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First Generation (Game Development)
Sponsored by California State University Los Angeles (CSULA) College of Arts & Letters
Daniel Arroyo, Maximiliano Barragan, Joseph Crisolo, Jung Park, Alisha Shahbazian, Ashley Vo
Advisor: Elaine Kang

PROJECT ABSTRACT

The transition from the high school to the college is a challenging process for many graduating high school students. This is especially true for first generation college students. The California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA) Computer Science department collaborates with College of Arts & Letters to design and develop  the First 6eneration (FG) game to help ease the transition between high school and college. Developing the FG is a multidisciplinary project involving Cal State LA students from a variety of academic backgrounds. Computer science programmers, artists, animators, music composers, and game designers assist in the development process. FG is programmed using the Unity game development software, and deployed on mobile devices which operate under iOS and Android systems.

FG is designed to be a single-player, offline, mobile, role-playing video game (RPG) that allows incoming college students to experience the academic and social lifestyle of the college. As an RPG game, players will learn to manage resources such as money and stamina in order to advance through the game. The user will progress along a dynamic storyline depending on past decisions and experience the consequences and rewards of in-game events. The main gameplay involves navigating a custom detailed 3D college campus through a "tap-to-move" game mechanic. Users play and navigate the map as a 3D player avatar created with unique animations. Interactions with non-playable characters (NPCs) are handled through a 2D multiple choice conversation system which also has an effect on future game events. Important in-game information is displayed on a 2D heads-up-display (HUD) and user interface (UI) where it can be easily accessed by the user.

The project will make FG downloadable on multiple platforms via the iOS App Store and Android Google Play and available to as many students, educators, and education systems as possible. As an educational tool and video game, FG can provide assistance to graduating high school students by simulating their future lifestyle while giving them an engaging, fun, and interactive gaming experience.

 

FIRST GENERATION - PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this project is to develop a mobile game that

1) Enables high school students to imagine their first year in college (=starting point) with all associated challenges and opportunities (=game obstacles).
2) Creates a future utopian college model more inclusive of first generation college students, of a diverse student body, and inspiring for all members of the academic community (=game objective).

This way, the players build the university of their dreams, and hopefully their and our future.

This First Generation project has three components:

1) Designing and prototyping of a mobile role-playing game (RPG) to critically interrogate higher education institutions and to foster cooperation between students, faculty, and the communities for the Cal State LA campus.
2) Engage in public discourse and community engagement through the app (ready for download)
3) Pushing for the idea of creative and social entrepreneurship; the game should intersect with social media links, and be embedded in a non-for-profit business plan.

The game should emphasize on design and aesthetics, as well as on story design and interactivity. The app should allow easy access to the game world, so playing the game doesn’t require special gaming skills, training, or prerequisite knowledge. The game mechanics should challenge the players imaginative and intellectual skills.

The design team may consist of students from the following departments:

Students:

Non-CS Faculty Collaborators:

 

Resources
First Generation Fall 2017 Presentation
Software Design Specification
Software Requirements Specification
Project Poster
Senior Design Expo Presentation Slides
Project Report
[Private Resource] Code Zip File (Unzip and open with Unity3D Software)