Unity Certified Expert Game Play Programmer

Teacher

THE ROLE:

Gameplay Programming professionals focus on the execution of the game design. Gameplay Programmers bring the game to life by adding scripts to assets created by the art team. They are responsible for implementing the user interface (UI), environment, characters, and objects, as well as optimization and scripting necessary to execute the game mechanics. They also bring functionality to the non-player characters (NPCs) that populate the game. Gameplay Programmers work side by side with designers (or they might be designers themselves) and reference the Game Design Document (GDD) to make the game a reality. These people are highly technical, and they understand what is required to bring ideas to life. This includes knowing when and how to use Unity components, writing their own components, configuring Prefabs, and properly organizing each scene. They do all of this with the Technical Design Document (TDD) in mind.

CERTIFICATION

The Expert Gameplay Programmer certification verifies that candidates have the skills necessary to effectively assemble and optimize a game. Successful candidates will have advanced proficiency in the following areas. Prototyping (Core Gameplay for Rapid Iteration)

Core gameplay prototyping
Conflicts and solutions during prototype stage Level Design Programming
Physics configurations
Raycasting
Script-spawned prefabs during runtime
Level logic and behaviors
Population of levels with Particle Systems and effects
Platform optimizations
Scene loading and unloading
Methods to display cinematics NPC Design Programming
NPC logic and behavior
Navigation and pathfinding
NPC spawning and placement User Interface Implementation
UI coordinate systems and UI scripting Performance Optimization and Target Platforms
Rendering optimization
Asset Bundle downloading and configuration
Gameplay debugging
Platform differences and impact on gameplay Unity Services Implementation
Unity Ads
Unity In-App Purchasing
Unity Analytics
Unity Cloud Build

CORE SKILL:

Prototyping
Create and evaluate prototypes of core gameplay for rapid iteration
Design and implement GameObjects to prove game mechanics’ functionality
Create a library of Prefabs based on the GDD, using assets generated by the art team
Organize and set up the folder structure for a Prefab library Level Design
Design and create interactive-level prefabs using colliders and Rigidbody components
Set the appropriate layer for physics masking on interactive prefabs
Set up runtime-spawned Prefabs, and implement dynamic gameplay
Set up and implement event triggers and scripted events using Colliders as triggers
Create and script custom logic components for GameObjects to link state machines to interactions/triggers in scene
Place and configure effects throughout the scene, including both static and runtime-generated placements
Configure levels of detail (LOD) per platform specifications
Evaluate GameObject placement and dependencies per platform specification
Evaluate scene for streaming versus static scene-loading
Construct game levels with multiple scenes
Set up cinematics to enhance gameplay Non-Player Character (NPC) Design
Design and create NPC logic and artificial intelligence (AI) scripts
Implement navigation and pathfinding for NPCs using NavMeshes, NavMeshAgents, NavMesh obstacles, and Off-Mesh links
Set up NavMesh area types and costs
Set up triggers to enable/disable NavMesh areas
Implement NavMeshAgent avoidance and crowd simulation
Evaluate NPC placement and dependencies per platform specification
Set up frame-based audio and effects in animation clips User Interface and Game Mechanic Design
Use the Animation System for animator controllers, state machines and logic scripts for game mechanics
Evaluate and optimize colliders, Rigidbody components and physics materials for interactive GameObjects
Implement gameplay-related user interfaces, such as heads-up displays, mini-maps, radar systems, health bars, and other data-driven elements Performance Optimizations and Target Platforms
Implement AssetBundle download and placement in game levels
Design and modify input and controller schemas for different platforms and/or virtual reality (VR)
Analyze GameObjects and scenes for runtime and storage optimization per platform specification
Optimize occlusion culling throughout scenes
Debug and test game levels during runtime Unity Services Implementation: Ads, In-App Purchases, and Analytics
Implement simple and rewarded Unity Ads
Implement Unity In-App Purchasing (IAP)
Design Unity Analytics integration in the GDD and TDD
Set up monitoring of custom data events using Analytics to monitor player behavior
Analyze and evaluate existing levels and recommend changes based on Analytics data
Use Unity Performance Reporting to modify and optimize game builds per platform