International Game Developers Association

Introduction to Computer Game Design Honors

Games Education
Course

Contents 1 Teachers 1.1 Instructors 2 Course Background Information 2.1 Location 2.2 Classification 2.3 Course prerequisites 2.4 Time periods 2.5 Course description 2.6 Course learning objectives 2.7 Week by week topics 3 Course Materials & Facilities Used 3.1 What worked 3.2 What didn't work

Teachers

Instructors

• Christian Miller

Course Background Information

Location

Summer at Case Equinox Program 2006 Summer Olin 409

A joint program between Case Western Reserve University and Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development.

Classification

See: Areas for classifing for your course.

Primary classification: Game Production Secondary classification: Game Programming

Course prerequisites

This course will be demanding and fast-paced, and it is important that the students meet certain prerequesites. First, each student must have a comfortable working knowledge of at least one major programming language (C/C++, Java, Python, etc.). Second, each student must be comfortable with algebra, as the class will involve some difficult math. Third, each student must have an honest desire to make games, and preferably an entire childhood playing them.

Time periods

This is a three-week summer course, meeting 5 days a week.

Course description

This course will give students a rigorous introduction to the creation of video games, with specific focus on the programming tasks involved. Students will learn the basics of physics simulation, graphics, artificial intelligence, audio, 2D art, computer networking, and software engineering, as well as apply their knowledge of these topics in several projects. The students will work in teams to construct and present a large final project at the end of the session. The class will be taught in the new Virtual Worlds Gaming and Simulation Laboratory, using Alienware computers.

Course learning objectives

• To learn how to critically analyze games and their design.
• To understand most of what goes on under the hood of an average Game Boy game.
• To learn how to make basic games, and implement a few along the way

Week by week topics

6/26 - Monday Welcome, introduction to VW Lab, introduction to Processing

6/27 - Tuesday Critical game studies, game design

6/28 - Wednesday Math primer, introduction to game architecture

6/29 - Thursday 2D Physics

6/30 - Friday 2D Graphics, part 1 --- Weekend: Project 1

7/3 - Monday Artificial intelligence

7/4 - Tuesday Software engineering

7/5 - Wednesday 2D Art

7/6 - Thursday Sound and music

7/7 - Friday 2D Graphics, part 2 --- Weekend: Project 2

7/10 - Monday Computer networking

7/11 - Tuesday Work on final project

7/12 - Wednesday Work on final project

7/13 - Thursday Work on final project

7/14 - Friday Present final project

Course Materials & Facilities Used

Here you can link to and/or describe books and other materials you used for this course. Feel free to create new pages for each item here if a page for it does not yet exist.

Books

• Introduction to Game Programming by Steve Rabin, published by Charles River Media

Assessment materials

10% Class participation

20% Homework

10% Quizzes

15% Project 1

15% Project 2

30% Final Project

What worked

Please discuss what techniques worked well

What didn't work

Please discuss what techniques didn’t work as well as you had hoped

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