Using video game development to engage undergraduate students of assembly language programming

Abstract

It is widely accepted that the instruction of programming in assembly language is often a challenging and frustrating experience, both to educators and undergraduate students. Although little can be done to simplify the curriculum, it is absolutely crucial that frustration not compel students to abandon the subject. Our use of game development in a second-year course affords a unique opportunity to present this complex subject, without omission, in such a way as to create an experience that most students find entertaining. The results of a class survey indicated that 65% of participants agree or strongly agree that the experience was enjoyable (with only 11% in disagreement). We conclude that this ensures a sufficiently engaging experience that offsets the tedium inherent to the subject. The consensus of most students was that the complexity of video game design does not detract from their enjoyment of the course and contrarily has a positive impact on their learning overall. This position is supported by additional survey results.