Prerequisite: C243 Data Structures or equivalent. C481 or equivalent recommended.

Reference Books:

• D. Vrajitoru (2013): The 2D Games Journey, Creative Space. Kindle edition Print edition.
• A. Godbold, S. Jackson (2016): Mastering Unity 2D Game Development. 2nd Edition, Packt Publishing, or any recent Unity book.
• K. Salen, E. Zimmerman (2003): Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, MIT Press.
• E. Angel (2008): Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top-Down Approach Using OpenGL, 5th edition, Addison Wesley, or any recent computer graphics reference book.

Grading system:

• About 10 homework assignments     20 points each
• Midterm essay     30 points
• Project or Final     50 points
• Class participation items     up to 30 points
• Achievements     up to 12 extra credit points

Note. Getting a grade based on a project requires at least 80% attendance by the end of the previous to last week of class. Otherwise the grade will be based on a final exam.

Guidelines for assignments:

• The assignments, slides, and quizes will be posted to Canvas.
• The assignments are due at midnight of the due date.
• All assignments must be submitted to Canvas.
• No homework accepted after 1 week from the due date. A late homework loses 10% of the points per day, up to 50% of the points.
• Reasonable expectations concerning the program structure and clarity: functions should be commented and should not contain more than 20 lines of code. Multiple source files are expected when appropriate.
• All the assignments are individual. Consulting with colleagues is acceptable, but programs that are too similar can be penalized or rejected. No credit will be given for programs obtained from external sources unless explicitly allowed. Do not share significant parts of the assignments with classmates. Please consult my extended plagiarism policy in the general campus syllabus.

Programming environment:

• OS: MacOS, Windows, WebGL, Android, iOS, Linux.
• Labs: NS #164, NS#207, and NS#209. Access with student ID card.
• Languages: C# 3.0.
• API/Engine: Unity.

Syllabus

1. Introduction

a. Motivation, types of games
b. History of computer games

2. Graphical libraries and models.

a. Introduction to Unity and C# b. Introduction to ActionScript and Flash
c. Introcudtion to Objective C
d. Review/Introduction to OpenGL
e. Object-oriented programming in games
f. Event-based programming
g. Real-time graphical programming
h. Sound management

3. Game development cycle

a. Basic idea and game rules
b. Storyline
c. Interface, game controls, play mode

4. Game engines

a. Definition and role of a game engine.
b. Building the game skeleton.
c. Building a game from an existing engine.
d. Popular game APIs for various platforms.

5. Motion generation, collision detection, and animation techniques.
6. Elements of artificial intelligence in games.
7. Autonomous characters and behavior.
8. Multi-player and persistent state games, networking aspects.
9. Social aspects of game design and playing.

More Documentation

M. Morrison (2004): Beginning Game Programming, Sams.

A. Kirmse (2004): Game Programming Gems 4, Charles River Media.

M. Collins (2001): Linux game programming, Prima Tech.

J. R. Hall, Loki Software (2001): Programming Linux Games, Loki Software Inc., No Starch.

J. D. Funge (2004): AI for Games and Animation, A. K. Peters, Natick, Massachusetts.

J. H. Conway (2000): On Numbers and Games, 2^nd edition, A. K. Peters, Wellesley, Massachusetts.

G. Maestri (1999): Digital Character Animation 2, New Riders.