Units / DGN2521
DGN2521 · Creative prototyping: Designing with game engines
2026 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 2Department of Design
Last checked: 23 Aug 2026 UTCOverview
This unit introduces you to using a modern game engine such as Unity as a creative platform for designing 2D interactive experiences. Aimed at beginners, it will build your technical fluency and foundational C# scripting while encouraging creative experimentation beyond static design outcomes. You will learn how to create interactive prototypes and visual compositions, using assets, animation, physics, and code to bring digital environments to life. You will learn to treat game engines as a creative medium that is ideal for testing new ideas, expanding visual expression, and bridging the gap between design and real-time interactive systems. By the end of the unit, you will have developed original interactive works that integrate design principles with computational tools, gaining skills applicable across creative industries, digital prototyping, and installation-based media.
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Caulfield | First semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
| Caulfield | Second semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exercise 1 | Exercise | 10% | — |
| 2 | Project 1 | Project | 30% | — |
| 3 | Project 2 | Project | 60% | — |
100% in-semester assessment
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
prohibitions
- CDS2521 — Creative coding
corequisite
- OHS1000 — Introduction to art and design health and safety
Learning outcomes
- Demonstrate foundational skills in using a game engine interface, 2D tools, and asset workflows to design interactive compositions;
- Apply basic C# scripting to control objects, behaviours, animations, and user input in game engine environments;
- Integrate visual design elements - such as typography, layout, motion, and colour - into responsive, interactive prototypes;
- Use a game engine to experiment with form, space, and interactivity as part of a creative design process;
- Produce and present a functional, visually-driven interactive project that reflects an individual creative approach using a game engine.
Workload
12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Studio activities | 36 hours |
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