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Monash University

FIT3145 Games engine programming - Semester 1, 2013

This unit exposes students to a variety of industry standard games engine environments and development techniques. Students will develop an appreciation and basic working knowledge of a number of different platforms used in contemporary games development. The unit aims to provide students with a practical insight into contemporary, industry standard, games development process and games engines.

Mode of Delivery

Caulfield (Day)

Contact Hours

2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs tutorials/wk

Workload requirements

You are expected to spend 12 hours per week on various activities including reading, communication with other students and unit lecturers, and preparation for learning tasks and formal assessments.

Unit Relationships

Prerequisites

FIT2049 and FIT2073

Chief Examiner

Mr Derrick Martin

Campus Lecturer

Caulfield

Derrick Martin

Consultation hours: Monday 10am - 12pm, Tuesday 10am - 12pm

Tutors

Caulfield

Jason Haasz

Academic Overview

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit students will be able to:
  • understand the games development pipeline as used in industry;
  • appreciate the number of formal and informal games development platforms that exist and why they are used;
  • research new and unfamiliar games development environments and adapt to their use;
understand how to formally approach the use of a new development environment in the games context;
  • critically analyse and explore new games development technologies, including graphics and audio engines, for suitability of use for specific games projects;
  • create basic games prototypes in a number of contemporary game engines and development frameworks;
  • demonstrate a working knowledge of the Microsoft XNA framework of game development, including C#.

Unit Schedule

Week Activities Assessment
0   No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0
1 Introduction to Game development Engines, historical background to game engines  
2 Unity, Game engine research processes Forum and Lecture Participation weekly, due before midnight each Wednesday, from Week 2 to Week 11
3 3DGame Studio, Gamebryo, NeoAxis Research and Presentation of Findings of a Specific Game Engine Depending on schedule, due during one lecture, from Week 3 to Week 11
4 Crystal Space, FMOD, OGRE  
5 Box2D, Leadwerks, Torque  
6 CryEngine, Newton, Shiva  
7 Game Maker, PyGame, Unreal  
8 Abyssal Engine, Irrlicht, PhyreEngine  
9 Esenthel Engine, IwGame Engine, Panda3D  
10 C4 Engine, JMonkeyEngine, Visual3D Game Engine  
11 JigLibX, Game Engine Overview  
12 Class Test (Case Study) Class Test (Case Study) Week 12 during lecture
  SWOT VAC No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC. Assignment (Game Creation) due 3pm Monday, Week 15
  Examination period LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/
academic/education/assessment/
assessment-in-coursework-policy.html

*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.

Assessment Summary

In-semester assessment: 100%

Assessment Task Value Due Date
Research and Presentation of Findings of a Specific Game Engine 20% Depending on schedule, due during one lecture, from Week 3 to Week 11
Class Test (Case Study) 20% Week 12 during lecture
Lecture and Forum Participation 15% Weekly, due before midnight each Wednesday, from Week 2 to Week 11
Assignment (Game Creation) 45% (30% for game, 15% for Journal) 3pm Monday, Week 15

Teaching Approach

Lecture and tutorials or problem classes
This teaching and learning approach helps students to initially encounter information at lectures, discuss and explore the information during tutorials, and practice in a hands-on lab environment.

Assessment Requirements

Assessment Policy

Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/unit-assessment-hurdles.html)

Academic Integrity - Please see the Demystifying Citing and Referencing tutorial at http://lib.monash.edu/tutorials/citing/

Assessment Tasks

Participation

  • Assessment task 1
    Title:
    Research and Presentation of Findings of a Specific Game Engine
    Description:
    Students will choose a game engine and present research findings related to the engine (see Moodle for game engines and times that each presentation will occur).

    Students will answer questions from peers and staff attending and in the following week on Moodle forums.

    Students are expected to provide a copy of their presentation and presentation notes as part of this assessment task.
    Weighting:
    20%
    Criteria for assessment:

    Students will be assessed based on clarity, completeness, presentation skills, research quality and answering questions posed by peers during the presentation and in the Moodle forums.

    Due date:
    Depending on schedule, due during one lecture, from Week 3 to Week 11
    Remarks:
    Please refer to Moodle for a detailed description of expectations for this assignment.
  • Assessment task 2
    Title:
    Class Test (Case Study)
    Description:
    Students will be given a case study and will be required to decide which game engine (from the engines discussed during semester) is appropriate for the project.  Students will discuss the reasons behind their choice, benefits and negatives regarding the engine they are proposing and expected game design process and workflow based on the engine chosen.
    Weighting:
    20%
    Criteria for assessment:

    Clarity and reasoning behind choices, completeness and appropriateness of discussion.

    Due date:
    Week 12 during lecture
    Remarks:
    Please refer to Moodle for a detailed description of expectations for this assignment.
  • Assessment task 3
    Title:
    Lecture and Forum Participation
    Description:
    In the lecture time, students will create written feedback related to each of the weekly presentations done by students and post the feedback on the Moodle forums.
    Weighting:
    15%
    Criteria for assessment:

    Clarity and appropriateness of feedback.

    Due date:
    Weekly, due before midnight each Wednesday, from Week 2 to Week 11
    Remarks:
    Please refer to Moodle for a detailed description of expectations for this assignment.
  • Assessment task 4
    Title:
    Assignment (Game Creation)
    Description:
    Students will create a game and a journal describing their thoughts on the game engine chosen for this task.  Students are encouraged to work in groups for game creation, but must have individual journals.
    Weighting:
    45% (30% for game, 15% for Journal)
    Criteria for assessment:

    For the game (group assessment, worth 30%): completeness, originality and technical (programming, design, art, etc) skills shown.  If the individual journals reflect a minimum contribution by an individual student towards the group project, the individual marks will be altered to reflect the proportionate contribution by each individual in the group.

    For the journal (individual assessment, worth 15%): clarity of discussion, depth, range and appropriateness of discussed elements.

    Due date:
    3pm Monday, Week 15
    Remarks:
    Please refer to Moodle for a detailed description of expectations for this assignment.

Learning resources

Monash Library Unit Reading List
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html

Feedback to you

Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:
  • Informal feedback on progress in labs/tutes
  • Graded assignments with comments
  • Test results and feedback

Extensions and penalties

Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.

You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/equity/special-consideration.html.

Returning assignments

Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.

Assignment submission

It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an online quiz).

Online submission

If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the VLE site for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.

Other Information

Policies

Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html

Key educational policies include:

Graduate Attributes Policy

http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/management/monash-graduate-attributes-policy.html

Student services

The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Sunway see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.

Monash University Library

The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Sunway, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.

Disability Liaison Unit

Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis.

Your feedback to Us

Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.

For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:

www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html

Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit

This is the first year that this unit is being offered.

If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp

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