6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL
Undergraduate - Unit
Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.
Faculty
Unit guides
Synopsis
This unit will further develop games development programming skills with the C++ language, and explore them further in the Games Programming context. Focus will be on advanced games programming techniques, including a focus on the content pipeline, advanced rendering and visual game effects. Principles will also be placed into the context of different libraries, such as OpenGL, and other platforms, such as mobile. This provides a strong grounding for further study in this area, especially related to games engine development and artificial intelligence.
Outcomes
At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:
- describe the content pipeline as used in computer game development and why it is important;
- create game programs that demonstrate an understanding and working knowledge of advanced rendering principles, such as shaders;
- create game programs that demonstrate a working knowledge of advanced visual game effects, such as particle and physics systems;
- describe how key game programming principles can be applied to games developed with other libraries (such as OpenGL) and for other platforms (such as mobile), and create game prototypes that demonstrate this;
- describe key performance and optimisation principles of computer game programming and create game programs that demonstrate these principles.
Assessment
Examination (2 hours): 50%; In-semester assessment: 50%
Workload requirements
Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:
- Contact hours for on-campus students:
- Two hours lectures
- Two hours laboratories
- Additional requirements (all students):
- A minimum of 2-3 hours of personal study per one hour of lecture time in order to satisfy the reading, tute, prac and assignment expectations.
See also Unit timetable information