Admission requirements
Enthusiastic about creating games, but little experience with programming. External / exchange students are welcome! A personal laptop is highly recommended.
Description
Once upon a time, developing computer games required in-depth knowledge of computer hardware, how it works, and how to program for it. While this is still the case for commercial game development, there are now more resources than ever that support newcomers in creating a game project. In this course you will learn how to deconstruct a game idea into the many individual technical challenges that need to be solved to create it. As part of this course you will learn the basic principles of game programming and creating simple game elements. Apart of creating games, this course will give you a deeper understanding of the ways in which the technological aspects of the medium shape their rhetorical, visual, narrative, and kinetic dimensions. This will help you to become well-informed game critics, and better critics of contemporary popular culture in general.
Course objectives
Create computer games from scratch
Understand the fundamentals of (game-) programming
Deconstruct the intended functionality of a game into smaller tasks
Find several ways to solve a task and make informed decisions when choosing specific solutions
Understand the difference between game development, game design, and many of the individual tasks that go into making a game
Timetable
The timetable is available on the website.
Mode of instruction
Lectures, self study, discussions, and team work.
Course Load
Assessment method
Completion of training assignments (40%)
Final game project (40%)
Presentations and collaboration (20%)
Resit
A resit is offered for all assignments and the final game project.
Exam review
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used to provide students with additional information and reading material.
Reading list
Throughout the course you will receive articles or papers to read and games to play. All essential material will be free of charge, but we might recommend additional material, such as games, that are not free.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis for classes, exams and final papers is mandatory.
Contact information
For questions about the content of the course, you can contact the teacher M.A. Gómez Maureira MSc,
Student administration: Van Wijkplaats
Coordinator of studies: ms. drs. E.M.T.Poolman
Remarks
For more information please check the website of the study program Film and Literature Studies