G54GAM - Games
Spring Semester 11/12
Teaching
This course is taught through a series of lectures and practical lab sessions. There is 1 one-hour lecture and 1 two-hour lab session per week.
Lectures: 1pm Fridays, A08 Business School South, beginning 03/02/12
Lab sessions: 10am-12pm Tuesdays, C11 Computer Science, beginning 07/02/12
Lecture Slides
03/02/12 Lecture 1 - Introduction, A Brief History of Games (handouts pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
10/02/12 Lecture 2 - Defining Games, Play and Genres (handouts pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
17/02/12 Lecture 3 - Defining Interaction (handouts pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
24/02/12 Lecture 4 - Understanding Challenge (handouts.pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
02/02/12 Lecture 5 - Dramatic Elements (handouts.pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
09/03/12 Lecture 6 - Narrative, Balance and Progression (handouts.pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
16/03/12 Lecture 7 - Balance (handouts.pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
23/03/12 Lecture 8 - Software Architecture (handouts.pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
30/03/12 Lecture 9 - Encapsulation, Networking (handouts.pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
04/05/12 Lecture 10 - Multiplayer and Networking (handouts.pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
11/05/12 Lecture 11 - Networking (handouts.pdf) 1 slide per page (pdf)
Lab Notes and Exercises
07/02/12 Lab 01 - A simple platform game (pdf)
14/02/12 Lab 02 - A scrolling shooting action game (pdf)
21/02/12 Lab 03 - Adding structure to the scrolling shooter (pdf)
28/02/12 Lab 04 - Multiplayer tanks (pdf)
06/03/12 Lab 05 - AI tanks (pdf)
13/03/12 Lab 06 - Difficulty (pdf)
Assessment
The course is assessed by three courseworks. The first and second are essay-based courseworks, each worth 30% of the overall course mark. The third coursework will involve developing a working prototype of a simple game. This is worth 40% of the overall course mark. There is no exam.
16/03/12 Coursework 1 - Critically document a game (pdf)
18/05/12 Coursework 2,3 - Design and prototype a game (pdf)
Recommended Reading
Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2003)
Patterns in Game Design. Bjork, S. and Holopainen, J. (2004)