(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Data Science - profile
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(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Electrical Power Engineering - profile
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(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Electric Machines, Drives and Automation - profile
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(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Electronic and Computer Engineering - profile
Elective Courses
(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Electronics - profile
Elective Courses
(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Information and Communication Engineering - profile
Elective Courses
(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Network Science - profile
Elective Courses
(1. semester)
Elective Courses of the Profile
(1. semester)
[FER3-HR] Software Engineering and Information Systems - profile
Elective Courses
(1. semester)
Elective Courses of the Profile
(1. semester)
Learning Outcomes
- Explain the basic elements that make up a video game;
- Use the user interface elements of a game development system;
- Use tools for graphical programming of shaders and visual effects
- Use basic techniques for procedural content generation
- Explain the differences in video game development for different platforms (mobile devices, computers, virtual reality)
- Apply techniques for sound sources in video games;
- Explain programming concepts specific to video game development tools
- Apply algorithms for pathfinding in video games
- Explain techniques for lighting and shading a virtual scene
Forms of Teaching
Lectures
Lectures about theory of video game development
ExercisesHands-on examples of video game development on topics which are covered on the lecture through development of showcase video game
Partial e-learningHomework submission, downloading course materials
Independent assignmentsProject - team based developlent of an own videogame
Grading Method
| Continuous Assessment | Exam | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Threshold | Percent of Grade | Threshold | Percent of Grade | ||
| Homeworks | 0 % | 20 % | 0 % | 0 % | ||
| Seminar/Project | 50 % | 40 % | 50 % | 40 % | ||
| Mid Term Exam: Written | 20 % | 20 % | 0 % | |||
| Final Exam: Written | 20 % | 20 % | ||||
| Exam: Written | 50 % | 30 % | ||||
| Exam: Oral | 30 % | |||||
Week by Week Schedule
- Introduction to the course (explaining to students the concepts guiding the course and the method of assessment). Overview of the current game market and motivations for game development. Overview of the Croatian game industry. Overview of the game development process and its participants. Overview of functionalities needed for the realization of a video game.
- Introduction to the Unity engine: Installation, graphical interface, system components. Project scene. Project example. Modification of basic project elements.
- Physics simulation and physical/graphical materials. Basic components for physics simulation.
- Creating animations in Unity. Object scale animation. Camera position animation. Humanoid character animation. Skeleton-based animation transfer.
- Particle systems and spawn points. Description of the most important modules in particle systems. Creating through spawn points and destroying objects.
- User interface and controls. UI elements. Creating buttons, health bars, and life indicators.
- Basics of scripting in Unity. Execution order of built-in methods.
- Midterm exam
- Audio in video games. Sound sources. Sound filters. Audio mixer.
- Lighting and shading in Unity. Basics of the graphics pipeline. Basic shaders. Shader graph.
- Graphics programming for visual effects and shaders. Shader graph. Visual effect graph.
- Procedural content generation. Basic approaches. Libraries for procedural content generation.
- Artificial intelligence in games. Pathfinding.
- Different development platforms. Virtual reality
- Final exam.
Literature
Joseph Hocking (2022.), Unity in Action, Third Edition, Simon and Schuster
General
ID 283998
Winter semester
5 ECTS
L2 e-Learning
30 Lectures
0 Seminar
30 Exercises
0 Laboratory exercises
0 Project laboratory
0 Physical education excercises
Grading System
85 Excellent
75 Very Good
65 Good
50 Sufficient