Lecture 1: Sept 4 (intro day)

by Mike Gleicher on September 3, 2012

Why are you here? What are you expecting.

Not really a lecture – more a discussion of administration and the course. (usually don’t like this)

Want people to understand class – so they can decide whether they want to leave (or recruit their friends).

Design issues for a class are similar to design issues for a game

  • Experience engineering (Game Design)
  • Use “mechanics” to create “experiences” – need a framework for discussing
  • Gammification (can be) silly – Experience design is useful – where do we draw the line

Introductions (me, alex) – students next time

Course History and Story

  • Begin as a tech class (graphics 2)
  • Bring in game design as a motivation for tech
  • Bring in project focus (since we want to make games)
  • Bring in group work/software engineering and design
  • Bring in idea that design & project is actually the topic: class should reflect it
  • Realism: can’t really get interesting depth with highly technical parts
    • less likely you’ll get to use those details (since they are really specific, …)
  • Complete inversion: focus on design, projects – tech topics just enough

Course Announcement

  • especially interconnected parts

What’s new

  • Anyone know about last year’s?
  • We can play the games: since they are (almost) all on the web
  • Basically worked – few fixes
    • Better online forum (try something new)
    • More help with Javascript getting started
    • More confidence in JS/WebGL as platform
    • More careful with making tech lectures relevant (or skipping)

Course Goals

  • experiential – project, design
  • learn to think about interactive system / game design
  • experience working in groups
  • some modern graphics tech you might not have gotten in 559
  • some useful web programming skills (so you are marketable)
  • build some cool stuff

Course Structure

  • 3 projects (2,3,4 – 3,4,6 weeks)
  • We pick the teams (discuss)
  • Emphasis on making games
  • Progressively more challenging
    • bigger each time
    • learn more about design each time
  • Less constrained each time
    • web browser / javascript
    • 1st game: use flocking (why) & Canvas
    • 2nd game: use WebGL
    • 3rd game: anything goes
  • Realism: keep other course aspects light so you can focus on projects

 

  • Lectures – try not to make it a monologue
  • Not always immediately relevant to projects
  • No exams – how to keep you on track?
  • Discussion in class vs. Online

Policies

  • A little extra complexity because of class structure
  • go through
  • collaboration

Online Forum

  • More than just hand in assignments
  • General Discussion
    • Games you play (learn to talk about them)
    • Programming tips and tricks you pick up
    • Questions you have
  • Make postings about assignments and readings

Assignment 0

Project 1

  • what we’ll do to help you
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