Week 2: PC vs. Console Development; Resolutions; Input

Lecture slides are posted in the repository.

Reading quiz next week.

Homework Readings:

1. Gamasutra - Cross-Platform UI Development http://www.gamasutra.com/gdc2004/features/20040326/caminos_01.shtml
2. Designing for Television: http://herrklein.com/2006/09/designing-for-television/
3. Watch the first 3 minutes of this video on cross-platform development: http://software.intel.com/en-us/videos/cross-platform-game-devt-Part2/  
4. Ernest Adams - Fundamentals of Game Design, "Input Devices" p233-238 & 240-241:  Google book exerpt
5. Understanding Comics Realism in UI: http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2010/01/21/realism_in_ui_design/ (This is helpful with your homework activity)

Homework Activity: Icon Design Assignment Part 1
We will be working through a simple design and revision process with a set of icons.

You will create 3 final icons:

• home or main menu
• store or market
• download additional content

1. Choose 2-3 adjectives that will guide your overall icon style. Type these into the adjectives area of the template. (Fun and cartoony? Clean and modern? Gritty and industrial? Sci-fi and futuristic? ...?)
2. For each icon, sketch several ideas. Include two sketch ideas for each icon in the top boxes of the template.
3. For each icon, select one of your ideas and create a clean final icon. 
4. Final icons must be 32px x 32px. I suggest working larger than the final icon size, and reduce down to your final size when you are finished.
5. Download the template from the repository (psd or png). Add your name and adjectives to the top of the template. Arrange your icons into the slots of template.
6. Export your final filled-in template as an image; upload it; and post a link to it in this thread.

Notes: 

• Use your adjectives to help guide your style. You want the set of 3 icons to be cohesive and consistent.
• Sample and template files are available in the repository under Week 2.
• You may hide the the gray boxes of the template if you wish.
• This project is software agnostic: you can use pencil & paper and scan your drawings, or you may use the drawing program of your choice to design the icons. (A psd is provided, or use the png as a background in any graphics program.) Just be sure your final icons are clean and professional.

Additional resources: These links are here to help you with the homework activity.
Skim and see if any of the tutorials might help you. (Do not try to read all 50 icon design tutorials. Seriously, nobody needs all that!)

1. 50 Excellent Icon Design Tutorials - http://sixrevisions.com/graphics-design/50-excellent-icon-design-tutorials/