2D Game Programming Essentials

Course Description     

Students will develop a full 2D platformer/action game with player/enemy logic, power-ups, save/load systems, and polished UI — exported and tested on real devices.

What You’ll Learn?

Week 1: Core Mechanics & Player Control

• Introduction to project architecture (Assets, Scripts, Prefabs)
  
• 2D Character setup with Rigidbody2D and Collider2D
  
• Scripting smooth movement, jump, double jump, and crouch
  
• Handling input via InputManager
  
• Creating and using Animator Controller (walk, idle, jump)

Mini Task:

Design a simple terrain and implement player movement + animations

Week 2: Enemy AI & Game Interactions

• Creating enemy prefabs (basic ground patrol AI)
  
• Raycasting for ground and wall detection
  
• Finite State Machine: Idle → Patrol → Attack
  
• Handling collisions: Player vs Enemy
  
• Creating collectible items with score system
• Sound FX on events (jump, collect, attack)

Mini Project:

Build a level with patrolling enemies, collectibles, and scoring logic.

Week 3: UI, Power-ups & Saving Progress

• UI: Health Bar, Score, Popups using Canvas & TextMeshPro
  
• Game Menus: Start, Pause, Game Over with animation transitions
  
• ScriptableObjects for power-up configs (Speed, Shield, Health Regen)
  
• Buff timers & status display (e.g., “Shield: 5s Left”)
  
• Save and Load game state using PlayerPrefs
  
• Level unlock logic and progress tracking

Mini Project:

Add 2 power-ups, game menus, and implement save/load system.

Week 4: Game Polish, Multi-Level Setup & Build

• Scene transition manager with fade-in/out
  
• Camera shake and visual feedback
  
• Reusing player/enemy prefabs across scenes
  
• Optimizing performance (object pooling, lightweight physics)
  
• Build settings for Android and Windows
  
• Icon, splash screen setup, signing APK
  
• Final testing on mobile devices

 Final Project: “Castle Raid 2D”

• Multi-level game with player combat, power-ups, enemy AI, score system, UI, and saving
  
• Includes gameplay loop, menus, pause/resume, and deployable build

Final Game Showcase & Certification

• Game walkthrough by each student
  
• Peer review, feedback, and improvement suggestions
  
• Certificate of Completion issued
  
• Career Q&A: How to become a game programmer