Interactive Media & Game Development
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

IMGD
Course Title: Technical Game Development I
Course Number: IMGD-3000
Term D 2006

Meeting Info: Mon., Tue., Thu., Fri. 10:00-10:50am,
Fuller Labs (FL), Room 311

Instructor: Prof. Robert W. Lindeman
E-Mail: gogo at wpi.edu
Telephone: x6712

TAs: Chen-Hao (Jason) Chang (chocobo7 at wpi.edu)

Peter Lohrmann (pjlrhino at wpi.edu)

Textbooks: 3DGP: 3D Game Programming All in One, Kenneth C. Finney, 2004, Thomson Course Technology, ISBN: 159200136X

A3DGP: Advanced 3D Game Programming All in One, Kenneth C. Finney, 2005, Thomson Course Technology, ISBN: 1592007333

Read each chapter during the week it is assigned. The books discuss much more than I can cover in class, and I will cover things not in the books. You must come to class prepared!

Grading:

33% Regular Projects
33% Three Exams
34% Final Project

Attendance:

Attendance is required. If you have an unavoidable need to be absent from the lecture, you do not need special permission, but you are responsible for the work covered even if you are not in class.

Assignments:

The assignments for this course consist of several programming problems. The programming assignments are designed to supplement the material covered in the lecture with practical experience. The assignments for this course are very demanding, and will require a lot of time. On the flip side, most people enjoy the assignments in these types of courses, so it should be okay.

Late Policy:

Assignments are due at the specified date and time.
Late assignments will be penalized 10% for each 24-hour period after the due date/time. Whether an assignment is 3 hours or 20 hours late, it will be graded down by 10%. You will be given adequate time to complete each assignment, if you start when it is assigned. Assignments will be turned in electronically, and the date/time received will be used to determine any late penalty. PLEASE do not miss class in order to finish up an assignment.

Exams:

Exams will be closed book and closed note. If you read the books, keep up with the assignments, ask questions in class, and study hard, you should have no problem with the exams. Participation in the exams is mandatory. See the instructor if you expect not to be available on the exam dates.

Office Hours:

You do not need an appointment to come to office hours; just show up and take your turn. Office hours (the lecturer's and the TAs') are an important way for you to get help or to discuss anything you have on your mind. We are there to help you; that is an important part of our jobs. Please make good use of these hours. You are cheating yourself if you do not. The table at the bottom shows the times of the office hours.

Discussion Boards:

There is a place on MyWPI for this course, and you are encouranged to post your questions there, and to look for answers there. We will be using this heavily during the course for clarifications, corrections, etc. Please take advantage of this as well.

General:

Questions and discussion are highly encouraged throughout the lecture hours. The best way to reach the instructor is by using e-mail.

Class Conduct:

This course is intended for serious students. Participants will be expected to adhere to all rules of professional behavior.

Individual projects are expected to be done individually. As such, students are encouraged to discuss their work with each other, but are also expected to do the work by themselves.

Any breach of professional ethics as evidenced, for example, by copying exams or assignments, downloading code from the Internet, cooperating in more than discussions and study groups, misusing computer resources, or using outside help of any kind, will be considered adequate reason for an NR in the course.

Group projects are designed so that every member gains a significant amount of new material. In the workplace, each team member is expected to contribute. Participants in group projects in this course should keep this in mind, and act accordingly. In evaluating each group, all team members will be asked to distribute a fixed set of "points" to the rest of their team, based on how much each member contributed.

It is to be emphasized that knowledge of material and professional behavior are tied together; failure in one of them negates any excellence in the other. Students who stay in the course past the first three days agree to adhere to the strictest rules of professional behavior.

The official WPI statements on Academic Honesty can be accessed at http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/Policies/Honesty/Students/. Those who have any doubt about what that means, and fail to gain that understanding after a discussion with the instructor, are encouraged to drop this class. Remember this warning - any breach of ethics will earn you an NR.

Course Schedule:

Week Dates Lecture Topic Book Chapters Projects
1 03/14-03/17 Intro. to Game Dev.; Game Engine Structure; 3D Graphics Concepts
Jäger Description		 3DGP: Ch. 1-3
A3DGP: Ch. 3		 Fri. 03/17: Project 1 ASS.
2 03/20-03/24 Game Programming; Torque Script; Network Programming 3DGP: Ch. 4-6
Alternate Ch. 6
A3DGP: Ch. 2		 Fri. 03/24: Project 1 DUE
Fri. 03/24: Project 2 ASS.
3 03/27-03/31 Texturing; GUI Elements
EXAM 1: Tue. 03/28		 3DGP: Ch. 7-10 Fri. 03/31: Final Project Kick-Off
4 04/03-04/07 Structures; Terrains; Environment 3DGP: Ch. 11-12, 17-18 Tue. 04/04: Project 2 DUE
Tue. 04/04: Project 3 ASS.
5 04/10-04/14 Objects; Vehicles; Weapons
EXAM 2: Thu. 04/13		 3DGP: Ch. 14-16 Tue. 04/11: Project 3 DUE
6 04/17-04/21 Working with Sound; Intro to Game AI
Tue. 04/18: NO CLASS - MQP DAY!		 3DGP: Ch. 19-20
A3DGP: Ch. 5
7 04/24-04/28 Using AI in Games; AI Enemies
EXAM 3: Thu. 04/27		 A3DGP: Ch. 6-7
8 05/01-05/02 FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS!
Tue. 05/01: Final Project DUE

Schedule for Office Hours:

Note: All TA office hours will be held in "The ADP Lab" (FL-B16). Prof. Lindeman's office hours will be in his office in FL-144.

Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
9:00




:30
10:00 IMGD 3000
FL-311		 IMGD 3000
FL-311
IMGD 3000
FL-311		 IMGD 3000
FL-311
:30
11:00 Lindeman
FL-144

Peter
FL-B16
:30
12:00




:30
1:00
Peter
FL-B16


:30
2:00



:30
3:00 Lindeman
FL-144



:30
4:00




:30
5:00




:30
6:00 Peter
FL-314
Jason
FL-314		 Jason
FL-314
:30
7:00
Peter
FL-B16
:30
8:00

:30

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