View source

<big >
'''Comp 600.460: Interactive Graphics and Games''' 
</big >

{{education-course}}

= Teachers =

=== Instructors  ===

* Jonathan Cohen

= Course Background Information =

== Location ==

Johns Hopkins University

== Classification ==

'''Primary classification: Game Programming'''


'''Secondary classification: Graphics and Rendering'''

== Course prerequisites ==

Students in this course should have previously taken COMP 600.457 - Computer Graphics, COMP
600.456 - Rendering Techniques, or the equivalent and have good programming skills. This level of
experience is required to achieve a successful project in the allotted time.

= Course Structure =


== Course description ==

This course will examine real-time rendering of high-quality interactive graphics. Applications such as
video games, simulators, and virtual reality have recently become capable of near cinematic-quality
visuals at real-time rates. We will study the advances in graphics hardware and algorithms that are
making this possible. Over several projects throughout the semester students will work in small teams to
develop a small 3D game engine incorporating some state of the art techniques. Examples of these
techniques (and topics we will cover in class) include non-photorealistic rendering, occlusion culling,
level of detail, terrain rendering, shadow generation, image-based rendering, and physical simulation.

A note of warning: Although the final project is to build a 3D game, this is not exactly a course about
building video games: it is about building a 3D graphics engine such as sits under the hood of modern
games. The course will be highly technical and a lot of work. We will not touch on many vital aspects of
game design: character AI, the production process, artist tools, the network layer (for multiplayer or
online games), interface design, multiplatform support, etc. In other words, don't take the class just
because you like playing video games.

= Course Materials & Facilities Used =

''' Books '''

There is no required textbook for this course, but a number of useful texts are recommended.

[[Real-Time Rendering]] (2nd edition) by Tomas Akenine-Moller and Eric Haines, AK Peters
(2002). This book is a significant update from the (excellent) first edition, and contains a great deal
of additional material. In particular there are new chapters on advanced shading techniques,
shading capabilities of modern hardware, and so on. It is an excellent book that anybody
serious about a career in computer graphics ought to own. One of the best aspects of the
book is the accompanying web site, a vast compendium of graphics resources that the
authors keep very up-to-date.

[[3D Game Engine Design]] by David H. Eberly, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers (2001).
This book makes excellent reading for programmers serious about writing their own game
engine. It is quite mathematical and not for the faint of heart. It comes with a lot of free
software, including some very useful little modules, also available from the accompanying
web page.

[[Level of Detail for 3D Graphics]] by David Luebke, Marvin Reddy, Jonathan Cohen,
Amitabh Varshney, Benjamin Watson, and Robert Heubner, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers
(2002). Line your professor's pockets while learning about level of detail, a crucial tool for real-time
rendering. Errata and links to code, models, and resources at the accompanying web page.

[[Game Programming Gems]] (series editor Mark Deloura).
There are three books in the series. Some of the material from the first two might be a bit
dated, but much of it is still very relevant. Because these are about game design, they
include non-graphics topics (e.g., character AI). Each book is a collection of "gems",
submitted by different game programmers. Some are short useful code snippets, others are
long involved packages or essays on different aspects of game programming.


''' Syllabus '''

This syllabus is available on the world-wide web at:
http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~cohen/IGG2005/syllabus.html

''' Assessment materials '''

The final grade will be calculated as a weighted average:

Individual assignments: 40%

Group project: 35%

Group participation: 20%

Class participation: 5%

Most individual assignments will be performed in the context of the group project by adding a feature to
the game engine. Students will work in small teams on the group project. All team members will
receive the same grade for the group project. This is not negotiable. Team members will also
evaluate each other's performance; the "group participation" aspect of your grade will be largely
informed by these peer evaluations. Class participation means coming to class, participating in
discussion, not falling asleep, and "demo duty".


= Analysis of learning methods =


== 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



[[Category:Courses]]


----
{{cc-ncnd25}}