COURSE OUTLINE:
COMP 2501 A Winter 2015
Computer Game Design and Development
COURSE WEB SITE:
http://www.scs.carleton.ca/~ldnel/2501winter2015
INSTRUCTOR: Louis Nel (5370HP)
ldnel@scs.carleton.ca,
http://www.scs.carleton.ca/~ldnel
LECTURES SCHEDULE:
|
| Times
| Location
|
| Lectures: |
Tue, Thu 10:00-11:30 |
TB236 |
| Tutorial: A4 |
Mon. 11:30-1:00 |
HP5151 |
| Tutorial: A1 |
Mon. 2:30-4:00 |
HP5151 |
| Tutorial: A3 |
Wed. 11:30-1:00 |
HP5151 |
OFFICE HOURS: See the course web page for instructor and TA office
hours.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
(Calendar Description)
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
-Build basic knowledge of computer game design
techniques and construction through the building of a game using an industry standard graphics environment.
-To learn the issues associated with game
programming that distinguish it from general purpose programming.
-To, hopefully, have an enjoyable experience
designing and developing a game with other like-minded people.
COURSE CONTENTS (May
Contain, in no particular order):
-Game Design Concepts
-Graphics and Rendering
-Mathematics of Graphics and Transformations
-C++ Programming
Language
-OpenGL Graphics Framework
-Sprites and Textures
-Collision Detection
-Game Physics
-2D Games and related issues
-3D graphics and applications to 2D
-Mathematics of Games
-Game AI
-The use of Sound in Games
- ...
CLASS
NOTES and TEXT:
The course does not follow
a particular text. The lectures will be based on powerpoint
slides and code examples prepared from various books and internet resources. Some of the notes are
based on previous offerings of the course,
some will be re-done, or edited, as the course progresses. All lecture notes and
references to resources will be made available through the course web site. You
are encouraged to scour the internet for useful resources and let us know
of any good ones you find helpful for the course so we can post them among the other resources we have listed. Much of the content of this
course is widely discussed on the internet and there are many code examples that can be downloaded. Many of the code examples are intended to accompany a particular book but are accessible even if you don't have the book.
SOFTWARE:
We will be using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 edition as our IDE and compiler We will be programming in C++ and targeting the OpenGL 3.0 graphics API. Many code examples on the internet and books may use the older combination of Visual Studio 2010 and the (now deprecated) OpenGL code. Be aware of this if you are making use of online resources. The lab computers in HP 5151 are set up with Visual Studio 2013, and older versions, and both the Windows. You will probably want to set up a similar enviroment on your own machine. The computer you use must have a graphics card that is capable of running OpenGL (probably any computer bought after 2009 would be fine.)
The previous versions of the courses used Microsoft XNA 4.0 Game Studio software, and Microsoft DirectX 11. This is the first year we will run on OpenGL for this course and we will all be learning as we go. Some of the demo's of concepts will be from previous versions of the course.
You need either
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Express installed or Microsoft Visual Studio
2013 Professional. The express editions are free software from Microsoft but the full Visual Studio is available to students for free through the "Dreamspark" program:
http://msdn04.e-academy.com/elms/Storefront/Home.aspx?campus=carleton_cs
The Herzberg
building has dedicated labs for the gaming courses in rooms HP5151 and HP4175.
This course also has mandatory tutorials that will run in room HP5151. See the
comment about tutorials below.
TUTORIALS:
This course has
mandatory tutorials. They are mandatory in that they count towards your final
mark. See the tutorial section of the course website for details. There will be
10 90 minute tutorials slot that you must attend and complete. Some of these tutorials
session will be progress demonstrations of your game and one will be a demonstration of a tutorial written by you and executed by one of the other students.
GRADING:
The following table summarizes the deliverables
in this course (this distribution is subject to minor adjustments during the course). Note there will be a peer evaluation component associated with your final game project. That is, your
peers (other students) will be asked to judge your final game deliverable
as compared to those of others and this judgement will affect (weight) your mark. Also notice there is a final exam but no midterm. In
place of midterm there will be a tutorial created by you and evaluated by your peers. At the end of the term there will be
presentations demonstrating the final games you have built. All presentations
will take place either during class times, or during tutorial times. See the
lecture schedule on the course web site for dates.
| Deliverable |
Course Weight |
comment |
max mark |
| Tutorials/weekly individual assignments |
20% |
T1-T10, excluding T7,T9
|
|
| Assignment #1 |
5% |
T03 extra deliverable |
|
| Assignment #2 |
5% |
T05 extra deliverable |
|
Assignment #3
Tutorial created by you and tried by other students (in place of midterm) |
10% |
T07 |
|
| Game Code Progress Demo |
5% |
Tutorial 09 |
|
Assignment #4 Final Game
4A: final game demo presentaztion.
and 4B: report and code
Final Game including code, presentation and documents |
30% (weighted by peer assessment)
4A 15%
4B 15%
|
Presentation (weighted by peer assessment) |
|
| Exam |
25% |
Exam |
|
Further details on the exact computation of the final mark and peer
assessments will be provided as the course progresses.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Assignments will be submitted electronically
using culearn. Some assignments will involve actual presentations in class or during tutorial that
will be judged by the course instructor, course TA's and your peers. Documentation about using
culearn is available on the Carleton
website here
Be aware that electronic submission enforces strict deadlines
and late assignments will not be accepted. Email or hard copy assignments will
not be accepted.
Assignments will be made available on the web only.
Paper copies of assignments, outlines, or announcements will not be handed out.
Problems with assignment marking must be appealed to the
marking TA within 2 weeks of
the assignment mark being posted -after that we will not be obliged to review
the mark.
Copying on assignments is not allowed.
Any two assignments judged to be too similar will both receive a grade of 0 and
will be handled as an instructional offence -see undergraduate calendar for
details. While this is true you are encouraged to work together and share ideas,
but the final result must be your own work, or the work of your group for group projects. Note in this course you will be encouraged to share work and assets but this must be my mutual consent. You may not use another student's work without their knowledge and permission.
COPYRIGHT ISSUES:
There is a lot of material
that is available on the internet that would be helpful for your coursework. You
MAY NOT however take entire solutions or games of others and submit them as your
own work. You MAY however use pieces of code, images, textures, etc. found elsewhere in
your assignments. We are not going to publish your work, or games, so you will
not be violating any copyright by using such materials. You should, however,
acknowledge in your reports, or code -via comments, where external material was
used. Give credit to the source and, if possible, the location where it can be
found. Again, be aware that students will be encouraged to share assets they have developed and trade them with other student teams. This must be a mutual trade in which each gets something of value from the other. Any use of the work of other students in the class should be properly ackowledged and credited in the assignment documentation.
TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
A schedule for TA office hours will
be posted on the website as soon as they are available.
COURSE WEB PAGE:
As well as being announced in class, all important
information, such as course news, assignments, TA hours, instructor office
hours, will be available on the course web page at
http://www.scs.carleton.ca/~ldnel/2501winter2015.
It is your responsibility to check this web page regularly for new information.
It is especially important to check for any corrections made to assignment
requirements.
IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Student Academic Integrity Policy
Every student should
be familiar with the Carleton University student academic integrity policy. A
student found in violation of academic integrity standards may be awarded
penalties which range from a reprimand to receiving a grade of F in the course
or even being expelled from the program or University. Some examples of
offences are: plagiarism and unauthorized co-operation or collaboration.
Information on this policy may be found in the Undergraduate Calendar, Section
14, Page 59.
Plagiarism
As defined by
Senate, "plagiarism is presenting, whether intentional or not, the ideas,
expression of ideas or work of others as one's own". Such reported
offences will be reviewed by the office of the Dean of Science.
Unauthorized Co-operation or Collaboration
Senate policy
states that "to ensure fairness and equity in assessment of term work,
students shall not co-operate or collaborate in the completion of an academic
assignment, in whole or in part, when the instructor has indicated that the
assignment is to be completed on an individual basis". Please refer to the
course outline statement or the instructor concerning this issue.
Academic Accommodation
You may need
special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term because
of disability, pregnancy or religious obligations. Please review the course
outline promptly and write to your instructor concerning any requests for
academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as
possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. It takes time to
review and consider each request individually, and to arrange for
accommodations where appropriate. Please make sure you respect these timelines
particularly for in-class tests, midterms and final exams, as well as any
change in due dates for papers. You can visit the Equity Services website to
view the policies and to obtain more detailed information on academic
accommodation at http://carleton.ca/equity/accommodation
Students with Disabilities Requiring Academic Accommodations
Register with
the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities
(PMC) for a formal evaluation of disability-related needs. Documented
disabilities could include but are not limited to mobility/physical
impairments, specific Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/psychological
disabilities, sensory disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD), and chronic medical conditions. Registered PMC students are required to
contact the PMC, 613-520-6608, every term to ensure that I receive your Letter
of Accommodation, no later than two weeks before the first assignment is due or
the first in-class test/midterm requiring accommodations. If you only require
accommodations for your formally scheduled exam(s) in this course, please
submit your request for accommodations to PMC by the deadlines published on the
PMC website:
http://www2.carleton.ca/pmc/new-and-current-students/dates-and-deadlines/
Religious Obligation
Write to your
instructor concerning any requests for academic accommodation during the first
two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is
known to exist. For more details visit the Equity Services website
http://www.carleton.ca/equity/accommodation/student_guide.htm
Pregnancy Obligation
Write to your
instructor concerning any requests for academic accommodation during the first
two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is
known to exist. For more details visit the Equity Services website
http://www.carleton.ca/equity/accommodation/student_guide.htm
Medical Certificate
The following is
a link to the official medical certificate accepted by Carleton University for
the deferral of final examinations or assignments in undergraduate courses. To
access the form, please go to http://www2.carleton.ca/registrar/forms/