Work in progress — integrating multiple computer science disciplines via a technical game development course

Abstract

This paper describes a new course in development that utilizes technical game development as the unifying subject. This matches a goal of our Computer Science program to provide opportunities for students to utilize multiple CS topics in a single course. Doing so results in those subjects being reinforced and expanded by repeating them in a new context, it also provides new challenges and learning opportunities when several topics are integrated in a single project. The course requires all work is done in teams of three to five, with each project following standard software development practice, and incorporating multiple technical components, such as concurrency, Artificial Intelligence, and etc. The course requires students to peer review, which helps train them to critically review otherpsilas work; they are also required to give an oral presentation of their final project.