Improving the CS Curriculum of a Top-Down Videogames BA

Macquarie University, in 2012, introduced two undergraduate coursework programs in the area of video games. These programs are a joint initiative of the Departments of Computing and Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies. The programs represent an innovative approach to curriculum structure in this area, combining technical, design and reflective critical practice to produce rounded graduates with a wide knowledge of issues and practices in interactive media. This paper describes the process of designing these programs, the aims and rationales guiding their design and their detailed structure. The central guiding principle behind the programs was that accomplished designers of interactive media, particularly video games, need both a sound technical background and an appreciation of the relationship between users, society and their designs. This is reflected in both the structure of the programs and the pedagogical approaches in the specialist units.

ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 2005

This paper describes initiatives at Marist College to develop a Game Concentration in the undergraduate Computer Science curriculum. These initiatives contemplate recommendations for existing courses as well as adoption of new courses. We also consider activities of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) in this area and opportunities for students beyond the classroom.

Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 2007

There has been significant recent interest in computer games in University and College curricula as a way to teach early computer science, to attract more students into the program, to teach advanced concepts, and to help lend vocational weight to a curriculum. In this article we discuss several ways that games can contribute to an undergraduate CS program, and illustrate specific ways that the use of games has influenced learning, the students, the faculty, and the institution where these courses have been implemented.

Journal of Education and Learning

As in any professional field, aspiring video game artists, designers, and developers must acquire the necessary skills and knowledge for a successful career. Higher education institutions offer varying video game Bachelor’s degree programs to meet the diverse needs of the industry. Our objective in this study was to explore these curricula to gain insight into and understanding of the contemporary video game higher education landscape. We explored 113 Bachelor’s degree curricula in Europe that had publicly available information in English about their courses. We classified the courses within each curriculum using ten devised classifiers based on the IGDA Curriculum Framework 2008 but modified them to suit our interests. The content of the classified curricula was then used to create curriculum profiles – data vectors that characterize a curriculum based on its contents. These profiles allowed for hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis (PCA) to identify and investig...

2008

In the past 3-4 years there has been a significant interest in computer games in University and college curricula, as a way to teach early computer science, to attract more students into the program, and to teach advanced concepts and lend vocational weight to a curriculum. In this article we discuss many ways that games can contribute to an undergraduate CS program, and illustrates specific ways that the use of games has influenced the students, the faculty, and the institution. Our claims are supported by numbers based on actual observation and study. We also show how the inclusion of games can add to research aspects and the reputation of a computer science department.

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.

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.

2004

ABSTRACT The possible causal relationship between playing digital games and interest in computer science has been explored by researchers and outreach programs working on broadening participation in CS. This paper reviews empirical data from over 1,000 students at a technical university regarding their interest in CS and their frequency of game play. The data suggest that gaming is a significant, but small factor in students' interest in CS.

2007

Computer Science departments across the country have embraced computer gaming classes as part of the core curriculum. However, instructors need to define guidelines that accommodate students' proficiency in game development and consequently address the growing needs of industry. We develop and evaluate a Game Authoring Class in an attempt to begin to close the gap between industry and academia. Learning objectives include students applying game development concepts to implementation of 2D and 3D games for multiple platforms. Subsequently, we evaluate the course based on two factors: formal assessment of students' understanding of game design principles and students' perceived learning. The results of our evaluation serve as the basis for establishing effective pedagogical strategies for game development curriculum.

2009

Abstract In this paper, we examine the relationship between digital games and interest in computer science. When we undertook this research, our goal was to expand upon past work that explores video games as a positive influence on students' interest in CS. We utilized both quantitative and qualitative research methods with a large technically and academically competent subject pool.