CSS 452: 2D Game Engine Development

Winter 2018

Room Disc-061, M/W 5:45pm-7:45pm
Computing and Software Systems

University of Washington Bothell

 

Name

Email

Kelvin Sung

ksung@uw.edu

Office Hours:

Wednesday 11:00am-1:00 pm

Or by appointment

Phone

 

(425)-352-5420

(phone for appointments only please)

Office:

UW1-260-O

 

We will be learning:

This class studies the technical fundamentals and the implementation of a 2D game engine from two important aspects: programmability and maintainability. Relevant concepts from software engineering, computer graphics, mathematics, physics, user interface, and game development will be presented in the context of game engine architecture, world coordinate system specification, object behaviors and interactions, camera manipulations, illumination, and game physics. The coverage of each topic will be coupled with the analysis of sample implementation source code and students will be challenged to extend the provided functionality. Beginning from scratch, the implementation of the concepts continuously build upon preceding results based on a software architecture that facilitates programmability by game developers supports maintainability which enables code reuse, ongoing system upkeep, improvement, and expansion.

 

Prerequisites: 2.0 in CSS 342 or equivalent.

 

Grading

Programming Assignments (5)

55%

Weekly Assignments

Classroom Participation

15%

5%

Final Game Project in Groups of 3 or 4

25%

 

Required Textbooks:

o    Engine: Build your own 2D Game Engine and Create Great Web Games, Sung, Pavleas, Arnez, Pace. Apress, Sep 2015.

o    Physics: Building a 2D Game Physics Engine, Tanaya, Chen, Pavleas, Sung. Apress, Feb 2017.

 

Reference Textbooks:

o    Fundamentals of Computer Graphics, 3rd edition, Shirley, Ashikhmin, and Marschner. A. K. Peters, 2009.

o    Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top Down Approach with WebGL. Angle and Shreiner. Pearson Education, 2014.

o    Elementary Linear Algebra: Applications Version, 11th edition. Anton and Rorres. Wiley, 2013.

 

Approximated Schedule: This is the first time this class is taught, the following schedule is subject to changes. Please refer to course web-site for details of assignment/mp due dates/times.

 

Week

Topics

Reading

Date

Note:

1

Intro + Working with API

Engine:1-3

Jan 3

Assign: MP #1

2

Common Game Engine Components

Engine: 4

Jan 8, 10

Due: MP #1

Assign: MP #2

3

Martin Luther King Day: No Class

Textures and Sprites

Engine: 5

Jan 15, 17

Due: MP #2

Assign: MP#3

4

Behaviors + Collisions + Camera Manipulations

Engine: 6+7

Jan 22, 24

5

Lights + Illuminations

Engine: 8

Jan 28, 31

Due: MP #3

Assign: MP#4

6

Catch up

 

Feb 5, 7

7

Rigid Bodies + Motion Simulation

Engine: 9

Feb 12, 14

Due: MP #4

Assign: MP #5 + Final Game

8

Presidents’ Day: No Class

Final Game Pitch

Feb 19, 21

Due: MP #5

Game Proposal

9

Progress Demo

Relaxation Loop + Impulse Response

Physics

Feb 26, 28

Due: Progress Demo

10

Play testing

Catch up

 

Mar 5, 7

Due: Play testing

11

Final’s Week: Final Game Demo

Mar 12

Due: Final Demo

 

Submitting Source MP Code: You will submit your source code of each programming assignment (or machine problem, or mp) and the grader and I will run/test your submissions. We will be using the same catalyst facility (refer to the course web-site for submission link). There is a folder with the corresponding mp number on the submission site (e.g. mp1, mp2, etc.). Before the due time of the assignment, you should:

 

Create a folder containing:

·         all the relevant source files of your mp: I want to be able to run a script and unzip all your submission

·         and no more.

Having extra useless/irrelevant files in that folder will results in lost credits. Please clean up your folders. WARNING: a significant percentage of each mp’s grade will be deducted if your submission includes useless files/folders. Use your first and last name and mp# as the name of your folder. Please do not include blank space as part of the name for this folder (i.e. do use “KelvinSungMp1” as folder name, and do not use “Kelvin Sung MP1” with blank spaces). Please zip up your folder into one zip file.  Go to our course submission area and turn in you .zip file.

 

Submit as many times as you wish, we will only look at the last one received before the deadline. Please do not submit hard copies of your program. Let’s safe some trees, we will look at your source code electronically.

 

There is a “Test Turn-in” assignment for you to try things out. Please do try it before the first MP due date! If I do not see a test submission and you have trouble submitting your first assignment at the last minute, I will not help you. I can only help those who tried.

 

In addition, and very importantly, you should always download your submission, un-zip/load-into-NetBeans/run to ensure your submission is correct. Remember, the grader (and/or I) will download your submission, unzip, load into NetBeans, and run. You will lose credits if anything in your submission should prevent us from automating this process.

 

You are responsible to ensure that the files you submitted are correct. On the due date, the corresponding directory will be close at precisely the due time. After which, you will not be able to submit your work!

 

Remember, our projects tend to be large, and it takes time to submit files over the network! If you start submitting 2 minutes before the deadline, and when deadline arrive your file transfer has not completed, your submission will be lost! It will be as though you did not submit, and you will receive 0% for the mp!!

 

If there is an emergency and/or personal difficulty, please talk to me in person. Remember to document your code, and practice the good programming skills you learned in CSS 342.

 

Assignment Deadlines: There will be no late assignments accepted. Let me put this in another way, there will be no late assignments accepted. These apply to both homework assignments and machine problems. Pay attention to the deadline on the assignments (including the time), there will be no late assignments accepted. Let me explain this again, there will be no late assignments accepted. I am actually a reasonable person, come talk to me about exceptional circumstances. Please plan ahead.

 

Lateness to classes: It does not bother me, just don’t disturb anyone. If you want to leave early, it would be very nice if you could give me an advance warning. If that’s too much trouble, or if you forgot, don’t worry, just don’t disturb anyone and leave quietly.

 

Commitments and such: I am usually easy going. I like relaxed classrooms for learning and will try my best to create such an environment. Please do not confuse relax environment with relax requirements. I work hard, and expect students to work as hard. On average, each percentage of your assignments should represent one to two hours of outside-of-class time. For example, if an MP is worth 8%, then on average, you will probably need about 10-15 hours to finish this assignment. Please use this as a reference and let me know if you are spending too much time on the assignments. If most of you are experiencing the same problem, then we will have to adjust the amount of work. Please consider if you have the time this quarter for this class. If you do have the time, please stay in this class, I will work hard and try my best to make this class a worthwhile learning experience for you.

 

Group Assignments: MP5 and your final game will be done in groups of 3 to 4 students. We will decide the group forming policy as time approaches.

 

Problems?

If you have any problem with this course, please talk to me as soon as possible.  I would like to help in any way I could, but I have to know there is a problem. If you fall behind in this class, it will be difficult to catch up.

 

Special Needs

If you believe that you have a disability and would like academic accommodations, please contact Disability Resources for Students (UW1-175) at 425.352.5307 or at drs@uwb.edu. In most cases, you will need to provide documentation of your disability as part of the review process. I will coordinate with the University to ensure that the appropriate accommodations are made in this class.

 

Access and Accommodations: Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact Disability Resources for Students (UW1-175) at 425.352.5307 or at drs@uwb.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s), and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

 

For Our Veterans: If you are a student who has served in our nation’s military forces, welcome home, and thank you for your service. I hope that you feel comfortable enough to confidentially self-identify yourself to me so I can help you make a successful transition from the military to higher education.

 

Academic Conduct

 

Student Code of Conduct: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=478-120:

 

“The university is a public institution having special responsibility for providing instruction in higher education, for advancing knowledge through scholarship and research, and for providing related services to the community. As a center of learning, the university also has the obligation to maintain conditions conducive to freedom of inquiry and expression to the maximum degree compatible with the orderly conduct of its functions. For these purposes, the university is governed by the rules, regulations, procedures, policies, and standards of conduct that safeguard its functions and protect the rights and freedoms of all members of the academic community.”

…

“An instructor has the authority to exclude a student from any class session in which the student is disorderly or disruptive. If the student persists in the disorderly or disruptive conduct, the instructor should report the matter to the dean of the school or college, or, at the University of Washington Bothell and Tacoma campuses, to the dean or director of the program in which the student is enrolled.”

 

 

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: See http://www.uwb.edu/studentservices/academicconduct

for crucial information regarding academic integrity.  The library also has an extremely useful website with resources at http://libguides.uwb.edu/ai.  You are responsible for knowing what constitutes a violation of the University of Washington Student Code, and you will be held responsible for any such violations whether they were intentional or not.  Plagiarism is one of the most common violations of academic integrity, so please pay attention to both the web information and when your instructor explains all of this in class. In short, do your own work, and clearly cite all your sources. If you are unsure, ask for help!

 

Privacy: The opinion you expressed (in class discussion, in written assignments, on our course discussion board), are yours. None of this information will be shared with anyone, not even your parents.

 

Other potentially useful/important information

 

Inclement Weather:

Please check if the campus may be closed due to weather. Information about

suspension of operations will be made public and available through the media. Students can learn of campus operations status from the website or by calling the Campus Information Hotline 425.352.3333. You may also sign up with an alert system that will contact you via email or text message if classes are canceled. For more information on the alert process, please see http://www.uwb.edu/alert. Class activities will be rescheduled as needed.

 

Student Support Services:

IT Helpdesk: IT@uwb.edu  , 425-352-3456

Library: http://library.uwb.edu/ 425-352-5340

Writing Center: www.uwb.edu/WritingCenter/ 425-352-5253

Quantitative Skills Center: http://www.uwb.edu/qsc     425-352-3170

Student Success Services:  http://www.uwb.edu/cusp/studentsuccess 425-352-3776

Career Services:  http://www.uwb.edu/careers 425-352-3706

Student Counseling Services: http://www.uwb.edu/studentservices/counseling    425-352-3183