Game Architecture

98013 COGS-4964-01

Mondays, Thursdays 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Sage 2510

Instructor: Marc Destefano
Office: Sage 3204
Email: destem [at] the usual
Office Hours: Mondays 1-3

Book: Game Engine Architecture, Jason Gregory

Course Description: This is a class on the composition of game engines, some of the most complex software applications that exist. We will discuss many features common to game engines, such as collision detection, event management, and scene graph manipulations. The first half of the class will be primarily lecture-based, covering topics needed for all game engines. The second half of the class will be primarily project-based, with individuals or teams focusing on an aspect of game architecture that they would like to expand further

Learning Outcomes: Students will learn a more detailed understanding of the subsystems that comprise a game engine, and how they interrelate. Each student in the class with either create a minimalist game engine from scratch, or make a notable contribution to an existing open-souce game engine.

Course Policies

Preparation and Attendance: Attendance is mandatory, and participation will be a factor of your grade. You will be constantly developing your contribution, which will require your presence, and the ability to work with other people. The number one skill game developers need is communication. You will be allowed one unexcused absence, any others must be excused with a letter from the Dean of Students Office.

Academic Honesty: Student relationships are built on mutual respect and trust. Students must be able to trust that their teachers have made responsible decisions about the structure and content of the course and that they are conscientiously making their best effort to help students learn. Teachers must be able to trust that students do their work conscientiously and honestly making their best effort to learn. Acts that violate this mutual respect and trust undermine the educational process. They counteract our very reason for being here at Rensselaer and will not be tolerated. Any student who engages in any form of academic dishonesty will receive an F in this course and will be reported to the Dean of Students for further disciplinary action. The Rensselaer Handbook defines various forms of Academic Dishonesty and procedures for responding to them. All of these forms are violations of trust between students and teachers. Please familiarize yourself with this portion of the handbook. In addition to the violations listed within the handbook, I also do not tolerate multiple submissions of the same assignment to different classes.

Gender-fair language: Because the way we speak and write affects the way we think, everyone in this course is expected to use gender-fair language in all discussions and writing. A guide to gender-fair language is available from the Writing Center and from the Library.

Grading: The first half of the course will feature several homework assignments, and the second half of the class will be devoted to your unique game architecture project.

Factor	Percentage of Grade
Participation	10%
Homeworks	60%
Final Project	30%

Class Schedule

Jan 23	Orientation
Jan 26	Points, Vectors
Jan 30	Matrices
Feb 2	Quaternions
Feb 6	Rasterization
Feb 9	Dev Environment
Feb 13	VAOs and VBOs
Feb 16	Vertex Shading
Feb 23	Fragment Shading
Feb 27	Skinning and Animation
Mar 1	DQ Skinning
Mar 5	Inverse Kinematics
Mar 8	Time
	Spring Break
Mar 19	Collision Detection
Mar 22	Rigid Body Dynamics
Mar 26	Event Management
Mar 29	Runtime Object Models
Apr 2	Pitch
Apr 5	Open Studio
Apr 9	...
Apr 12
Apr 16
Apr 19
Apr 23
Apr 26
Apr 30
May 3
May 7	Final Presentations