Achievement

IGERT faculty member Andy Nealen, who studies computer graphics and designs video games, has started a new graduate course in computer science that draws students across disciplines. The course, entitled "Video Game Programming and Design" teaches graduate students the theory and practice of designing tightly focused and novel game mechanics, and to use this knowledge in crafting a small game of their own. Designing the games requires merging psychological aspects that make games appealing with the challenge of developing techniques to produce the effective computer graphics using 3D cues to shape and motion. Versions of this course have been very successful in the past in that some of the teams have won internationally recognized awards for their games, and have moved on to form their own game companies.