The learner’s first entry will introduce their project, reasons for their choice and a description of their mentors. In three weeks, learners will report back about their mentor and first few weeks of progress.
Justin C.
In-Depth Introductory blog post
January 27th, 2022
What I will be going over
- What is In-Depth?
- What skill have I chosen to learn
- Why did I choose this skill? Why C# and Java over other Programming Languages?
- What Do I already know?
- Mentor Status
- Process and timeline
- End Goal
- What can others do to help?
What is the In-Depth Project?
The In-Depth project is one of the final and most important projects in the Talons program. It is a 5-month long project for Leadership that lasts from January to May. In the project, we choose a certain skill (one that you haven’t really gone into before and is not regularly available to learn at school) and go in-depth in it, learning and gaining new skills along the way. By the end, you should have learned a certain amount of knowledge or be able to perform your certain skill at a relatively good level. Everyone is tasked with finding a potential mentor and asking for their mentorship. The mentor should be an expert in the field of your skill so that they have the best chance of helping you successfully complete your end goal.
What skill have I chosen to learn?
The skill I chose is programming for video games! I’m quite interested in coding, and I enjoy playing video games. I’ve always been interested in the small intricacies while developing games, and coding seems like a really good skill to have in a world where technology is becoming a major part of our lives. So, In-Depth is the perfect opportunity for me to dive into my interest in coding for game production.
Programming is a skill that comes with numerous benefits. Some of the advantages that come with knowing code are a guaranteed job, getting to create interesting applications, developing problem-solving skills, and sometimes even the opportunity to work from home. We’re living in the era of technology, and technological growth is nowhere near stopping. As the use of technological devices is growing every year, there will always be a high demand for programmers. Although I have never looked into a career that involved programming, however, jobs such as software development, web development, computer system analysis, and others show a good career outlook for the next 10 years. Their estimated growth is from 9% and up to 21% for software development jobs.
Why did I choose this skill? Why choose C# and Java over other Programming Languages? Why use Unity?
I wish to learn C# and/or Java because they are some of the most versatile programming languages. Both are relatively also easy to learn and adapt to and they can help you build a good foundation in programming! Apart from the low difficulty they also have a large community along with great supporting resources online. In addition, C# is a great language to use for game development, especially as it is the language used in the 2D Game Engine Unity. I wish to learn how to use Unity because it has well-established frameworks, algorithms, data structures, and a friendly user interface. What you learn in Unity will work for most projects in almost any engine as well. In addition, Unity is also really versatile, and you can create almost any game you desire (2D, 3D, 2.5D, Virtual Reality, and many more)! Finally, Unity mainly uses the programming language C#, which as I mentioned earlier is a great versatile language that is great for game development too!
What Do I already know?
Starting off In-Depth I don’t know much. I have not done any programming using languages before nor much game design. I have used block coding before in middle school, but that is much simpler, and I was using a different language block code as well. Block coding does teach you why coding works in some ways, but it’s not too complicated.
Mentor Status:
This year I have been successful in finding a mentor quickly. My mentor this year has worked at EA working on and managing many games such as Fifa Mobile. He has a vast knowledge of game design and programming which makes him perfect for mentoring me this year.
Process and Timeline :
Over the next five months, I have a lot I hope to get done, here is a brief overview of my plan.
| Plan: An outline of methods, activities, strategies, people and resources you can use to meet your challenge | Timetable: The specific dates or times when you will accomplish the steps in your plan |
| Do some general research on programming languages, software, applications, and find out what games people have made in a short amount of time with the programs. | (done) |
| Find a Mentor to assist me in completing my goal.
Have the mentor fill out all the paperwork and give me some starting resources to begin coding with C# |
Mentor Found
|
| Start coding in C# with Microsoft Visual Studio and begin learning how programming works. | Early Jan |
| Have my Mentor see how much progress I have made each week by having me do a progress check (like the ones I showed above in “Objectives”).
Continue learning and practicing C# and/or Java. |
Jan 21 – Feb 18 |
| I am proficient in C# and have learned the basics of C#. I am ready to move on to Unity. | Feb 28 |
| Start experimenting with Unity 2D, and practice with the software.
Continue practicing C# in my off time. |
Mar 4 |
| Have my Mentor see how much progress I have made each week by having me do a progress check (like the ones I showed above in “Objectives”).
Continue experimenting and practicing with the Unity 2D software. Continue practicing C# in my off time. |
Mar 11 – Apr 25 |
| I have learned the basics of Unity 2D, and I am ready to move on to making my first game. | April 30 |
| I have finished the game itself, but it still needs to be cleaned up, polished, etc. | May 22 |
| The game has been polished and finished, it is ready to be played by the public. | May 29
|
End Goal
By the end of my In-Depth project, I should have fulfilled these criteria:
- I have gained basic knowledge on programming for C# and/or Java and I understand on a basic level how coding works.
- I have gained basic knowledge of Unity 2D and I have the skill to make a game.
- I have made a simple 2D game of any genre. The game must be polished and fun for players.
- I have gained a basic understanding of what makes a game fun and interesting for players.
Smart Goals
- I will learn the basics of the programming language of C# and/or Java, become familiar with the program, and learn any other specific skills I need within the language for game development by February 28th. I will do this by practicing C# and/or Java each day for at least 15-30 minutes, asking my mentor for guidance/assistance in some areas of C# and/or Java, or researching what I need to learn in myself. A way to measure how far I’ve progressed each week is by having my mentor ask me to code something within a limited amount of time per week, like making a line of code that would make the console say, “Hello World!” in 10 minutes.
- I will learn the basics of Unity 2D (how to make a character, how to build environments/levels, how to apply C# within Unity,) and become familiar with the program by April 30th. I will do this by practicing Unity 2D for at 30 minutes each day, like making an animation, binding keys to action, or making an interactive object. I can also ask my mentor for guidance/assistance in some areas of Unity 2D, or research what I need to learn in Unity 2D myself. A way to measure how far I’ve progressed each week is by having my mentor ask me to make something in Unity 2D within a limited amount of time per week, like making a full 2D character in 30 minutes.
- I will create a simple 2D game such as a platformer (an example of a platformer are the Mario games or Donkey Kong) in Unity by May 29th. I will do this by working on the game for at least 15 minutes to an hour each day. I can also ask my mentor for guidance/assistance while making my game, or research what I need to know by myself to make my game. A way to measure my progress on my game each week is by seeing how much progress I’ve made from the last week and seeing how far I still am from my goal. Maybe getting my mentor to check up on my progress occasionally is a good idea too.
What can Others do to help?
At this time, all I want or really need is support from my family, teacher and mentor.