1. Learning Godot
Why Godot?
Welcome to the exciting world of game development with Godot Engine! If you've ever dreamt of creating your own captivating video games, this comprehensive course is your gateway to turning imagination into interactive reality.
Godot Engine has garnered immense popularity for its user-friendly interface, powerful capabilities, and remarkable flexibility. Whether you're a seasoned programmer or a complete beginner, this course will take you on an immersive journey through the art and science of crafting video games.
By the end of this course, you'll not only possess a solid grasp of Godot's features but also have a portfolio of 2D game projects that showcase your newfound skills.
Part 1: Develop Understanding
You are going to start off learning Godot by making two simple 2D games. Then there is a Quickfire Introduction to some of the art tools you could use. You will do a simple learning reflection at the end of each episode to help consolidate your learning.
Task #1: Make a Platform Game ~ 2 weeks
Follow the tutorials and make the game. You'll have 2 weeks so don't worry too much about customising it just yet. You'll have a chance for that later! When you're done, fill out the tutorial learning reflection doc and hand it in on Classroom.
Complete Beginners Platform Game Series
Make a platform game as you learn the absolute basics of the Godot Game Engine. Aimed at complete beginners, this wide series contains a series of lessons with lots of explanations about how and why we do things so that you can get ready to design and make your own game in Godot.
There are 6 videos in this series.
Task #2: Make a Shooter Game~ 2 weeks
Follow the tutorials and make the game. You'll have 2 weeks so don't worry too much about customising it just yet. You'll have a chance for that later! When you're done, fill out the tutorial learning reflection doc and hand it in on Classroom.
Simple Space Shooter Series
This playlist covers another common game genre- the shooter. This a complete beginner focussed tutorial so it goes pretty slowly. You'll learn how to import assets, spawn objects like lasers and enemies, detect collisions, use signals and display the score with some basic UI.
There are 6 videos in this series.
Task #3: Pixel Art~ 2 weeks
Follow the tutorials and make some game assets using Piskel. Art is easy, good art is really hard. Get some practice and learn how to do it right. When you're done, fill out the colour tutorial learning reflection doc and piskel tutorial learning reflection doc. Turn them in on Classroom.
Color Theory for Noobs | Beginner Guide
Setting up a Pallet
One of the most important decisions to make is the colours you will use in your game.
Excellent resources for finding colour pallets is https://lospec.com/palette-list and https://coolors.co.
How to Create Pixel Art and Animations with Piskel Tutorial 1 - What is Piskel?
Making Art in Piskel
You are ready to now learn the Basics of Piskel, a completely free online platform. . Follow this tutorial series through to learn the basics. This playlist covers how to create pixel art and animations with Piskel. You'll learn what is piskel, some getting started tips, shading potion art, how to use layers, some basic animation, the very important saving and exporting files, drawing lines, curves and circles.
There are 9 very short videos in this series.
Create your own Game Assets
Time to practice making some art of your own. Try making one of each of the following categories of game assets. Some ideas are given for you in the Making Game Asset slides but you can imagine your own.
Try making your pixel art in different sizes, typical sizes are 8, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64px. If you make a background use instead 480x270px. You can change the size of your canvas by clicking the Resize button on the right hand side of the editor.
Apply and Extend~ 2 weeks
Chose one of your game projects that you have made already ➡️ now is your opportunity to juice it up! Below are some suggestions for things to add and some links to get you started. Take your pick and spend 2 weeks customizing one of your games. How much have you understood?
2D Platformer Extras
Path Following Enemies 2D Path
Parralax Backgrounds
Double Jump
Dash
Extras Godot Resources
Kids Can Code Recipes
Kids can code is an awesome website that has a long list of "recipes" which are stand alone parts which can be incorporate into a variety of games.
Audio Manager - useful for adding sound effects for your mob/coin/etc.
Extra Art Resources
How To Pixel Art - Beginner To PRO Tutorial
Reece Geofroy
What Canvas Size Should you use for Pixel Art? (Pixel Art Tutorial)
Pixel Overload
Assessment
Learning Showcase
Complete the "Game Showcase" document on Google Classroom and turn it in to your teacher for checking.
In this doc you'll showcase your best game from your learning over the last few weeks.
You'll be uploading it to itch.io too! More information in the video or document below.
Next: Design
Now is when you should design your game - Term 4 ~ 5 weeks.