This course provides a historical perspective on the evolution of computer and video game design, development and production. Related interactive digital entertainment will also be investigated to provide an understanding of historical issues related to games, computer games, and interactive media. Topics include analyses and critique of analog and interactive television technology, the application of computing and technology to the arts and literature, the business of computer games and cultural responses to computer games. Students will critique computer games and other interactive entertainment products in the context of these topics, the trade press, and personal experience. Credits: 4.

This course introduces students to the expanding body of research and popular writing on online identity, social and community behavior and its application to the development of new on-line communities and social software tools. Students will create their own prototypes for on-line communities and/or software tools, will participate in and evaluate existing online environments. Credits: 4.

This course examines current technologies as well as future trends that will impact the direction of technology development within the gaming industry. Topics of study may include, but are not limited to: graphics hardware, graphics algorithms, content creation tools, content organization tools, artificial intelligence techniques, machine learning techniques, game play networking, audio and video hardware and algorithms, user interface development, control and feedback systems, simulation systems, console game systems, as well as game engine technology and corresponding development APIs. Credits: 4.

This course examines the individual and group roles of the development process model within game design and development industry. Students will transform design document specifications into software and hardware needs for developers, testers, and end users. Students will examine team dynamics and processes for programming, content development, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Students will explore design process through the deconstruction of the game industry’s software lifecycle model. Credits: 4.

This course will provide students with a practical background in business and legal practices specific to the gaming industry. Students will be introduced to entrepreneurship in the gaming industry, confidentiality rules, game developer rights and responsibilities, the developer/publisher/retailer relationship, contract development, intellectual property rules and regulations, royalties, licensing, and legal responsibilities for content and consumer impact. Projects may include individual and group research, examination of case studies, and written and oral reports on current industry practice. Credits: 4.

A study of the hardware and software principles of computer graphics. Topics include an introduction to the basic concepts: 2-D transformations, viewing transformations, display file structure, geometric models, picture structure, interactive and non-interactive techniques, raster graphics fundamentals, 3-D fundamentals, graphics packages and graphics systems. Students use and develop a graphics software system based on an accepted graphics standard. Programming projects are required. Credits: 4.

This course will investigate the theory of computer image synthesis. Seminal computer graphics papers will be used to describe the various components of the image synthesis pipeline and explain, just as in photography, how the path of light in a virtual scene can be simulated and used to create photorealistic imagery. The course will emphasize the theory behind rendering tools and libraries available for image synthesis. The student will put theory into practice via programming assignments and a capstone project. Topics will include light and color, three-dimensional scene specification, camera models, surface materials and textures, rendering (local, ray tracing, radiosity), procedural shading and modeling, tone reproduction, and advanced rendering techniques. Prerequisite(s): 4005-761 Computer Graphics I. Credits: 4.

Use of an advanced graphics API to access hardware accelerated graphics. Discussion of scene graphs, optimizations, and integration with the API object structure. Advanced use of the API calls in production code, to construct environments capable of real-time performance. Credits: 4.

Use of a graphics API to access hardware accelerated graphics. Discussion of the API scene graph, 3D optimizations, and integration between the 2D graphics mode and a 3D immediate mode implementation. This course builds upon students’ previous work and extends it in the construction of a fully functional 3D Engine, with library construction for game development. Prerequisite(s): 4005-734 2D Graphics Programming. Credits: 4.

This course takes a look at Computer Animation from a programmer’s perspective. It will investigate the theory, algorithms and techniques for describing and programming motion for virtual 3D worlds. Approaches that will be explored include keyframing systems, kinematics, motion of articulated figures, and procedural and behavioral systems. This course is a programming-oriented course with major deliverables including the implementation of techniques presented in lecture as well as a final project concentrating on an area of a student’s choice. Students taking this course for Graduate credit will be required to read and summarize recent journal papers from the computer animation literature. Prerequisite(s): 4005-761 Computer Graphics I or 4002-734 2D Graphics Programming. Credits: 4.

This course will provide students with theory and practical skills in game engine design topic areas such as understanding the graphics pipeline as it influences engine design, hardware principles and the relationship to game engine construction, mathematical principles, scene graph construction and maintenance, advanced scenegraph manipulation, textures, materials, and lighting, collision systems, physics, particle systems, and control systems. Furthermore, this course will examine software and toolsets that assist game engine designers in their tasks. Students will be expected to design and implement a game engine in teams as well as properly document their design and development strategy. Prerequisite(s): 4002-735 3D Graphics Programming. Credits: 4.

An introduction to the field of artificial intelligence, including both theory and applications. A programming language that allows effective symbolic manipulation (PROLOG) is used to demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of the material presented in class. Topics include search strategies and their implementation, logic, networks, frames and scripts, productions, symbolic manipulation and list processing, problem-solving methods, expert systems, natural language understanding, and selections from vision, robotics, planning and learning. Programming assignments are an integral part of the course. Credits: 4.

This course will provide students with theory and practical skills in Artificial Life (A-Life). Topic areas include the history and evolution of Artificial Life algorithms, uses of Artificial Life as a simulation tool, as well as applications of Artificial Life algorithms to applied domains such as game artificial intelligence, computer music, simulation, and visualization. Software and toolsets that assist Artificial Life programmers will be examined. Students will be expected to design and implement a simulation in teams as well as properly document their design and development strategy. Credits: 4.

4005-752 Artificial Intelligence for Interactive Environments

This course delves into the use of artificial intelligence in the creation of modern computer games. The focus will be hands-on development using existing tools for programming assignments in genres such as interactive fiction, first person shooter, real-time strategy, and simulations. The topics of the course will include topics such as pattern matching, intelligent group movement, tactical reasoning, artificial life, and learning. Prerequisite(s): 4005-750 Artificial Intelligence. Credits: 4.

Current topics in the field. The format of this course is a combination lecture and seminar. Students may resister for this course more than once. Topics covered in the past include: logic programming, natural language processing, pattern recognition, specialized AI languages and programming paradigms, robotics. Programming projects will be required. Prerequisite(s): 4005-750 Artificial Intelligence. Credits: 4.

Genetic algorithms provide a powerful approach for searching large, ill-behaved problem spaces. In this course, we will study the theoretical foundations of genetic algorithms as well as their application to a variety of search and optimization problems. The course will cover topics from the current research literature, and students will be expected to do a library research review and perform an experimental project. Programming projects will be required. Credits: 4.

Neural networks, systems with massively connected parallel primitive computing elements, are, metaphorically, computers structured after natural brains. Such systems promise much better performance than classical computers at pattern recognition and related areas. In this seminar, we will present several neural network models, introduce the current research activity, and develop some underlying mathematics. Students will have the opportunity to develop and present models, both paper and software simulated, and to utilize canned simulators. Students will be exposed to the current research literature. Programming projects will be required. Credits: 4.

This course covers a contrast and comparison of various methods of creating geometry for use in 3D environments including polygons, NURBS and subdivision surfaces for various purposes. Skills learned can be applied to creating elements for computer and video games, creating virtual environments or in visualization. Students have the opportunity to work on group projects and real world application. Credits: 4.

This course covers first the use of animation in interactive environment including games, visualization and virtual reality. Students will create animation using key frames, paths, deformation, forward and inverse kinematics. Credits: 4.

The course focuses on incorporating 2D and 3D groups of textures into realistic materials. Students learn to use texture maps instead of detail in models to increase interaction speeds. Textures are also used in order to incorporate simple models into diverse scenes. Displacement textures are used to create detail in models. Advanced techniques in the use of shading networks are incorporated into the process. Prerequisite(s): 2001-721 3DCG Modeling. Credits: 4.

This course covers a contrast and comparison of various methods and resolutions of rendering and outputting information from 3D software. Prerequisite(s): 2001-721 3DCG Modeling or 2001-722 3DCG Interactive Animation. Credits: 4.

Students apply standard lighting methods to lighting 3D models. The interaction of light and pigment, use of light in painting, photography, film and computer graphics are used as examples. Students apply problem solving techniques to arrive at a lighting solution for various problems. Prerequisite(s): 2001-721 3DCG Modeling. Credits: 4.

This course covers first the design of characters and then the creation of them using 3D software, inverse kinematics and deformers. Students create interpretant matrices, model sheets, sketches and maquettes of characters followed by development of the character in software. Prerequisite(s): 2001-721 3DCG Modeling. Credits: 4.

The course focuses on implementing a 3D computer graphics project from the planning stage, through completion and presentation. Prerequisite(s): 2001-721 3DCG Modeling and any other 3DCG graduate course. Credits: 4.

This course will examine elements of narrative and storytelling within computer games. Students will learn how narrative works within these environments and how it differs from standard narrative whether the digital creation is original or derived from a traditional narrative source. Students will learn to apply different theories of Ludology (theory and critical analysis of computer games) to analysis and critique of computer games. Students will write treatments, flowcharts, storyboards and scripts for their own games and then implement prototypes based on those documents. Students will complete written assignments. Prerequisite(s): 4004-731 History and Critical Analysis of Computer Games. Credits: 4.

In this course, students will examine technical requirements for the creation of computer games based on previously developed design artifacts. They will create a design document consistent with current industry practices, building upon a written script, related materials and prototype and will present the draft design documents for critique. Prerequisite(s): 4004-728 Interactive Narrative for Games. Credits: 4.

Students design and then work in teams to implement fully-functional on-line communities and/or social software tools to support on-line communities. This includes attracting members, promoting, and managing their communities. Students will also evaluate the performance of their designs, their community members and their own management skills. Prerequisite(s): 4004-734 Online Identity, Social and Community Behavior. Credits: 4.

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is a field of study concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them. This course surveys the scope of issues and foundations of the HCI field: cognitive psychology, human factors, and interaction design methods with emphasis on users and their tasks. Credits: 4.

This team project oriented course stresses the importance of good software interfaces and the relationship of user interface design to human-computer interaction. Topics include: the usability engineering lifecycle, effective system design and development, usability heuristics, testing, assessment methods, and international user interfaces. This course focuses on the design, testing and development of effective user interfaces. Prerequisite(s): 4004-745 Foundations of Human Computer Interaction. Credits: 4.

This project-based course will focus on the formal evaluation of user interfaces. Topics include: usability test goal setting, recruitment of appropriate users, design of test tasks, design of the test environment, test plan development and implementation, analysis and interpretation of the results, and documentation and presentation of results and recommendations. Prerequisite(s): 4004-748 Usability Engineering. Credits: 4.

Introduction to analysis and design of data representations and data object implementation. Current software environments are used to explore effective data design implementation concepts. Topics include basic database design, database transactions, data object design, database quality and error handling. Software design and programming projects are required. Credits: 4.

Students will investigate strategies for client-server and server-server communication against single or multiple database servers. Specifically, students will configure, test, and demonstrate successful communication between multiple database servers and multiple clients. Similarities and differences between commercially available connectivity packages, and issues impacting performance will be explored. Programming exercises are required. Prerequisite(s): 4002-720 Data Object Development. Credits: 4.

Students will be introduced to issues in client/server database implementation and administration. Topics such as schema implementation, storage allocation and management, user creation and access security, transaction management, data backup and recovery, and performance measurement and enhancement will be presented in lecture and investigated in a laboratory environment. Students will configure and demonstrate successful management of a database server for client access. Prerequisite(s): 4002-720 Data Object Development. Credits: 4.

This course allows students within the Game Design and Development program to develop a capstone proposal and design document. The capstone design document specifies the scope and depth of the capstone project as well as defines the group and individual responsibilities for the cohort capstone project experience. Prerequisite(s): Permission of a Game Design and Development Advisor. Credits: 4.

This course provides Master of Science in Game Design and Development students with capstone project experiences. Students are expected to work in cohorts towards the implementation of a game system that properly illustrates proficiency in the application of theory and practice towards a large-scale project. For each student, individual responsibilities for the group project will be defined in consultation with both the group and the faculty. Students must successfully complete the Capstone Design course and present a satisfactory capstone project proposal to the faculty before enrolling in this course. Prerequisite(s): 4002-887 Capstone Design and Permission of a Game Design and Development Advisor. Credits: 2.