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Welcome to 2009's ...

COSC360 - Computer Game Design

The pages are still in need of updating!
But ... you might like to know that the course will be beginning on January 5th (a Tuesday, since Monday is a holiday).
The course will be given by George Sealy, who you might not have seen around -- but he will introduce himself, and the course, in the first lecture ... and give you the first assignment which is due four days later!! The lectures are in room 206 (top floor, harbour side). [[Lects are 10-11am Mon-Thur]].
The tutorials will be in G34 (beside the main office) -- this room can also be used as a common room (it has a 'small kitchen'). [[Tuts are 1-2pm, Tue, Thur]].
Mostly we'll be in the labs, where we'll be writing code in Java using Eclipse in a Windows 7 environment. Note that the room for the labs has changed -- it has been listed as G38 ("The Linux Lab") but has been shifted to room G11 ("The 326 Lab"). [[Labs are 3-5pm Mon-Thur]].
- Raymond. (Dec 22nd '09)

These pages have not been updated since the course ran in 2008.
They will provide a taste for what you can expect when the course runs this summer (2010) -- but you should know that there are likely to be changes.   For instance, we don't know whether we will be using C# and the XNA framework, but it is still a possibility.
Obviously, dates that appear on these webpages will be out of date, so you will need to view the University's webpages to confirm enrolment dates for the course (these dates are not available at the time of writing).

- Raymond. (July '09)

This intensive course is finished for 2008, but will be back for Summer school in 2010. The course is offered by the Computer Science Department, and so is focussed on the programming and technical aspects of Game Development. 2008 project executables are available for download here

Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of computer game design, this course is taught with assistance from the Design Studies Department.

Students wishing to take this course will need to have a strong background in computer programming. The prerequisite for this paper is COSC242 or equivalent, at the discretion of the department. If you are interested in taking this paper it is important to contact the course adviser for computer science as early as possible. So far the student numbers have been 2004 - 32, 2005 - 15, 2006 - 30, and in 2008 - 18.

Some of the skills and knowledge you will develop during the course include: working in teams; project management; techniques to avoid scope creep; understanding different perspectives of game design; introduction to game technologies such as C#, C++, Open GL, DirectX, 3D graphics, and networking; and an improved ability to communicate with experts in other disciplines.
In the course you will work on creating a game project in C#, using XNA (They say "Microsoft® XNA™ is composed of industry-leading software, services, resources, and communities focused on enabling game developers to be successful on Microsoft gaming platforms").

Textbooks:
Rollings, A., & Adams, E., Andrew Rollings & Ernest Adams on Game Design, New Riders, 2003.
Sanchez-Crespo, D., Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming, New Riders, 2004.
These are both essential textbooks.

This is not an easy course. The computer games industry is very competitive and the work load is very high. This paper can only give an introduction to the field of computer game design and the reality of work in this area. We certainly do not suggest that graduates of this paper will walk into a job in the industry. Much like careers in music or art, it will be by a combination of skill and dedication that you will earn your place in a company. We will try to help you focus your efforts by learning appropriate skills and building a portfolio. It is by demonstrating your ability that you will succeed in an interview. In the last three years we have had many contributors from outside the department: