COMP 23: Introduction to Game Development

Tufts University Department of Computer Science, Fall 2015

Instructor

• Ming Chow, mchow@cs.tufts.edu
• Office Hours: Wednesdays from 1 - 4 PM, or by appointment, "in my usual spot". Hours are good until the last day of classes, December 11th.
• Please send all class questions (e.g., help on assignments and labs) via Piazza. DO NOT E-MAIL ME! Sign up at https://piazza.com/tufts/fall2015/comp23.
• For emergencies or private matters, please e-mail or see me directly.

Teaching Assistant

• Arthur Berman
• Arthur will hold office hours between 11 and 2 on Fridays. Arthur will be showing when and where he is on office hours on http://www.halliganhelper.com.

Class Time and Location

• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00 - 1:15 PM in Halligan 111A

Prerequisites

• COMP 15: Data Structures

Documentation

• Phaser.io: http://phaser.io/docs
• Unity: http://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/index.html

Syllabus

Schedule is subject to change.

Topics:

• Audio, Sound, and Music
• Storytelling
• Artificial Intelligence
• Game Testing
• Ethics, MMORPGs, and Securing Online Games
• Mobile Games
• Networking

Grading

• Group Project 1: 20%
• Group Project 2: 55%
• Labs and exercises: 15%
• Class participation: 10%
• Personal Engagement Project: 10%

Course Policies

Assignment Late Policy

Assignments (labs, homework) that is submitted electronically (most homework) are due at 11:59 PM on a Tuesday or Thursday. We will grant an automatic extension of ten minutes at no cost to you. If you plan on submitting your work at midnight or at six, you will have nine minutes for last-minute changes.

An assignment is expected to be submitted on time. However, we recognize that the exigencies of college life occasionally interfere with on-time submission. If you have difficulty getting the assignment in on time, you have two options:

1. For ordinary difficulties, each student is automatically issued three (3) "extension tokens." By expending an extension token, you can get an automatic 24-hour extension on all deadlines associated with a single assignment. To use an extension token, you must e-mail me at mchow@cs.tufts.edu. Thus must be sent before the assignment is due. At most two extension tokens may be expended on any single assignment. When you are out of tokens, late assignments will no longer be accepted: it will be returned ungraded, and you will receive no credit for the work.
2. If a serious illness affects your ability to complete the assignment on time, your first step is to report the illness using the "Illness Notification Form" that is available in WebCenter for Students. We will make suitable arrangements. For extraordinary difficulties, such as bereavement, family emergencies, or other extraordinary unpleasant events, your first step should be to make contact with your associate dean for undergraduate education. You must take this step before the assignment is due. Ask your dean to drop me an email or give me a call, and we will make special arrangements that are suited to your circumstances.

Please understand that extension tokens are meant to be used. That is, you will not receive any special bonus at the end of the course if you do not use any of your extension tokens.

Labs

A lab is due one week from the day it is assigned.

Solutions to Assignments and Examinations

Solutions to assignments and examinations will not be posted for this course.