COSC 4324 Game Design and Development Syllabus
Summer 2008
Instructor:
Lawrence J. Osborne
Maes 57
Office hours Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., and by appointment.
Email Address:
TA:
Name: To be Determined
Maes 110,
Office hours TBA
Schedule: 8:00a.m. to 9:40 a.m MTWR in Maes 109
Course Description
COSC 4324-01 Introduction to Computer Game Design and Development. (3) Prerequisite: COSC 2336. Basic concepts and techniques for electronic game design and development. Topics include: game history and genres, game design teams and processes, theory of funativity, level and model design, game scripting and programming including computer graphics and animation, artificial intelligence. Fall.
Prerequisites
COSC 2336 with a C or better
Learning Outcomes of the course
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Understand the basic history and genres of games
- Demonstrate an understanding of the overall game design process
- Explain the design tradeoffs inherent in game design
- Design and implement basic levels, models, and scripts for games
- Describe the mathematics and algorithms needed for game programming
- Design and implement a complete three-dimensional video game
Instructional Method
This course incorporates lectures, readings and seminar-type discussions. Individual course assignments lead students through the basic elements of game design, building a basis for the final course project, a complete 3D video game, to be implemented in teams of 3-4 students.
Assignments
Game Critiques: Teams will critique each other’s game proposals.
Tutorial Presentations: Students will present how to do at least one task on gaming with a relevant tool, or on an important concept in game programming.
Project
One term-long game design project will be given in this course. The project will be broken down into five parts, each around one week in duration. The project will require that you develop a game as part of a team. The assignments will require that you specify a game, design it, build it, and evaluate it. The material that you turn in should be presented professionally, and should stress grammatical correctness and clarity. It will be submitted on paper, with supplementary material on the Web. You will be judged on your originality, innovativeness, quality of writing, and correctness, and also on your teamwork skills. Your team should select roles for each member, but the roles should rotate among the members during the project. A rubric will be used to measure collaboration skills.
Final Exam
The final exam will cover the lecture materials and any assignment readings. You are expected to have a basic grasp of these materials and of all parts of your project. You should be familiar with what went into each component of the project that you did.
Summary of Grading Method
Below is the components and their weights for the assignments that will comprise
your final grade.
AssignmentsWeight
Project part 1-Game Proposal + Design Sketch 10%
Project part 2-Design Specification + Interim Report 14%
Project part 3-Minimum Target Progress Report 17%
Project part 4-Alpha Release 17%
Project part 5-Playtesting and Final Paper 15%
Final Exam 15%
A standard 10-point grading scale will be used for the class (A: 90-100, B: 80-90, …).
Course Policies
University integrity: Students are expected to know and abide by the Department of Computer Science Policy on Student Academic Honesty. Students are expected to submit their own work, and fully cite any sources used.
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. For each absence beyond the third absence, 5 % will be deducted from a student’s overall grade unless documented evidence of a medical or family emergency is presented to the instructor.
Communication: Students are expected to read email and check the course website several times each week.
Late Assignments: Late assignments will NOT be accepted unless documented evidence of a medical or family emergency is presented to the instructor.
Textbook and resources
Title: Introduction to Game Development
Edited by: Steve Rabin
ISBN: 1-58450-377-7
Charles River Media, May 2005
Title: Game Design Workshop, A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative
Games
Author: Tracy Fullerton
ISBN: 978-0-240-80974-8
Elsevier Publishers, 2008
Title: The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design
Authors: Flint Dille and John Zuur Platten
ISBN-13: 978-1-58065-066-3
Lone Eagle Publishing Company, 2007
Title: Programming Game AI by Example
Author: Mat Buckland
ISBN: 1-55622-078-2
Wordware Publishing, Inc., 2005
Readings will be assigned from various sources during the course.
Course website:
Readings and slides will be linked to the course website during the semester.
Software:3D GameStudio,
This software is being made available in the Computer Science Maes 213 lab, and personal copies of the Commercial version of the software may be purchased through Conitec. The website contains several tutorials and samples.
Topics
- History of video games, game genres
- The games industry
- Theory of funativity: what is fun?
- Game design teams and processes
- Level design
- Modeling
- Human-computer interaction (HCI) & interface design
- Computer graphics, collision detection, lighting, and animation
- Game scripting and programming
- Game data structures and algorithms
- Artificial intelligence
- Play testing
Interesting Websites:
Students with Disabilities
Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the Professor during the first week of class regarding accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may cause the requested accommodations to be unavailable. Students needing accommodations must first have them approved through the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, Wimberley Room 101A. The phone number for the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities is 409-880-8026.