EAE 6330 – Game Engineering III

Description

Gameplay programming is the synthesis of mechanics, dynamics, and feedback systems designed to evoke specific game aesthetics, prompt game interpretations, and engage players through meaningful goals. This course delves into topics, concepts, and theories to program gameplay. Students will implement course material within popular game engines used in the games industry.

Overview

This is a very challenging course. The goal is to understand how to structure game elements in game engines. We will approach gameplay from a systems perspective, and use that perspective to understand the scientific, technical, and human-facing fundamentals that can help us engineer gameplay. 

The course uses coding assignments to apply key concepts of mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics, goals, feedback, interpretation to implement gameplay challenges—namely, how to write gameplay code for a variety of gameplay types (i.e. games that use procedural content generation, story games, game economies, multiplayer games, serious games, and rhetorical games). Assignments for this course will be to prototype solutions to gameplay design problems in an industry-grade game engine.

Objectives

In this course, I will cover:

  1. The engineering aspects of gameplay programming.
  2. Key challenges of gameplay programming for a variety of gameplay types.
  3. The organizational structure for efficient and effective gameplay programming.

Expected Learning Outcomes

At the end of EAE6330, you will be able to:

  1. Choose, explain, and defend solutions to gameplay design challenges.
  2. Develop gameplay solutions within industry-grade game engines.
  3. Understand technical gameplay code design theory

Class Details

Next Offering: Fall 2022

Previous Term(s): Spring 2022

Instructor: Nancy N. Blackburn, MEAE

Syllabus: Available upon request.

Prerequisites: Master’s student (EAE/Games or Computer Science) OR permission of the Instructor.

Format: Class format is primarily lecture-based, drawing from several books and supplementary readings provided by the instructor.

Textbook: Game Programming Patterns by Robert Nystrom

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