The final project for CS248 was to write a 3D video game. To help inspire our students to delve deeply into the wonderful world of graphics, we also held a public competition, with a panel of expert judges selecting the best game.
There were 10 finalists. The winning group won a trip to Siggraph 2003, while second place won a free dinner for two at Il Fornaio in Palo Alto. We also had a "wackiest, most creative" prize consisting of an Xbox, generously donated by Microsoft. All finalists also won video games donated by Electronic Arts and Microsoft.
UPA Frisbee 2004 is the first ever (that we know of) ultimate frisbee
video game. It features 2v2 frisbee with simultaneous control of the
thrower and receiver, and an assortment of modes and features,
including ice mode. UPA Frisbee 2004 was the winner of the 2003 CS248
Video Game competition.
Up to four players can take part in the hotseat turn-based game. Your fleet consists of 2 battle frigates, 2 beam frigates, and an escort carrier carrying 5 squadrons of light fighters. Find your enemies' fleets, and destroy them to win. Your ships have full 3D movement, with independently operatable turrets and weapons systems. The nebula brings its own challenges: Your ships' sensors have limited range, and the thicker the nebula, the less they can see. Line-of-sight is realistically calculated, and ships have varying sensor signatures, and sensor effectiveness ratings. A separate sensor view allows for long-distance viewing of the map, and allows the player to see the current sensor envelope of the selected ship. The control system is similar to Homeworld and most RTS games.
Download:
DeepNebula_release.zip
In Lunamoth, players take control of enormous moths and duke it out above an alien world. Each player is armed with a pulse cannon, but if the player stays in one place for too long, the charges he fires will make a full orbit and hit him in the back. The result is a visually engaging and fast-paced space dogfight. For one or more computers with 1-2 players on each computer. Requires Mac OS X.
Mice and Men is a multiplayer networked game that pits the mouse team against
the human in 3D. You can play either as the mouse team or human.
If you choose the mouse team, you get to play the mice in top-down 3D Real-Time
Strategy mode(a la warcraft III/ C&C Generals). The mouse team gets to
spawn various units including the mouse, rat, ratapult(this guy launches
rats), roborat and hamster artillery. Air units include the flying squirrel
and the killer pigeon.
If you choose the human team, you play in First Person Perspective mode and
go around trying to kill the Voodoo rat(the grand master of the rats). The
human is armed with the axe and can pick up items like the crossbow and flamethrower
for fragging the mice.
Mouse team wins either by killing the human player 6 times OR destroying
the 2 pillars in the current building.
For more information, check out the
Mice and Men
site.
Download:
IronKnights.tar.gz
Iron Knights is a two-player tank game that was developed on the Sweet
Hall Linux systems. The objective is to use your wits and a constant
barrage of shells to defeat the enemy tank by reducing its armor to
zero. You have a certain amount of constantly-replenishing energy to
spend on various perks that can be used to defeat your foe. For
example, energy may be expended to increase cannon firing rate,
increase the speed of your tank, repair damage to your armor, and even
cloak your tank, resulting in near-total transparency, and complete
invisibility on the radar. You may also use an enhanced vision mode
that allows you to see through the terrain and detect cloaked
enemies. However, you must beware, as your nemesis possesses a
similarly-equipped tank. Only through strategic prowess and random
mashing of the keyboard will you prevail. Now, go forth and fight for
freedom!
Download:
gladiators.tar.gz.tar
In this two player fighting game, the goal is simple: enemies battle
to the death in arena combat. Armed with their favorite weapon, each
character has unique moves and special attacks to guide them to
victory. Features advanced graphics and special effects, keyframed
skeletal animation with spline interpolation, and simulated dynamics.
Download:
sdb-release.zip
As mentioned SDB is a classic sports game inspired by the beloved old consol games we played when we were younger. The game is played 3 on 3 on a "platform in space". We have implemented networked multiplayer gaming with up to six players. The server can be run on a separate machine or it can be hosted by any of the players. The game idea is to throw a ball at your opponents. Through passing game among your team mates you can make it even harder for the people you play against. When a ball is thrown at you can either block or catch the ball, or simply run away if you're quick. if you block or catch the ball you receive points which in the end will give you the possibility to make "super throws". When you have knocked out all of the players on the other team you have won the game!
Download:
sdb-release.zip
SnowCraft3D is a real time strategy game fought between teams of snowmen. Win by destroying the enemy base. You can use your base to build new snowmen and research advanced snowball technologies.
Last update by Ian Buck: December 21, 2003
