Lindemans Lectures: Introduction to Game Development Robert W. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Lindeman’s Lectures: Introduction to Game Development Robert W. Lindeman Assistant Professor Interactive Media & Game Development Human Interaction in Virtual Environments (HIVE) Lab Department of Computer Science Worcester Polytechnic Institute gogo@wpi.edu

Five-Lecture Structure  July 15  Introduction to Game Development  July 16  Game Design  July 23  Serious Games  July 29  Virtual Reality  July 30  Future Gaming (Natural Interaction, MMOs, Mobile) R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 2 Interactive Media & Game Development

But First, Who Am I?  B.A. in Computer Science from Brandeis University (1987)  M.S. in Systems Management from University of Southern California (1992)  Sc.D. in Computer Science from The George Washington University (1999)  Ass. Prof. at GW (1999-2005)  Ass. Prof. at WPI (2005-) R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 3 Interactive Media & Game Development

What Else?  1987-1992 Project Manager repas GmbH in Germany  Real-time factory automation systsms  User Interface designer  Two big events in Germany during that time  Can you name them? R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 4 Interactive Media & Game Development

Summer Collaborations  1997: NSF Summer Institute in Japan  Dr. Yukio Fukui (AIST/Tsukuba University)  1998-2000: Naval Research Labs (DC)  Dr. Jim Templeman  2002-2006: ATR International (Kyoto)  Dr. Haruo Noma & Dr. Yasuyuki Yanagida  2008: Osaka University  Dr. Yoshifumi Kitamura  2009: Osaka University  Dr. Haruo Takemura R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 5 Interactive Media & Game Development

A Few Words about my University  WPI = Worcester Polytechnic Institute  Like ウスターソース ( Woostah sosu)  Location: 40 miles West of Boston, MA, USA  Private University  Traditional engineering school  Founded in 1865  Population  3,000 undergraduate & 1000 graduate students  220 faculty members  Founded on the principle of ”Theory & Practice” ” 理論 & 実践 ” (Riron & Jissen)  Students build a solid foundation of basic principles, and then apply these to solve real-world problems. R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 6 Interactive Media & Game Development

WPI Undergraduate Education  Prepares "technological humanists" for leadership and citizenship  International exposure  WPI sends more engineering and technology students abroad than any other university in the US  Second in the US for doctoral institutions in sending students abroad  Relatively few required courses  Focus on outcomes and abilities  Three required projects R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 7 Interactive Media & Game Development

Academic Structure  Undergraduate  Four seven-week terms per academic year Fall Spring A C B D  Students take three courses per term  Graduate  Two semesters per academic year R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 8 Interactive Media & Game Development

WPI Undergraduate Projects  2 nd year: Humanities Project  One course equivalent  Research paper, play, musical performance, ...  Usually done on campus  3 rd year: Society-Technology Project  Three course equivalent  Problem at interface between society and technology  Usually done off campus  4 th year: Major Discipline Project (capstone)  Three course equivalent  Senior design or research problem  Often done off campus R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 9 Interactive Media & Game Development

Expected Student Outcomes  Ability to address real-world, open-ended problems  Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams  Strong written and verbal communication  Connections between  Classroom and experiential learning  Impact of decisions of the profession on culture and community  Impact of culture and community on decisions of the profession  Professional and personal growth R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 10 Interactive Media & Game Development

WPI Global Perspective Program  About 75% of students do one project at an off-campus Project Center  Over 50% do one project at an overseas Project Center  Project Centers  A single term with 25-30 students and 2 resident faculty advisors  A faculty director to provide continuity and logistical support  Projects are sponsored by local organizations: public, private, non-profit, NGOs, and universities R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 11 Interactive Media & Game Development

Off-Campus Project Centers Fourth-Year Programs Second-Year Programs Third-Year Programs Exchange Programs R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 12 Interactive Media & Game Development

Current Project Center Locations  Hong Kong, PRC  Budapest, Hungary  Bangkok, Thailand  Wuhan, China  Melbourne, Australia  Kansai, Japan  Zürich, Switzerland  San Juan, Puerto Rico  Limerick, Ireland  Worcester  London, UK  Boston  San Jose, Costa Rica  Venice, Italy  MIT Lincoln Laboratories  Windhoek, Namibia  Washington, DC  Copenhagen, Denmark  Wall Street  Nancy, France  NASA Goddard SFC  Madrid, Spain  Silicon Valley R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 13 Interactive Media & Game Development

Interactive Media & Game Development (IMGD)  Interdisciplinary major started in Fall 2005  Joint program between CS and Humanities & Arts  Four-year Bachelor of Science degree  Students take a common core of courses, then choose between technical and artistic tracks  Project-based approach  Half of faculty from CS, half from Humanities & Arts  Program growth  20 new students in Sept. 2005  50 new students in Sept. 2006  40 new students in Sept. 2007  30 new students in Sept. 2008 R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 14 Interactive Media & Game Development

Interactive Media  Applications that respond in real time to user actions  Virtual environments , e.g., SecondLife  Interactive advertisement  Groupware  Telepresence  Free-viewpoint video  Hand-held device interaction  Performance-based media R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 15 Interactive Media & Game Development

Computer Games  A subset of interactive media  Entertainment  Desktop / console / handheld / mixed-reality  FPS / RPG / Sports / Action / Platformer / Puzzle  Online  Casual games  Serious games  Education / Training  Health care / Exercise  Disaster planning / Combat preparedness  Corporate management R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 16 Interactive Media & Game Development

Development  All aspects of creating computer-based interactive media and games  Game design  Content creation  Programming  Team dynamics  Project management  Documentation  Testing R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 17 Interactive Media & Game Development

WPI's Approach: Balance  Successful creation of interactive applications requires a balanced team of quality people  IMGD includes  A project-based approach  Interdisciplinary team projects  Social impact and ethical considerations  Exposure to both Tech and Art aspects  Significant participation by game industry R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 18 Interactive Media & Game Development

IMGD Curriculum General Requirements IMGD Core Technical Artistic Technical HU&A Track Track Requirement Requirement IMGD IMGD IQP Advanced Advanced Social Science  General education courses Electives  IGMD Core MQP MQP courses  IMGD Area courses + crossover  Electives  IQP/MQP work, possibly sponsored, possibly abroad R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 19 Interactive Media & Game Development

IMGD Courses  IMGD 1000: Critical Studies of Interactive Media & Games  IMGD 1001: The Game Development Process  IMGD 1002: Storytelling in Interactive Media & Games  IMGD 2000: Social Issues in Interactive Media & Games  IMGD 2001: Philosophy & Ethics of Computer Games  IMGD 2005: Machinima - Making movies from video games  IMGD 3000: Technical Game Development I Taught in Synch  IMGD 3500: Artistic Game Development I  IMGD 4000: Technical Game Development II Taught in Synch  IMGD 4500: Artistic Game Development II  IMGD 400X: Artificial Intelligence in Games  Traditional CS and Humanities & Arts courses  Students take either 11 CS courses or 11 Humanities/Art courses R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 20 Interactive Media & Game Development

Synchronized Advanced Courses  Unified-team concept  Work in teams of four students (2 Tech & 2 Art)  Regular status meetings / demos  Follow traditional game-development process  Technical Game Development I & II  Focus on designing and building technical features  I: Scene graphs, state management, simple AI  II: Physics, networking, particle effects, advanced AI  Artistic Game Development I & II  Focus on designing and building artistic content  I: Level design, character modeling, texturing  II: Scripting, advanced shading, animation R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 21 Interactive Media & Game Development