Task description

• Form a group of 4-5 people and decide on a game idea that satisfies the details below. If you haven’t found a group yet you can find group members on Discord.
• Create a repository (e.g. on gitlab.tugraz.at) and add your tutor as a maintainer (Florian R. Wohlmuth). Call the repository “gg2-2025-g##“, where ## represents the group number, e.g. “gg2-2025-g05“.
• Create a document where you describe your idea and tell us about which technologies you plan to use in a few paragraphs. Create a rough effort estimate for your idea to make sure it is possible to implement the idea this semester. You can also add some sketches. The document can later be used as a basis for your game design document.
• Also, decide on a fancy name for your group.

Fundamentals

Your game must be based on virtual reality. We provide you with the needed equipment (VR headset). Our equipment can be used in our student’s room, in Sandgasse 36, room DHEG096. The room requires a key, which can be requested from the lecture team. The equipment may only be used in our rooms and cannot be taken home. Furthermore, an AI concept, mentioned in this list, must be part of your game. Also, include some achievements that can be unlocked within your game.

Note: Take care that your game does not induce motion sickness (i.e. take care of locomotion design, stuttering, framerate, etc.), include interactions tailored to AR / VR, and make it as intuitive as possible.

Technology

Besides the requirement to create a VR game, your game should include at least one of the concepts outlined in this section. If you have a different unique feature that you want to integrate into your game, contact the tutor before submitting your game idea.

Multiplayer

Your game must feature a multiplayer component. This can range from cooperative gameplay to competitive modes, as long as multiple players can interact in real time within your virtual environment.

When designing your multiplayer experience, consider the following aspects:

• Networking: Use a networking solution that fits your game’s needs, such as Photon, Mirror, or Unity’s Netcode for GameObjects. Ensure that your implementation is stable and responsive.
• Game Modes: Define how players interact. Will your game be cooperative, competitive, or both? What roles can players take on?
• Player Interaction: Design meaningful ways for players to communicate and collaborate. This can include voice chat, gestures, or in-game mechanics that encourage teamwork.
• Scalability: Consider how many players your game will support and optimize performance accordingly.
• Synchronization: Ensure that actions, physics, and animations are correctly synchronized across all players to provide a seamless experience.
• Session Management: Think about how players join, leave, and reconnect to a session. Will you use lobbies, matchmaking, or peer-to-peer connections?

Keep in mind that designing multiplayer games comes with additional complexity, so start small and expand once the core mechanics work reliably.

Alternative Controls

Create a game that does not just use standard input hardware (keyboard, mouse, controller) in standard ways. Instead, design and use an alternative control mechanism. This option can also include some basic networking to connect your alternative inputs to your game. Crafting, DIY know-how, and electronics tinkering skills are an advantage for this option. Your creativity is the limit, but here are some examples to give you a feel for what is meant by alternative inputs:

• Repurposed peripherals: Use other peripherals such as a microphone or a drawing tablet to control the game.
• Custom inputs: Disassemble an old keyboard and build a custom controller, or use some components from the maker toolbox to create custom input devices. Raspberry Pi, Arduino, micro python, and esp8266 are good platforms you can use as a starting point for your device.
• Make your game controllable via a sofa, house plant, or banana.

The FabLab and E-Lab are great places for tinkering with custom hardware. Feel free to consult with electrical engineering students for this option. Please note that using a phone does not qualify as an alternative control unless it is implemented in a uniquely innovative way.

We also offer the Arduino Student Kit for alternative control options. Just like the VR headsets, the Arduino hardware must stay in our lab. However, we encourage you to explore and experiment with it whenever the lab is open!

Topics & Inspiration

You are free to choose the topic and genre of your game.

Guidelines

• Diversity
  Ensure that diversity—including aspects such as race, gender, and culture—is meaningfully integrated into your game where relevant.

• Accessibility
  Make sure to cover accessibility options in regards to Motor (e.g. more than one type of input device), Cognitive (e.g. contextual in-game help), Vision (e.g. color blindness safe colors), Hearing (e.g. subtitles), and General (e.g. difficulty levels). You can look up more details here.
  Starting this semester, we also have a Playstation Access Controller in our Lab, which you may use for your group project!

• Haptic Feedback (Optional)
  Integrate haptic feedback mechanisms to provide tactile sensations that correspond to in-game actions or events. While not mandatory, this can enhance immersion and player experience, so feel free to explore this option if it fits your project.

Submission

Share the link to your repository on TeachCenter.

Create a PDF with the naming convention:
a01-g##.pdf

## is your group number, hence group 5 sends the file a01-g05.pdf.

First, enter your group in TeachCenter, then upload your file and enter your group name within the deadline in the schedule.

Task Description

As a group pick one of the topics from the list beneath and select it in TeachCenter (first come first serve, the start of the selection will be announced on Discord) and create a short presentation (max. 5 slides) about how this concept can be applied in a game project and give examples.

Every game project has to include at least one of the concepts. The descriptions of the other groups should help you choose which one you want to include, but you can pick any topic from the list for your game. It is ok if several groups include the same topic in their game.

Topic-List

Submission

Create a slide set for your presentation. Use the naming convention:
a02-g##.[pdf/pptx]

## is your group number, hence group 5 sends the file a02-g05.[pdf/pptx].

Upload the slides to the TeachCenter within the deadline in the schedule.

Task Description

Create a prototype according to the topics and guidelines. The prototype should show what your game will look like (e.g. blockouts of levels) and it should demonstrate the core mechanics of your game, though it must not be fully fletched nor have high-quality graphics. The important aspects are gameplay and game mechanics.

Create a page for your game on itch.io, you do not need to upload a build yet, but add a description and screenshots that promote your game (in progress). Also, join this year’s itch.io jam where all GDD-created games are collected: https://itch.io/jam/gdd2-2025.

Furthermore, it is highly recommended that you start with the Game Design Document by now. A template for this document can be found here. The Game Design Document must not be submitted now but with the final game. For this task, the same rules apply as in GDD1.

Submission

Upload a zip file (called a03-g##.zip, where ## is your group number) containing the build to TeachCenter and add a link to your itch.io page within the deadline in the schedule.

Task Description

Test a game from another group. The QA Strategy section below outlines what to look out for during testing. You will be assigned a partner group automatically. Once this happened, there will be an announcement on Discord.

Provide a small report (.txt or .pdf file) with a list of issues you’ve found. The issues in the report should be structured like so:
[ID / Type of issue (1-3) / Description of issue / Severity of this issue (A extremely bad – C nice to have) / Tips for improvement]

Example:
#4 / 1 / The game controls are not clear / B / Explain the controls on the start screen
#5 / 3 / Driving into a tree for 100 times crashes game / C / Find root cause for the crash

You should test the player experience, the usability, and QA (alias bugs). Make sure to list at least 10-15 helpful issues.

QA Strategy

Type 1: Player Experience (Game Design)

• Fun?
• Confused/bored/frustrated?
• Design?
• Idea clear?
• Mechanics?
• Level too long/short?
• Do you understand the game?

Type 2: Usability

• Interface intuitive?
• Easy to use?
• Controls understandable?

Type 3: Quality Assurance (Severe Bugs)

• Test intensively
• Find bugs

Submission

Create a submission file with the naming convention:
a04-g##.[txt/pdf]

## is your group number, hence group 5 sends the file a04-g05.[txt/pdf].

Upload the report to TeachCenter and send it to the other group via e-mail or Discord within the deadline in the schedule.

Task Description

Fully implement your game and create a presentation for the final exhibition.

Presentation
Short “pitch” (max. 4-5 minutes!) – try to “sell” your game/game idea. Besides representing your game, you can also show your trailer video or play the game live (or both if time).

Exhibition
Please bring your own equipment for the exhibition. In case you are missing hardware contact the tutors in advance.

Note: If the exhibition cannot be held at the university, all games will be collected in an itch.io game jam so that you can play all of the games.

Deliverables

Repository:

• readme.md in the root of your repository with the following information, so that we can feature your games on the website:
  (1) Game title + short game description
  (2) Who worked on this game (all names + matr. nr)
  (3) Technologies used
  (4) Credits (don’t forget to also mention if you made anything by yourself!)
  (5) Link to build for feature on website (such as on https://gamelabgraz.com/games/)
• Build and source code of your game

TeachCenter:

• Final Game Design Document (don’t forget to mention which AI Topic you chose and how you implemented it in your game)
• 4-6 screenshots
• A small video of the gameplay (ca. 2-3 minutes)
• Create a trailer video (can also be used as part of your presentation)

Don’t forget to add your itch.io page to the game jam!

Submission

Upload all deliverables within the deadline in the schedule.

Update the details about your game on your itch.io page and join this year’s game jam. Don’t remove the prototype – just add the final build! We encourage you to upload your trailer video and a build of your game to itch.io to make it available to a broader audience.

If you want to develop your game further and publish it not only within the scope of this lecture, we are happy to help and answer any remaining questions.