Game Projects

This course introduces the workflows, methodologies, and best practices for working within a modern digital game development environment. Topics may include game editors, components, basic scripting, input processing, importing art and audio, level creation, and source control.

This course focuses on building a digital 2D game engine with a team and then finishing a project with that engine. Topics include software development cycles, technical design, technical problem-solving, and team problem-solving.

This course is the first semester of a two-semester team project. This course focuses on understanding and practicing the processes of the pre-production phase of creating a 2D game project within a custom engine made by the team. Topics explored include techniques for working effectively on a team, following a production process, implementing software engineering best practices, and applying programming skills and knowledge to product development.

This course focuses on understanding and practicing the processes of designing and prototyping game projects as part of a team. Topics explored include techniques for working effectively on a team, following a production process, implementing design best practices, and applying game design skills and knowledge to product development in a collaborative environment.

This course is the second semester of a two-semester team project. This course focuses on understanding and practicing the processes of the production phase of creating a 2D game project. Topics explored include techniques for working effectively on a team, following a production process, implementing discipline-based best practices, and applying discipline-based core skills and knowledge to product development.

This course focuses on understanding and practicing the processes of designing and completing game projects as part of a team. Topics explored include techniques for working effectively on a team, following a production process, implementing design best practices, and applying game design skills and knowledge to product development in a collaborative environment.

This course is the first semester of a two- or three-semester project, which will be continued in GAM 350, and then in GAM 375 for a three-semester project. Students will work together on teams to create a real-time game or simulation. Techniques are explored for creating high-performance teams, tuning development processes for specific projects, using advanced discipline-based best practices, and applying specialized skills to game development. This course focuses on pre-production to ensure the technology, tools, design, art, audio, and team are ready for full production.

In this course, students work to complete the projects they began in GAM 300. This second semester focuses on production to bring the project to the point where the target audience finds it engaging. Furthermore, techniques are explored for creating effective resumes, interviewing, and pursuing internships. The project may be continued for a third semester in GAM 375.

This course is the final semester of the three-semester project begun in GAM 300 and continued in GAM 350. Techniques are explored for polishing design, art, and audio, creating effective marketing materials, and highlighting individual contributions to the project. This semester focuses on post-production and shipping a highly polished final project.

An internship is any carefully monitored work or service experience in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what she or he is learning throughout the experience. It is usually a professional activity under general supervision of an experienced professional and in a job situation, which places a high degree of responsibility on the student.

In this course, students prepare their personal portfolio of projects in order to be ready for a professional job search. n This can involve a new project to demonstrate a particular professional skill, or taking a previous project to very high level of quality.

In this course, students prepare their personal portfolio of projects in order to be ready for a professional job search. This can involve a new project to demonstrate a particular professional skill, or working to complete a project they began in GAM 400.

An internship is any carefully monitored work or service experience in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what she or he is learning throughout the experience. It is usually a professional activity under general supervision of an experienced professional and in a job situation, which places a high degree of responsibility on the student.

This project focuses on the creation of a real-time game or simulation. Students work together on teams of three to five members and implement technical features, such as audio effects, music playback, pattern movement, simple artificial intelligence, multiplayer, particle systems, scrolling, and simple physics. All projects must be written with a core of C++ code and cannot use middleware such as pre-existing physics engines, networking engines, etc. Additional topics may include an overview of the game industry, effective team communication, planning, documentation, debugging, testing, and iterative software development techniques.

This project is divided into two semesters and focuses on the creation of an advanced real-time game or simulation using the latest techniques in graphics, real-time physics, artificial intelligence, and networking. Students may use current software and hardware technologies with instructor approval, such as web technologies, gaming consoles, mobile devices, commercial physics engines, hands-free input devices, etc. Students work independently or in teams, as appropriate to the scope of their project. Additional topics may include team dynamics, formal playtesting, game pacing, and game balance.

In this class, students work to complete the projects they began in GAM 550. Additional topics may include working in the industry, interviewing, resumes, professional networking, and career strategies.