Synopsis for Designing an Implementation-Based Game Development Course

The cultural and socioeconomic impact of computer and video games is pervasive. With the decline in enrollment in Computer Science curricula across the country, many are looking to implement a course in game development. An implementation-based “Introduction to Game Development” course has been taught for three years at Tufts University with great success. The course is now recognized by the Department of Computer Science and by students. What worked? What need improvement? This presentation delves into designing a one-semester implementation-based course including organization, core and hot topics, projects and assignments. An array of students’ works and accomplishments are also presented. Course evaluations, comments, and ongoing challenges will also be discussed.