Week 7 -- 3D Arc: Polish, Levels & Publishing Prep
Date: May 29, 2026 Arc: 3D Game (Week 3 of 3)
Featured Game: Rampage 2: Universal Tour (1999, Midway)
Brian produced this at Midway. Show a clip.
- What to notice: simple core mechanic (smash buildings), but layered with level variety, power-ups, humor, and progression.
- "The core loop of Rampage is 'punch a building.' That's it. But we shipped a whole game because of everything we built around that loop."
Play-Test Spotlight
Selected student demos their 3D game with interactions and enemies.
Learn
Multiple Scenes in 3D
- Level transitions: loading new environments
- Scene variables vs. global variables (what persists between scenes?)
- Loading screens and transitions
Title Screens & Menus
Every shipped game needs:
- Title screen -- game name, "Press Start" or "Play" button
- Game over screen -- score, "Try Again" button
- Win screen -- celebration, final score, "Play Again"
Sound Design for 3D
| Type | 3D Consideration |
|---|---|
| Spatial audio | Sounds get louder as you approach the source |
| Ambient tracks | Different areas have different ambient loops |
| UI sounds | Menu clicks, score dings -- not spatial |
| Music | Crossfade between areas for smooth transitions |
Publishing Pipeline
| Target | How | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Grass Valley Arcade | GDevelop web export, hosted on our site | Free |
| Shareable link | GDevelop's one-click web export | Free |
| Desktop (Steam) | GDevelop desktop export | $100/title on Steam |
What It Means to "Ship"
- It doesn't have to be perfect; it has to be done.
- Ship what you have, not what you wish you had.
- A shipped game teaches you 10x more than an unfinished one.
Key Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Scene transition | Moving from one level/screen to another |
| Global variable | A variable that persists across all scenes |
| Scene variable | A variable that resets when a new scene loads |
| Web export | Packaging a game as HTML/JS to play in a browser |
| Desktop export | Packaging a game as a downloadable .exe or .app |
Build
- Add a second area/level with a new element or twist.
- Wire up scene transitions between areas.
- Add a title screen and win/lose state.
- Sound pass: at least 2 sound effects + background audio.
- Polish pass: consistent textures, balanced difficulty, bug fixes.
- Begin export: test web export. Preview your game in a browser.
Play & Feedback
Full playthroughs: title to area 1 to area 2 to end state. Feedback: "Is this ready to show your parents next week?"
Publishing Prep
- Export web builds for the Grass Valley Arcade.
- Write a 2-sentence description of your game.
- Take a screenshot for the arcade page.
Resources & Further Reading
- GDevelop Scene Management
- GDevelop Web Export Guide
- GDevelop Desktop Export Guide
- Freesound.org -- Free Sound Effects
- Free Music Archive
Stretch Goals
- Difficulty progression between levels.
- Animated transitions between scenes.
- Optional: start desktop export for potential Steam publishing.