A Game Development Course for Non-CS Majors

2015

This chapter presents the results of a literature survey on the use of game development in software engineering (SE) and computer science (CS) education. Games and game development has been used in recent years to increase motivation, engagement and learning, and to promote doing career in software and computers. The authors of this chapter wanted to get a bird’s eye perspective on how game development has been used in the recent years to teach other things than just game development. The literature survey includes research articles from the period 2004 to 2012, and it investigates among other things in what context game development has being used, the subjects and topics taught through game development, and what tools and frameworks being used for game development to learn SE and CS. Further, this chapter includes a description of how game development was used in our software architecture course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the gained experiences from ...

Proceedings of the 2016 ITiCSE Working Group Reports, 2016

Games can be a valuable tool for enriching computer science education, since they can facilitate a number of conditions that promote learning: student motivation, active learning, adaptivity, collaboration, and simulation. Additionally, they provide the instructor the ability to collect learning metrics with relative ease. As part of 21st Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE 2016), the Game Development for Computer Science Education working group convened to examine the current role games play in computer science (CS) education, including where and how they fit into CS education. Based on reviews of literature, academic research, professional practice, and a comprehensive list of games for computing education, we present this working group report. This report provides a summary of existing digital games designed to enrich computing education, an index of where these games may fit into a teaching paradigm using the ACM/IEEE Computer Science Curricula 2013 [13], and a guide to developing digital games designed to teach knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to computer science.

2004

We describe a new major at WPI in Interactive Media and Game Development. We discuss the requirements and courses of the new major, and how it will interact with the existing programs in Computer Science and Humanities & Arts at WPI.

Proceedings of the 13th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research - Koli Calling '13, 2013

Computer science (CS) is a field of practical and scientific approach on computation and applications. Consequently, the CS students should be able to adjust to develop different types of software applications. However, even though video games are one type of software, they also impose additional requirements for the developers. In this paper we present the results of our qualitative studies on how prepared CS students are to function as game developers. The paper assesses the knowledge gaps between students majoring in computer science and game developer needs in two ways; a longitudinal study on a game development course and a focused case study on developing a game. Based on our results there are differences in communication and planning approaches between the CS students and game developers, and skill needs for game development content on a traditional computer science course curricula.

ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 2005

Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences, 2006

The Computer Game industry is big business, the demand for graduates is high, indeed there is a continuing shortage of skilled employees. As with most professions, the skill set required is both specific and diverse. There are currently over 30 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UK offering Computer games related courses. We expect that as the demand from the industry is sustained, more HEIs will respond with the introduction of game-related degrees. This is quite a considerable undertaking involving many issues from integration of new modules or complete courses within the existing curriculum, to staff development. In this paper we share our experiences of introducing elements of game development into our curriculum. This has occurred over the past two years, starting with the inclusion of elements of game development into existing programming modules, followed by the validation of complete modules, and culminating in a complete degree course. Our experience is that our adopting an progressive approach to development, spread over a number of years, was crucial in achieving a successful outcome.

Computer science (CS) is a field of practical and scientific approach on computation and applications. Consequently, the CS students should be able to adjust to develop different types of software applications. However, even though video games are one type of software, they also impose additional requirements for the developers. In this paper we present the results of our qualitative studies on how prepared CS students are to function as game developers. The paper assesses the knowledge gaps between students majoring in computer science and game developer needs in two ways; a longitudinal study on a game development course and a focused case study on developing a game. Based on our results there are differences in communication and planning approaches between the CS students and game developers, and skill needs for game development content on a traditional computer science course curricula.

Proceedings of the 3rd international conference on Game development in computer science education - GDCSE '08, 2008

We examine the effect of game design on students' attitudes, specifically interest in attaining a Computer Science degree, continued development of programming skills and experience in game design. Students in a Computer Science Survey course are given the task of applying software engineering principles in the context of game design. Using the Game Maker platform, students are divided into teams and participate in collaborative game design for 2.5 weeks. Pre and post survey results reveal that game design can have both a positive and negative impact on students' attitudes about Computer Science, game design and further development of programming skills. Furthermore, it is imperative that assignments are carefully planned and cover appropriate material in respect to time constraints if the goal is to positively influence students' attitudes and lead to positive learning outcomes.

2017

It has been nearly twenty years since the first undergraduate degree program in computer game development was established in 1998. Since that time, the number and size of programs in game design and development have grown at a rapid pace. While there were early efforts to establish curricular guidelines for the field, these face a number of challenges given the diverse range of academic homes for game-related programs. This panel will address the history of curricular development in the field, both in individual programs and across institutions. It will also explore the potential risks and rewards of developing curricular and/or accreditation guidelines for the field.

British Journal of Educational Technology, 2007

Software-engineering education programs are intended to prepare students for a field that involves rapidly changing conditions and expectations. Thus, there is always a danger that the skills and the knowledge provided may soon become obsolete. This paper describes results and draws on experiences from the implementation of a computer game-development course whose design addresses problems in software-engineering education by improving students' abilities in four areas: (1) problem solving; (2) the application of previously learned knowledge; (3) the use of independent learning; and (4) learning by doing. In order to better understand this course's effect on students' performance in a software-development project, I investigated 125 students' performance in a 1-year senior-project course. Results of this study show that the students who had taken the computer game-development course became more successful in the senior-project course than the students who had not taken it.