E-mail: bmaxim@umich.edu

Classroom: 173 ELB

Meeting Time: 4:35-5:50

Office Hours: 1:30-4:30

This course is a continuation of the material studied in CIS 487/587. The focus of the course will be hands-on development of computer games and computer game development tools (e.g. game engines). Students will study a variety of software technologies relevant to computer game design, including: 3D graphics, computer animation, data-driven game design, multiplayer game programming, and game AI. Lecture topics will be taken from several areas of computer science: simulation and modeling, computer graphics, artificial intelligence, game theory, software engineering, human computer interaction, and game content development.

The term project for this course will focus on the development of a 3D computer game. The term project will require students to go through all phases of system life cycle: specification, design, implementation, and evaluation. There will be 4-6 graded assignments as part of the term project. All assignments will include design activities and students will be expected to make use of existing programming tools. Each assignment will be accompanied by an oral presentation. Your scores on the project deliverables and presentations will determine your grade in this course. The final game deliverables will count for 40% of your grade. Late work will be penalized, as will evidence of cheating in any form.

Texts: Mastering Unreal Technology: Unreal3 Volumes 1, 2, 3

Busby et.al.,Sams, 2010 (required)

Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art of Level Design by

Busby et.al.,Sams, 2005 (recommended)

AI Game Development by Champandard, New Riders, 2003

Week of	Topic	Reading
01-03	Unreal Basics	Unreal 1-2 Unreal3v1 : 1-5
01-10	Unreal Level Editing Game Pitch Presentations	Unreal 3-4
01-17	Martin Luther King Birthday Teams Organize
01-24	Terrain and Lighting Unreal Game Types	Unreal 5-7 Unreal3v1 : 6-8 Unreal 16
01-31	Interactive and Reactive Elements Game Treatment Presentations	Unreal 8-10 Unreal3v2 : 5
02-07	Unreal Karma Actors Bot Navigation	Unreal 11 Unreal3v2 : 4 Unreal 12
02-14	Scripted Sequences Custom Cinematics	Unreal 14-15 Unreal3v1 : 9-10 Unreal 13
02-21	Team Meetings Game Alpha Release Presentation
02-28	Spring Break
03-07	Unreal Scripting Creating Unreal Mods	Notes Notes
03-14	AI Engineering and Games State Driven Agents	C1-C3,C49 C36-C43
03-21	Movement and Obstacle Avoidance Rule-Based Systems	C5-C10 C11-C12
03-28	Tactics, Targets, and Weapon Selection Game Beta Release Presentation	C13-C28
04-04	Path Planning and Goal Driven Agents	notes
04-11	Learning and Fuzzy Logic Decision Making and Reactive Learning	C29-C35 C44-C48
04-18	Course Evaluation
04-22	Term Project Fair (4:00 – 8:00 pm) Gold Release Deliverables Due