Class is held in person Tuesday and Thursday from 18:40-20:00 in CIT 101.
First class is Thursday Sept 5th!
Welcome to 2D Game Engines! This is a largely student-run course,
similar to an independent study,
and you'll learn lots of techniques needed to create a fledgling game engine. These topics include
animation, simple AI, collision detection, physics, and raycasting. You will create a game engine of your
own over the course of the semester, adding a few features to it each week. At the same time, you will also
create a series of games using your engine that demonstrate the use of the features you add. Near the
end of the semester, you will design and implement a final project that uses your game engine to
create a complete, polished game.
Based on the work from the previous few years of class, we estimate that the
projects should take roughly 15-20 hours per weekly checkpoint. There is also a two hour lecture
each week and a weekly design check.
Do I have to be a video game expert to take this course?
Nope! While it does help to have some familiarity with the different types of 2D
video games out there, we will explain everything you need to know in order to do the projects.
Can I take this course before CS 32?
Yes. The pre-requisite for this course is any intro CS sequence. You will be
maintaining and improving upon your code and projects throughout the course so this helps out a bit
with preparing for CS 32.
Where can I get sprites and images for the projects?
There are a handful of places that you can find free assets online such as opengameart.org, itch.io, and many more.
If you do use resources you find online make sure to give credit and cite. Although it isn't a part of your grade we love to see custom art and designs in submissions.
Where do you go to find inspiration?
Think about what kind of games you've liked playing in the past, and ask yourself
how you'd improve upon them. If you were offered the chance to make a spinoff, what new direction
would you take it in? There's a lot of game archetypes out there, and we won't constrain you
to a single one of them. (You can absolutely turn a dungeon crawler project into Stardew Valley as long you use the same engine
features.) You can make metroidvanias, puzzle games, visual novels, arcade games,
simulations, remakes, whatever you want. Links
for more inspiration.
Can I reuse a game I make here for my CS 32 final project?
That depends on how the CS 32 TA's feel about it, but in general, you can't reuse
work you submitted for one class for a similar assignment in another class. Your experience creating
game engines, however, will allow you to make an even better game for your CS 32 final project.
Can I reuse a game I made in CS15/CS32/etc for my final project here?
You can reuse the same concept, sure, but keep in mind you'll have to build it all
with the game engine you wrote throughout the semester. Porting over the idea is perfectly fine,
though.
What should I bring to the design check?
Design checks in this course are not the same as design checks in CS15/16/17/18. We
expect you to have thought about the project and have a good idea of how you will solve some of the
central problems it involves, but it's OK if you haven't written any code or made a diagram of your
class design. The later you do your design check, though, the more progress we will expect you to
have made.
Why is this class sometimes designated cs1971?
We have two course codes. Don't ask why�we don't know either. Hopefully you will never see the other one.
Can you show me some final projects done by students from a long time ago?
