Lecture: 2 hours/week
Lab: 2 hours/week
Lectures, labs, and self-directed learning (programming assignments)
- Basic game concepts
- The game development lifecycle
- Actors, mechanics, goals, space, and rules
- A brief introduction to object-oriented programming
- Classes and objects
- Private and public members
- Object pointers and references
- Inheritance
- Templates
- Basic 2D game graphics
- The color buffer
- Double buffering
- Implemention of 2D graphics in a game
- An introduction to game engines
- Maps, levels, actors, components, transforms, and vectors
- Visual scripting basics
- Level design
- Compiling game projects using an integrated development environment
- Live coding basics
- Tick, frame rate, and delta-time concepts
- Using inheritance to create classes
- Game modes
- Debugging games using output logs
- Processing player input
- Particle systems
- Line traces
- Object collision
- Spawning actors
- User interfaces and heads-up displays
- Adding audio to games
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Describe the game development lifecycle from a programming perspective;
- Explain the fundamental concepts behind games;
- Apply object-oriented programming techniques in the context of computer game development;
- Utilize an integrated development environment for game programming;
- Design and implement object-oriented programs for computer game development;
- Program logic and game mechanics with collisions and particle effects;
- Create game prototypes using game engines and graphics libraries;
- Build basic user interface elements and interactive menus for computer games.
Assessment will be in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will present a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will be based on the following:
| Labs | 5-25% |
| Assignments | 0-20% |
| Projects | 0-20% |
| Term Test(s) | 20-30% |
| Final Exam | 25-35% |
| Total | 100% |
** In order to pass the course, in addition to receiving an overall course grade of at least 50%, students must achieve a grade of at least 50% on the combined weighted examination components (term test(s) and final exam).
Consult the Douglas College Bookstore for the latest required textbooks and materials.
Sample textbooks and materials may include:
- Blueprints Visual Scripting for Unreal Engine 5 (current edition), Marcos Romero, Brenden Sewell, and Luis Cataldi, Packt Publishing
- Game Programming in C++ (current edition), Sanjay Madhav, Pearson