5. Visual Design

Activities

Introduction (20 mins)

1. Tell teams they will today begin creating the visual elements of their game, called ‘game assets’.
   Teacher tip: Creating a 2D game requires similar problem solving to a 3D game, but it is easier in 2D games to find and solve problems when things go wrong if students are inexperienced.
2. Tell teams they will first have to think about 2 types of assets: character or object sprites, and scenes (the environments in which your game play occurs).
   

   Teacher tip: A ‘sprite’ refers to a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene or game environment. Sprites are often used to represent characters, objects, or special effects within a game.

3. Tell each team to use the GDD as a reference when thinking about their game’s characters/objects and scenes. These notes will indicate what they need to create.
4. Explain to teams that they will follow a known design-thinking routine, Tim Brown’s 3 phases of design thinking, to create the visual design of their game assets: 1. inspiration, 2. ideation and 3. implementation.

Phase 1 – Inspiration

1. Show the class some common art styles for video games. This could be done on-screen or as handouts.
   Teacher tip: This Dream Farm Studios guide to common game art styles could be useful for planning this part of the lesson.
2. Ask the class to watch 3 different examples of some video games. For example:
   • Godot Engine: Brotato, Until Then, or Hive Time
   • Game Maker Studio 2: Coastal Goo, Cattails or Pogo Rogue
   • GDevelop: Ball Challenge 2, Fungi Run or Stranded on a Raft
3. Ask students to assign each example an art style, either on a sheet of paper or conduct the activity as a ‘live’ poll using something like Mentimeter.
4. Ask teams to write down one main visual element from the 3 example games that they might like to use in their own game design.

Phase 2 – Brainstorming

1. Tell teams to get a new sheet of paper for this activity and the storyboards they created for their game in lesson 3.
2. Ask teams to talk about ideas for the visual design of each of their game assets. Ideas can be articulated with drawings or text.
3. Ask the students to consider these core questions:
   • Do they want their game to be 2D or 3D?
   • Is there an art style or styles they would like to use? This could guide their general approach in making decisions about their game assets.
   • What colour palette would they like to use for their characters/important elements and backdrops?
     

     Teacher tip: It may be useful to give teams access to an online colour palette resource (like Color Hunt) in making some of their design decisions.

4. Remind teams that this brainstorming session doesn’t have to result in completed designs, but they need to generate some ideas that will guide them in the implementation phase.

Main Activity (30 mins)

Phase 3 – Implementation

1. Tell teams they will now take their design brainstorms to their devices and begin to build some game assets. This will involve making visual design decisions for any game character/important element or scene they choose to start developing.
2. Tell teams that once some visual assets have been created, they need to place images of these assets into the GDD. Teams can simply cut and paste their images into the Character / Important elements slide of the GDD.
   

   Teacher tip: The Snipping Tool is an easy way to copy and paste images into the GDD when using a computer. A screenshot is easiest on a tablet.

Level up! For students who are ready for a challenge: Texturing and 3D modelling

1. Explain to the teams that ‘texturing’ in 2D games and ‘3D modelling’ in 3D games add further detail to the visual elements of their games.
   • Texturing: adding images to the surfaces of objects within your game, to make them look like a specific material, e.g. wood, metal, rock.
   • 3D modelling: drawing or shaping individual objects to be used in a 3D scene, allowing for the creation of detailed and lifelike characters.
2. Ask the class to research 2D texturing and 3D modelling to further inform their game asset design.
3. If confident/experienced, teams may like to begin incorporating these elements into their game assets.

Reflection/Sharing Tasks (10 mins)

1. Ask teams to leave their game assets open on their device.
2. Ask teams to complete a ‘gallery walk’ and admire their classmates’ visual designs.
3. Discuss, as a class, any visual designs that are particularly effective.

Additional resources

• Game art style resources:

https://kevurugames.com/blog/choosing-an-art-style-for-your-video-game/

https://3d-ace.com/blog/2d-game-art-styles-the-ultimate-guide/

https://rocketbrush.com/blog/exploring-3d-art-styles-for-games-a-guide-to-the-most-popular-types

• Level-up texturing and 3D modelling resources:

https://aaagameartstudio.com/blog/texturing-for-video-games/

https://kevurugames.com/blog/3d-modeling-for-video-games/

https://rocketbrush.com/blog/texturing-3d-models-in-game-art-core-principles