IMM 370 01, IMM 370 03, CSC 470 03: Game Design and Development

Area Instructors:

Art/Writing: Christopher Ault (ault at tcnj.edu)
Sound/Music: Teresa Nakra (nakra at tcnj.edu)
Engine/AI: Ursula Wolz (wolz at tcnj.edu)

Office hours posted by individuals above.

Course Summary: a multi-disciplinary experience in computer game design and development.

Course goal: (1) to develop at least two levels or scenes of a complete FPS 3-D video game, (2) to develop individual student expertise in areas of gaming, (3) to develop insight into the game development process through reflective essays and group discussion.

Required text: "Game Architecture and Design, " Andrew Rolling and Dave Morris, New Riders Press, 2004, ISBN 0-7357-1363-4

Session structure:

The course meets Wednesday mornings from 8:30 - 12:30. We will use the first 1/2 hour for getting organized, last minute meetings. Approximately 1 hour will be used for "seminar", 1 hour for formal tutorials/presentation, 1 hour for area breakout. The last 1/2 hour will be used to review the week's assignment, submit individual task assignments and arrange outside meetings.

Grading:

If your primary concern is a good grade then this is not the course for you. The experience will consist of learning how to communicate and work with others on a large, technical collaborative project. To that end you will also refine established technical skills as well as develop new ones. Your grade will be based on the following:

  1. Completion of negotiated job deliverables.
  2. Final "take home" reflective essay. (Please note that if you are diligent with regard to your weekly journal writing your final report will only require minor editing).
  3. Collaborative contribution. We have not yet figured out how to quantify this but it will entail how you interact within the task network and how you participate in class as a (a) presenter, (b) critic, (c) topic organizer, (d) researcher.

Some time during the semester you will be asked to contribute to the discussion of what the actual grade breakdown will be and whether there will be a single structure or a more individualized approach. So keep thinking about this.