Curricular Framework

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Unit 1: Introduction to Game Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Unit 2: Critical Thinking in Game Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Unit 3: Game Design Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Unit 4: Story and Game Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Unit 5: System Dynamics and Scripting Fundamentals . . . . 60

Unit 6: Game Development Tools,

Functions, and Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Unit 7: Interfaces, Environments, Asset Management,

and Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
 Table of Contents

Unit 8: Physics and the Build Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Unit 9: Constructs of Game Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Unit 10: Principles of Cameras and Lighting

in Game Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Unit 11: Principles of Sound and Audio for Gamers. . . . . . . 131

Unit 12: Strategic Game Development Techniques

and Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Unit 13: Principles of Quality and Functionality

Assurance in Game Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Unit 14: Principles of Versioning and Game Release. . . . . . 163

 Table of Contents

Capstone Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Resource Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Credits and Disclaimers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220

 Introduction

Background

The global media and entertainment industry is complex,

expansive, and rapidly evolving. Within it, two exciting, highly
creative, and increasingly lucrative fields have emerged that
are capturing the hearts and minds of millions: interactive
application and video game creation.
The Unity Curricular Framework was envisioned, designed, and
developed by the education team within Unity Technologies. The
goal of the Curricular Framework is to help education providers
produce future professionals who possess the knowledge, skills,
and abilities to enter and advance these amazing fields. It is
the result of intense research and collaboration by numerous,
distinguished authors. It is also a living, breathing document,
with future updates and revisions already planned.

Purpose

The principal purpose of the Unity Curricular Framework is two-fold:

1. To encourage education providers to develop and deliver
advanced teaching and learning in support of interactive
application and video game creation.

2. To empower education providers by providing advanced

curricular resources in support of interactive application and
video game creation.

The Curricular Framework ultimately serves as a resource (i.e. a struc-

tured framework) to develop and deliver curriculum. As a resource,
readers are encouraged to explore the document, in its entirety,
before making a final decision about how best to implement it. Expe-
rienced readers may choose to deploy only certain content compo-
nents and/or leverage specific content resources. In contrast, new
readers (i.e. those desiring more instructional design assistance) may
choose to deploy the Curricular Framework as-is, in its entirety. No
matter how it is utilized, Unity Technologies advises all readers that the subjects of interactive ap-
plications and video creation are complex, highly progressive, and rapidly changing. And while
it may appear comprehensive in breadth and depth, the Curricular Framework is still intended
to guide readers in the design, development, and delivery of the learning they produce.

1
 Intended Audience

The Unity Curricular Framework was designed for institutional educators that
need to develop robust learning and deliver adaptive teaching, to a continu-
ous group of learners, over a finite period of time. Every aspect of the Curricular
Framework was maximized to enable learning content creation and provide
learning resource deployment in this type of environment.
Unity Technologies recognizes that many different types of education providers desire learning
resources in support of the Unity Game Editor and Unity Game Engine. Unity Technologies also
realizes that different learning environments and different learning goals often cause and ac-
company different reader needs. As such, readers outside the intended audience are still en-
couraged to utilize the Curricular Framework as they may.

Approach
Conceptual Model

The Unity Curricular Framework is designed to engage

learners with hands-on activities and exercises. The ac-
tivities and exercises are intended to provide learners
the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to man-
age the game creation process. As a result, learners
will gain knowledge and experience in all aspects of
the process. The content in the Curricular Framework
can be approached in several different ways and is
easily adaptable to a variety of situations. While each
unit contains suggested sample exercises, educators
are provided numerous topics and clear learning
objectives to allow them the freedom to customize or
deploy as they see fit.

Technical Model

The Unity Curricular Framework employs a modular, competency based,

interactive (i.e. hands-on) instructional model. Learners completing all
components of study should gain a broad understanding of what is
involved in the creation of interactive application and video game cre-
ation process; from concept inception to final release.
The recommended duration of time required to complete the entire
Curricular Framework is 36 calendar weeks, but can (and should) be ad-
justed, depending upon various real-world environmental factors. These
factors include, but are not limited to, the learners age, experience level,
and the frequency of their availability for learning.

2
 Components of Study

The Unity Curricular Framework is comprised of 14 distinct components or units of study. Each
unit of study functions like a gear in a mechanical device, adding unique, specific value to the
machine as a whole.
Each unit of study contains the following, standardized sections (in order of appearance):
Title
Unit Description
Major Topics
Learning Objectives
Course Outline
Instructor-Led Training (ILT) Activities
Self-Pace Learning (SPL) Activities
Standards Alignment Guide
Assessment Rubric(s)
Assessment of Learning Objectives
Suggested Resources
The 14 units of study provide learning opportunities through a wide variety lessons and experi-
ences to help learners grasp and fully understand what is involved in being an effective devel-
oper. Through research, demonstrations, game play, structured lessons, and tactical training
activities, learners will fully experience the interactive application and game creation process.

Modularity and Linearity

The units of study were strategically designed with modularity in

mind. This strategy provides optimum flexibility for learning content
delivery. The units of study can be delivered linearly, as originally
outlined with the Unity Curricular Framework. However, experienced
readers may choose to deliver the units in a different sequence,
in order to better align the Curricular Framework with their existing
learning objectives, learner abilities, or other factors.

3
 Capstone Project

The units of study are followed by a final, culminating, critically important component, referred
to as the capstone project. The Capstone Project provides each learner the ability to apply all
they have learned towards the creation of a unique interactive application or video game.
The units of study, combined with the Capstone Project, provide a significant quantity of strategic
guidance and tactical resources for educators to develop and deliver a learning experience
that engage learners and prepare them to become professional interactive application and
video game creators.
The Unity Curricular Framework provides an educational model to state and measure learning
outcomes that is aligned with Blooms taxonomy. Within each unit of study, the Learning Objectives
section and the Assessment of Learning Objectives section provide:
A series of learning objectives or learning objective assessment statements
A Blooms cognitive domain mapping for each statement
A level of difficulty indication for each statement

Example
Blooms Domain Learning Objective Level of Difficulty
Identify basic game
Evaluation design principles, reciting 1 2 3
common choices, styles,
and/or aesthetics (e.g.
visual, audial, interactive, 4 5 6
and narrative).

Learning objectives (and their assessments) are provided to help the educator develop and de-
liver effective learning. The Curricular Framework offers these lists as a start, not a finish. Readers
are encouraged to explore Blooms taxonomy, to reflect on the appropriateness of the learning
objectives provided within each unit of study, and to refine the lists (as necessary) for the benefit
of their learners.
For each learning objective statement, a level of difficulty indication is also provided. The level
of difficulty gauge is aligned with the cognitive domain levels within Blooms taxonomy. It serves
to indicate and remind readers that higher level domain mappings often (but not always) pres-
ent greater challenges towards achieving and measuring learning goals in the classroom. That
being said, high level domain mappings have often been regarded as a valuable ingredient for
producing incredibly capable learners.