CS315 Syllabus, Fall 2008

Course Information

Course Title
Introduction to Game Programming
Section
CS315 Section 001
Meetings
MWF at 11A.M. in RB104 or RB460 (watch the course web site for locations)
Credits
3
Prerequisites
CS232
Instructors and Contact Information

Overview

Participants will investigate the engineering, algorithmic, and design aspects of computer game programming. Specific topics include:

This course is part of an interdisciplinary education experience. A non-CS course on game design will be offered concurrently through the Honors College. Interdisciplinary teams will be formed across the two courses, and you will work together to develop a computer game in the classic arcade style. Participants will gain valuable teamwork experience while producing a significant software product that can be published through the Web.

Course Website

This course is managed using Moodle, and our site is hosted at http://www.cs.bsu.edu/moodle.

Grading

A student's grade in this course will be determined according to the scale provided below. The instructors reserve the right to adjust the weights as deemed appropriate.

Students should keep copies of all graded materials until the end of the semester. If a student suspects that a grading error has occured, the instructor must be notified within one week of returning the graded submission.

Late work is worth no credit.

The instructor's grading rubric is available online at http://www.cs.bsu.edu/~pvg/misc/grading.html.

Communication

Office Hours and Appointments

Students who come to office hours are helped on a first-come, first-served basis; no appointment or prior contact is required. If a student wishes to make an appointment to meet outside of office hours, he or she should email the instructor the request along with several possible meeting times. Appointments can generally be made within two working days of the request.

Email

Once the interdisciplinary teams are formed and projects are chosen, each group will be assigned one of the instructors as a primary contact person. Until then, please direct questions to Dr. Gestwicki.

All email communication to the instructor should be from a bsu.edu address. This policy ensures that senders can be correctly identified. Email sent from other domains may not be answered.

The instructors may access email through services not affiliated with the University. Please note that such emails necessarily pass through the campus firewall in an unencrypted format, and they may be stored on servers not owned or managed by Ball State University. It is therefore advisable to restrict confidential information to office hours or appointments.

If you are emailing regarding questions in a computer program, it is recommended that you send a copy of the code in question in your email. The preferred method is to copy the code into the body of your message, using plain text and following standard formatting conventions.

Telephone

Although instructors' office telephone numbers may be provided for reference, email communication is the most reliable way to contact the instructors.

Academic Integrity

Students and faculty are bound by the Student Academic Ethics Policy of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Notice for Students with Disabilities

If you need adaptations or accomodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with the instructor, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment as soon as possible.