CSCE 4210 Fall 2005

CSCE 4210 Fall 2005 CSCE 4210
Game Programming

CSCE 4210, Game Programming, is offered by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of North Texas in Fall 2005.

When:	Tuesday, 6:00-8:50pm
Where:	Art 219
Instructor:	Ian Parberry
Contact Information:	http://www.eng.unt.edu/~ian/contact.html
Office:	NTRP F209
Office Hours:	Mondays and Wednesdays 3:30-5:00
URL:	http://www.eng.unt.edu/~ian/classes/fall05/CSCE4210/

Final Presentations

Please sign up now for a time to present your game to the instructor during finals week to receive a grade for this class. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Prerequisites

The official prerequisite for this class is CSCI 3400, Data Structures. It is essential that you are a competent C++ programmer before entering this class. We won't be using the advances features of C++; derived classes will be about as deep as it gets. But we will be examining a lot of code in a short amount of time. If you are confused by recursion, pointers, arrays of pointers, or dynamic memory allocation, then you may fall behind quickly. Some knowledge of the following subjects may also be of assistance: assembly-level programming, computer architecture, real-time event-driven programming, algorithm design and implementation, artificial intelligence, network programming, graphics, WIN32 API programming, and DirectX programming. But don't let this scare you away. I'll teach you enough of these subjects to get started.

DirectX

We will be using the DirectX Developer's Kit from Microsoft to develop 32-bit fullscreen billboard games for Windows.

Textbook

We will be using DirectX 9.0 3D billboard code for a simple game called Ned's Turkey Farm. This code will be available to you in the LARC lab. See also this document about supplementary texts.

Supplementary Links

I have No Words But I Must Design by Greg Costikyan
How to Debug Graphics Programs by Ian Parberry.
Laws of Game Programming, by Ian Parberry.
Using DirectX by Ian Parberry.
Developer Resources
More Books

Laboratory

The lab for this course is the LARC lab, NTRP F206. You are free to develop code in this lab if you wish. You may also choose to develop code somewhere else, but remember, your final projects must either run on one of the computers in the lab, or you are responsible for bringing and setting up (in advance) a computer on which to run your code during grading.

The Lab Managers will be Jeremy Nunn and Erik Carson. Lab hours:

Mon 12 - 5
Tues 12 - 5
Weds 12 - 5
Thurs 12 - 5

Course Contents

This course covers the basic elements of 3D billboard games. This course is designed to give you a strong introduction to the basics of game programming: graphics, sound, and input. The successor course to this one, offered in Spring Semesters, will teach advanced 3D and network game programming techniques.

Grading

Grades will be primarily based on a project. You will write a complete, playable game demo in groups. A typical group will consist of two or three programmers from this class, plus a student from the Game Design and Art class taught concurrently in the School of Visual Arts. You will be graded on the code, and the art students will be graded on the artwork. Unlike other CSCE courses, you will be graded on how well the executable runs, not on the source code. The instructor will use the following Evaluation Form to evaluate your game, so be prepared.

Game Contest

A panel of game professionals will award prizes to the best games. Participation is optional. Read the details here.

Important Dates

Date	Event
Week 1 (Aug. 30):	Artist and Programmer get together in class to form groups.
Week 2 (Sept. 6):	Artist and programmer group finalization.
Week 3 (Sept. 13):	Programmers turn in preliminary asset list. Artists turn in storyboards.
Week 4 (Sept. 20):	Programmers and artists turn in detailed asset list including file names, description, and dimensions.
Week 5 (Sept. 27):	Artists turn in plugs to programmers.
Week 10 (Nov. 1):	Artists turn in final artwork to programmers.
Week 12 (Nov. 15):	Progress test: test your game in class. Bring your game on CD.
Week 13 (Nov. 22):	Artists turn in any last-minute updates of final art to programmers.
Week 15 (Dec. 6):	Game contest! A panel of game professionals will award prizes to the best games. Read about last year's contest here.
Exam Week (Dec. 14, 15):	Programmer interviews. Each programmer group will get 30 minutes to show their game and answer instructor questions. A schedule will be drawn up towards the end of the semester.

Guest Speakers From Industry

Fletcher Dunn and a team from Terminal Reality.
Melanie Cambron, the Game Recruiting Goddess from Game Recruiter. Melanie will tell us about the current state of hiring in the game industry, and give us tips and tricks for that all-important job application and job interview.

What Kind of Game Am I Expected to Write?

What's expected of you? You can see some past games from this class to find out what the students from past classes submitted.

Cheating Policy

The Department of Computer Sciences cheating policy will be adhered to. Any student caught cheating will receive a grade of F for this course, and further disciplinary action will be taken. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, all forms of plagiarism and misrepresentation. See the UNT Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities web page for more information.

Americans With Disabilities Act

The Computer Science Department cooperates with the Office of Disability Accommodation to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students (cf. Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act) with disabilities. If you have not registered with ODA, we encourage you to do so. If you have a disability for which you require accommodation please discuss your needs with me after class or submit your written Accommodation Request on or before the fourth class day.

Created by Ian Parberry, August 23, 2005. Last updated November 29, 2005