IMGD 1001 Practice Final Exam

The below questions are designed to provide practice for the final exam. They are not necessarily complete, as carefully vetted as the exam questions may be, nor carefully timed. Still, it should provide the "flavor" for the exam questions. Use them as an aid in studying, in addition to reading, memorizing, self-quizzing, preparing a one-pager, etc.

  1. What is a texture and how does it relate to a shader?

  2. Provide some brief examples of how lighting can be used to influence mood.

  3. What is a key light? What is a fill light? What kind of light would you use to make "pools of light" in a scene?

  4. What is level design? Roughly, where does it occur in the game development process?

  5. What is player-to-gameplay balance? Why is it important? Provide one way it can be done poorly in a game. Describe one way you can fix the same poorly-done example.
  6. What is impermanence as a tool for ensuring interesting choices? Describe how you could use it in a first-person shooter game to make the gameplay more interesting.

  7. What are supporting investments as a tool for ensuring interesting choices? Describe how you could use them in a real-time strategy game to make the gameplay more interesting.

  8. What is positive feedback for a synergistic game relationship? Provide an example.

  9. What is version control software? Why is it useful?

  10. Name the steps in the process of debugging, as discussed in class.

  11. What is a finite state machine? Why are they often useful for programming game AI?


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