CS315/515-001 Course Description, Fall 2011
Course Information
- Course Title
- Game Programming
- Section
- CS315/515 Section 001
- Meetings
- Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 8:00A.M. in RB104
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
-
- CS315: CS222
- CS515: CS324
- Instructor
- Paul Gestwicki, Ph.D.
Overview
The course serves as an introduction to game programming, and topics include active and passive rendering, sprite animation, collision detection, audio playback, input devices, deployment, and applications of artificial intelligence.
Because this is a three-credit, you should expect to spend an average of nine hours per week on this course.
Course Objectives
A student should accomplish the following objectives after completing the course:
- Identify, compare, and evaluate different rendering and control models for interactive media programming, including: active rendering vs. passive rendering; event-driven programming; input device processing (keyboard, mouse, gamepad); and architectural patterns for synchronization of interactive elements in multithreaded environments.
- Apply and evaluate mathematical and computational analysis techniques to standard problems in game programming including: collision detection using space partitioning; collision processing using single- and double-dispatch; rule-based and pathfinding artificial intelligence; and thread pooling for realtime audio mixing.
- Apply modern tools of software development to game programming, including integrated development environments, version control systems, and digitial signatures and distribution.
- Develop technical communication and project organizational skills, including written and oral commuication, collaborative system analysis, and time-management.
- Distinguish among qualitative and quantitative aspects of the game design and development process, including identification of critical paths and prioritization of software modules.
Books
There are no required books for this class; we will use no-cost common and individualized online readings.
Attendance and Related Policies
Your learning is commensurate to your participation, and so attendance is expected. There is a low but non-zero chance of graded activities taking place during class, and these cannot be "made up" if they are missed.
You are responsible for learning regardless of attendance. If you miss a class meeting, you should consult with trusted classmates to ensure you have the appropriate notes. I will not repeat myself unnecessarily over email, during office hours, or by appointment. Indeed, if you miss class and then ask me if you "missed anything important," I will take this as a sign that you are inadequately prepared for a university education, which will adversely affect your grade.
Meetings begin at 8:00 A.M. as scheduled, and you are expected to be ready to begin at this time. Late admittance is prohibited.
File Formats
All files must be submitted in open file formats. Good examples include HTML, PDF, OpenDocument, and my personal favorite, plain text.
Exams
Formal examinations are not expected for this class, although the instructor reserves the right to modify the pedagogy to serve the needs of the class. Note that we will have a class meeting during the university-scheduled final exam slot, as required by university regulations. This meeting will be Thursday, December 15, at 7:30A.M..
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated on written documentation, presentations, participation in group discussions, critical peer evaluation, exams, and programming projects. A student's grade in this course will be determined according to the scale provided below. The instructor reserves the right to adjust the weights as deemed appropriate. Grades will be assigned
- Assignments: 25%
- Projects: 75%
You should familiarize yourself with my grading rubric, on which all of my grading is based.
Late work is worth no credit.
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.
All email communication to the instructor should be from a BSU-affiliated address. This policy ensures that senders can be correctly identified and protects your privacy. Email sent from other domains may not be answered.
The instructor may access email through services not affiliated with the University. Please note that such messages 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; attachments are an unnecessary hassle. Alternatively, if the code is in a publicly-readable repository, email the URL.
Telephone
Although the instructor's office telephone number is listed, email and face-to-face communication are strongly preferred.
Academic Integrity
Students and faculty are bound by the Student Academic Ethics Policy of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Intellectual Property
It behooves you to be aware of the university's intellectual property policies for student-created work.
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.
