College of the Siskiyous

Computer Science Department

Summer 2008

 

CSCI 37A – Computer Game Design I

 

Meeting Times: 
Students should expect to spend approximately 12 to 15 hours per week completing class requirements.  You don't have to be online this entire time, but you should log on at least three times a week to review the module material, get assignment instructions and read class announcements. 

Course: CSCI 37A; 3 Units AA, CSU

Computer Science Instructor: Jesse Cecil

Email:   cecil@siskiyous.edu.  I will reply to your email as soon as possible.

Required Text:

The Game Maker's Apprentice, ISBN 1-59059-615-3, By Habgood and Overmars, published by Apress, 2006

            You can get the book from the Weed or Yreka bookstores or you can go online to Booksamillion.com or half.com

 

Advisories:

The time and motivation to take an online course are higher. Online courses are more difficult for the majority of students. Please take the two "Online Readiness" assessments to help you decide if online instruction is really for you. The first assessment looks at your "student" skills, and the second assessment examines your technology skill level. You should also review the "Online Survival Guide."

Learning Outcomes of the Course:

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

ü  Describe the basic elements of an image and how to manipulate it

ü  Describe types of sounds and how to obtain or create sounds and music

ü  Identify and describe game genres

ü  Identify the elements of good game design

ü  Use Game Maker software to develop a 2D level game


GRADED EVENTS:

Exercises                                              160 Points

Final Project                                        100 Points

Final Exam                                          40 Points

TOTAL                                                 300 POINTS

 

GRADING:

270-300 Points              A          240-269 Points              B

210-239 Points              C          180-209 Points              D

179 Points or below      F

 

 

Assistance:
Support hours can be used to access in-person help from the computer lab assistants on campus, see the Support Hour Requirement section below.

Support Hour Requirement: 
The support hour provides COS students, including online students, with access to professional assistance, supplemental instruction and remediation opportunities to help improve student success. Supervised support, via the COS Critical Skills Center, is offered for reading, writing, information technology, computer competency, and other skills outside of web publishing specific content. This course requires you to complete a variety of tasks that will necessitate the services available through the support hour, and you may utilize these services in person or by email or phone. The support hour allows you to go to the computer labs on either campus, obtain a computer account, and get the one-on-one help you need. The required tasks include the weekly exercises and the class web project (see grading requirements below.) Student use of the support hour will be assessed, as outlined in the grading requirements.  Some of the personal support you may utilize relating to this course include:

The instructor strongly advises that all students take advantage of the resources available in the computer labs on campus.  The staff are knowledgeable and can provide immediate assistance as problems arise.  Computer lab accounts will be set up for you the first time you access either campus lab.  Be sure to allow extra time for this on your first visit.  It would be best to set up your account and get to know the lab assistants before you need desperate last-minute help.  You'll find the Weed computer lab schedule at www.siskiyous.edu/computerlab/ and the Yreka lab at www.siskiyous.edu/yreka/ComptrLab.  Be sure to call the Yreka campus at 842-1245 to check computer lab availability.

 

Attendance/Withdrawal/Incomplete:
Students are expected to attend class by logging into the ETUDES online classroom every week. New modules and assignment instructions will be available according to the schedule. A computer crash, bad internet connection, or computer virus infection are not valid excuses for missing class and turning in late assignments. Every student should have two back-up computers available for emergency use.

If there is a waitlist for the class, any student who has not contacted the instructor by the end of the first week may be dropped. If you wish to withdraw from the class without a transcript notation, do so before the date specified on the Academic calendar www.siskiyous.edu/instruction/acadcalendar.htm. It is the student's responsibility to drop the class once you've started. 

An "I" (Incomplete grade) will only be given if academic work is incomplete due to an unforeseeable emergency. Incompletes will be granted for finishing the final project only, and are given only in rare circumstances.

 

Late Assignment Policy:

See each exercise instruction page for due dates and late submission penalties.  Late assignments will be docked a minimum of 20% and will only be accepted up to one week late. Exercises will not be accepted for credit eight days or more after the due date. However, because many exercises build on previous ones, late assignments may be submitted for instructor comment.  The project instruction page gives late penalties for the end of semester project.

 

Academic Honesty:
Honesty and integrity is expected in all coursework. Plagiarism is taking someone else's work and presenting it as your own, and in programming this includes code variable names and layout.  Academic dishonesty will result in zero points for the assignment, and possible dismissal from the class.  You may discuss your class work with other students, but do not share or copy files.  If you have ANY questions about this policy, please ask the instructor.  The COS Writing Lab will also assist you in avoiding plagiarism.

 

Academic Accommodations:

            Students have the right to request reasonable modifications to college requirements, services, facilities or programs if their documented disability imposes an educational limitation or impedes access to requirements, services, facilities or programs.  A student with a disability who requests a modification, accommodation, or adjustment is responsible for requesting necessary accommodations by identifying himself/herself to the instructor and, if desired, to the Disabled Student Programs and Services(DSPS) office Eddy Hall 1. 

            Students with a print disability--a visual limitation or reading difficulty that limits access to traditional print materials--may request printed materials in alternate media.  Examples of alternate media formats include electronic format(e.g., text on CD), Braille, tactile graphics, audiotape, and/or large print. Students can make alternate media requests through the Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSP&S) Eddy Hall 1, 938-5297.

            Students who consult or request assistance from DSPS regarding

specific modifications, accommodations, adjustments, alternate text or use of auxiliary aids will be required to meet timelines and procedural requirements established by the DSPS office.