The course covers the theory and practice of game engine software development, bringing together topics that range from large-scale software architectures and modern game programming paradigms to the design and implementation of subsystems for rendering, resource management, user interfaces, sound, collision, physics and animation. Through practical lab exercises and group projects, the students will get technical hands-on experience in C++ game development, including the use and development of supporting tool pipelines.
The course text book is "Game Engine Architecture" by Jason Gregory, published by AK Peters in 2009. You will be expected to have this book and read the chapters as we work our way through it.
Other books you can loan from library (reserved for this course): Game Programming Gems 1 through 8 (various), GPU Gems 3 (Nguyen), OGRE 3D 1.7 Beginner's Guide (Kerger), OGRE 3D 1.7 Application Development Cookbook (Peterson), CryENGINE 3 Cookbook (Tracy), Unity 3.x Game Development Essentials (Goldstone). You also have access to Game Developer's Magazine (several years).
On completion of the course students are expected to be able to:
During the semester, students should complete three problem sets, one engine presentation and a final project. Problem sets should be done individually, but the engine presentation and final project in groups of up to 3 people in size. Students discuss final project ideas with instructor in week 7, demonstrate the project in week 12 and turn in a report on the project before exams start. Everything that has to be turned in, should arrive no later than at 23:59 on the due date, or else incur 10% penalty for each additional day, including weekends and holidays.
| Assignment | Description | Material | Assigned | Due | Weight | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROB1 | First Problem Set | Weeks 1-3 | Thu Jan 23 | Fri Jan 31 | 5% | |
| PRESENT | Presentation | Existing Game Engine | Thu Jan 16 | Thu Feb 13 | 10% | |
| PROB2 | Second Problem Set | Weeks 4-7 | Tue Feb 25 | Tue Mar 04 | 5% | |
| PROB3 | Third Problem Set | Weeks 8-11 | Fri Mar 28 | Sun Apr 06 | 5% | |
| PROJECT | Final Project | “New” Game Engine technology | Thu Feb 20 | Thu Apr 03 | 35% | |
| Total | 60% |
The practical classes on Wednesdays will be in the form of self-guided lab projects with assistance. The focus will be on C++ development using the Ogre 3D graphics engine and related game libraries. These projects will not be graded, but demonstrating successful results to the instructor will count towards participation grade. In addition, all source code should be uploaded into MySchool to register the completion.
Throughout the semester the instructor may provide several online quizzes in MySchool from the theoretical material. These quizzes are meant for students to review recently covered material and will not directly count towards the final grade.
Please use this course discussion system for posting questions regarding labs, problems or projects - or in fact anything you wish related to the course - rather than sending us emails. That way we can build a shared repository of useful questions/answers (you can of course still send us emails, but consider first whether you can post things here instead).
| Week | Lecture (Tue) | Lab (Wed) | Lecture (Thur) | Due | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 (JAN 13-19) | Chapter 1: Introduction | "LAB1: Ogre Startup Sequence" | Chapter 2: Tools | ||
| 02 (JAN 20-26) | Chapter 7: Game Loop and Time (A) + Ogre 3D | "LAB2: Making a scene" | Chapter 7: Game Loop and Time (B) + Engine Review | ||
| 03 (JAN 27-02) | Chapter 4: 3D Math for Games | "LAB3: Applying Math" | Chapter 5: Engine Support Systems | PROB1 | |
| 04 (FEB 03-09) | Chapter 6: Resources | "LAB4: Resources" | Chapter 3: Software Engineering (A) | ||
| 05 (FEB 10-16) | Chapter 3: Software Engineering (B) | Problem Set 1 Review | Engine Presentations | PRESENT | |
| 06 (FEB 17-23) | Chapter 8: Human Interface Devices | "LAB5: Human Interface Devices" | No Class | ||
| 07 (FEB 24-02) | Chapter 10: Rendering (A) | "LAB6: Scene Graph" | Chapter 10: Rendering (B) | ||
| 08 (MAR 03-09) | Chapter 10: Shader Programming (A) | "LAB7: Programmable Shaders" | Chapter 10: Shader Programming (B) | PROB2 | |
| 09 (MAR 10-16) | Guests: Svanhvít + Jon CCP Tech Artists | "LAB8: Particle Systems" | Chapter 14: Gameplay Foundation Systems | ||
| 10 (MAR 17-23) | Guests: Steve + Logi CCP Graphics Programmers | Final Status Meetings | Guest: Patrick CCP Engine Expert | ||
| 11 (MAR 24-30) | Guest: Harri Atomstation Networking Expert | "LAB9: Physics Optional" Final Project Work | Guest: Claudio Pedica Gagarín Animation and AI Expert | ||
| 12 (MAR 31-06) | Exam Review | Final Project Work | Final Demos | PROJECT PROB3 | |
Please note that there is a 70% attendance requirement. You must pass this attendance limit in order to take the exam. Please inform the instructor if this is hard for you for some reason such as scheduling conflicts or sick leave.
Participation grade will be based on: (1) Attendance, (2) Completing lab projects, (3) Participation in online discussion. To the extent possible, this will also be based on how actively the student participates in in-class discussion (based on instructor's subjective assessment).
The base participation grade will be calculated as 10 * (0.5*(Labs_completed/8) + 0.5*(Portion of lectures attended)). The teacher can then add possible bonus points to this base grade based on optional lab points or a subjective evaluation of the student's participation throughout the semester (into which the online discussion may factor).
| Part of Course | Total Weight |
|---|---|
| Participation | 5% |
| Lab Work | 5% |
| Problem Sets | 15% |
| Engine Presentation | 10% |
| Final Project | 35% |
| Final Written Exam | 30% |
| Total 100% | |