ABSTRACT Multidisciplinary Students And Instructors A Second-Year Games Course

ASecond-YearGamesCourse

NathanR.Sturtevant1H.JamesHoover1JonathanSchaeffer1nathanst@cs.ualberta.cahoover@cs.ualberta.cajonathan@cs.ualberta.ca

SeanGouglas2MichaelH.Bowling1

sean.gouglas@ualberta.cabowling@cs.ualberta.ca

ABSTRACT

Computergamesareamulti-billiondollarindustryandhavebecomeanimportantpartofourprivateandsociallives.Itisonlynatural,then,thatthetechnologyusedtocreategamesshouldbecomepartofacomputingsciencecurricu-lum.However,gamedevelopmentismorethanamassiveprogrammingendeavor.Today’sgamesarelargelyaboutgeneratingcontentwithinmultidisciplinaryteams.CMPUT250isanewcomputingsciencecourseattheUniversityofAlbertathatemphasizescreatinggamesinmultidisci-plinaryteams.Thispaperdescribesourexperienceswiththecourse,emphasizingtheissuesofmultidisciplinaryin-teractions:teaching,teamwork,andevaluation.

CategoriesandSubjectDescriptors

K.3[ComputersandEducation]:MiscellaneousGeneralTerms:design

Keywords:computergames,multidisciplinarystudents,multidisciplinaryteaching

1.INTRODUCTIONANDMOTIVATION

Itischallengingtokeepanacademiccurriculumrele-vant,especiallyinthequickly-evolvingfieldofcomputingscience.Thecommercialsuccessofthecomputergamesindustryisbutoneofmanyrecentdevelopmentsincom-putingthatshouldbereflectedinastate-of-the-artcom-putingsciencecurriculum.ForovertwodecadestheDe-partmentofComputingScienceattheUniversityofAlbertahashadastrongresearchgroupworkinginartificialintelli-genceappliedtoclassicalgames.In1999,thegroupbeganmovingtheirfocustowardstheartificialintelligenceneedsofthecommercialgamesindustry,establishingstrongtieswithElectronicArts,theworld’slargestgamescompany,andBioWareCorp.,aleaderinrole-playinggames.

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UniversityofAlberta,ComputingScienceDepartmentUniversityofAlberta,DepartmentofHistoryandClassics

Permissiontomakedigitalorhardcopiesofallorpartofthisworkforpersonalorclassroomuseisgrantedwithoutfeeprovidedthatcopiesarenotmadeordistributedforprofitorcommercialadvantageandthatcopiesbearthisnoticeandthefullcitationonthefirstpage.Tocopyotherwise,torepublish,topostonserversortoredistributetolists,requirespriorspecificpermissionand/orafee.

SIGCSE’08,March12–15,2008,Portland,Oregon,USA.Copyright2008ACM978-1-59593-947-0/08/0003...$5.00.

Itwaswithinthiscontextthatourdepartmentbegantoplanasenior-levelgames-programmingcourseforcomput-ingmajors.Thecoursewouldhavebeencenteredontheimplementationofalargeprojectontopofanestablishedcodebase.However,overthepastfouryearstherehasbeenanalarmingdeclineincomputingscience(CS)enrollmentsattheundergraduatelevel.Introducingaseniorundergrad-uatecoursethatwaslimitedtoCSmajorswasnotappealingasaddingmorecoursebreadthtoadecliningpopulationdidnotseemtobeagoodstrategy.

Recommendationsfromindustrialpartnersconvincedustolookintoadifferentapproach,whichalsohadthepoten-tialtostrengthentieswithotherdepartmentsoncampus.Mostgame-developmentprojectsinindustryhavetwono-tablefeaturesthathaverecentlybecomemorepronounced:•Multidisciplinaryteams.Earlycomputergameswerede-velopedbyteamsofcomputerprogrammers.Today,thegame-developmentteamiscomposedofmemberswithamultitudeofskillsets,includingprogrammers,writers,artists,andmusicians.Computingscientiststypicallycompriseaboutone-quarteroftheemployeesatlargegamescompanies,andthispercentageislikelytodecline.

•Gamecontent.Gamesoriginallywereseenasalmostex-clusivelyaprogrammingeffort.Nowgameprogrammingislargelydirectedtowardsthebuildingoftoolsforthecon-tentdevelopers(e.g.,writers,artists,musicians)tointegratetheirworkintothegame.Buildingthegamecontentcan,insomeinstances,occupythemajorityofwork.

Ourindustrypartnersmadetheimportanceofmultidisci-plinaryteamsclear.JohnBuchanan,aformerprofessorattheUniversityofAlbertaandtheformerdirectorofuniver-sityrelationsforElectronicArts,wrotetousthat,

aremanyattemptsatbuildinggamecoursesacrosstheacademy.Thegamesindustryisauniquesegmentofthesoftwareengineeringcommunity;uniqueinthattheteamsthatbuildthegamesaremultidisciplinary.Ireceivealotofrequeststoreviewcoursesinthisarea.Myadviceisalwaysthesame:makethecoursecrosstraditionalbound-aries;getengineers,artistsanddesignersworkingtogether....Ifyouhavetheflexibilitytomakethecoursemultidisci-plinary,thenyoumust.”

DavidHibbeln,DirectorofArtforBioWareCorp.,em-phasizedthesamepoint:

isonethingtojusttrainstudentstohaveasetofskills,butitismuchmoreimportanttotrainthemtousethoseskillswithinthecontextofaninterdisciplinaryproject.Theabilitytoharmonizewithagroupisoneofthemostimpor-

“There“Ittantemployeeskillswhenworkingforacompanysuchasours.”

Thiswasourmotivationforcreatingthemultidisciplinarygamescourse,CMPUT250:ComputersandGames.Sev-eralcoursesinatypicalCScurriculuminvolveteamprojects,butfewcurriculainvolveteamworkwithnon-CSstudents.Thisskillisbecomingincreasinglyimportantnotonlyinthegamesindustry,butinotherfieldsaswell,ascomputersarepervasiveinsociety.Oneprogramthattakesasimilarap-proachtooursisatCarnegieMellon[5].OurcoursedebutedinSeptember2005,withcontinuedofferingssince.SomeoftheimportantfeaturesofCMPUT250includemultidisci-plinaryteaching,industrialpartnerships,multidisciplinaryteamsforthecourseproject,andaparticularapproachtoprojectmanagement.

ThispaperdescribesourexperienceswithCMPUT250,includinganoverviewofthecoursematerial,thetoolsused,andthecourseproject.Itassessesthestrengthsandweak-nessesofthecourse,includinglessonslearnedthatmighthelpothersinplanningandshapingtheirownprogram.Allcoursematerialdiscussedinthispaperispubliclyavailable,includingthesoftwaretools.

2.COURSEGOALS

CMPUT250exposesstudentstoabroadarrayoftopicsrelatedtobothcomputerscienceandthecreationofcom-putergames.Thepedagogicalgoalsofthecourseinclude•Creatingastimulating,collaborativelearningenvironmentforstudentstoexplorethetheoreticalandtechnicalissuesinvolvedinthestudyandcreationofcomputergames.

•Providingnon-CSstudentsanopportunitytolearnfromtheintellectualtraditionsofCSinsolvingchallengingtasksingeneral,andparticularlyinresolvingissuesincomputergamedevelopment.

•ProvidingCSstudentsanopportunitytoworkwithandlearnfromfacultyandstudentsintheArts,specificallywithrespecttothecultural,social,andeconomicissuesofcom-putergamesandnewnarrativeforms.

•Usethegame-developmentcycletoprovidestudentswithareal-worldlearningexperiencethatiscomplementedwiththeoreticalandhistoricaldiscussionsofthegamesindustry.Thesespecificpedagogicalgoalspromptedateam-centered,problem-basedlearningapproach.Ourdecisiontorepli-catethegame-designprocessnotonlygivesstudentsaper-spectiveintohowgamesarecreated,italsogivesthemuniqueskillsinprojectmanagementbyworkingonopen-endedprojects.Assuch,thestructureofthecourserequiresafocusontheinterdisciplinarynatureofgamedesign,whichincludesavastlistofpotentialtopicsandchallenges.

3.INTERDISCIPLINARYLECTURES

CMPUT250hasbeentaughtbyteamsoffiveinstructors,includingfacultymembersfromcomputingscience,thehu-manities,andfinearts,coveringthetheoreticalandtechnicalissuesofgamedesignfrombothascienceandasocialsci-ence/humanitiesperspective.Apedagogicalimperativeofthecourseistobringnon-CSstudentsintocontactwiththeintellectualtraditionsofcomputingsciencewhilealsoex-pandingthecross-departmentexperiencesandinteractionsoftheCSstudents.

Earlylecturesfocusontopicsimmediatelyneededforthe

courseproject,includingteammanagement,gamedesign,andnarrative.Atthesametime,labtutorialsandexercisesareusedtoprovidestudentswiththeskillsneededtobeginworkontheproject(i.e.thetoolsforbuildingtheproject).MembersoftheCSfacultyprovidelecturesonscripting,gamedevelopmentcycles,artificialintelligence,advancesincomputergametechnology(suchassoundandvideodevel-opment),andprojectmanagementinateamenvironment.Somethemeswhichareemphasizedintheselecturesincludetopicslikealgorithmicandhardwareconstraintsaswellasthehistoryofspecializedversusgeneral-purposehardware.Here,gamingprovidesanon-threateningintroductionintothecomplexitiesofcomputingscience.

Facultyfromthehumanitiesandsocialscienceshavepro-videdlecturesonnarrativeintraditionalanddigitalenvi-ronments,theculturalaspectsofgaming(includingviolence,sexuality,andcommunity),andthedesignprocessforart-workandsound.Theselecturesoftenfacilitateextendeddiscussionfromstudentsofallbackgrounds.

Interspersedwiththemainlecturesareaseriesofreview-likelecturesgivenbytheheadinstructor.Theseservetotietogetherideasbeingpresentedbythedifferentinstructors.Gamepostmortems,takenfromGameDeveloperMagazine,areusedtoillustratereal-lifeexamplesofthethingsbeingdiscussedinthecourse.

Oneofthebiggestchallengesposedbyamultidisciplinaryclassandamultidisciplinarysetofinstructorsistheneedtodeliverthematerialattherightlevelofdetail.Con-sideraCSlectureonartificialintelligence.Ifthereistoomuchtechnicaldetail,thenon-CSaudiencewillnothavethenecessarybackgroundtounderstandthematerial.Iftheinformationispresentedattoogeneralalevel,theCSstudentswilllearnnothingnew.Thus,itisimportantthattheinstructorscontinuallyrelatethetechnicalmaterialtotheuniquechallengesofgamedevelopment(suchasstrictmemoryandcomputationallimitations).Evenifstudentshavepreviouslystudiedmaterialcoveredinthecourse,therelationshipofthematerialwithgamedesignwillprovideanewperspectiveandunderstanding.Thisisanongoingchallengeforthecourseinstructors.

4.COURSEPROJECT

Thecentralexerciseandmeansofevaluationforthecourseisateamproject,intendedtoreflectthegamedevelopmentprocessasfarasispractical.AsLorenAndruko,formerdirectorofprogrammingforBioWareCorp.,stated,

mostcoursesstudentsworkonassignmentswithwellde-finedgoalsanddeadlines.Theproblemsfacedinindustryareneversosimpleandclear-cut,soitisvaluableforstu-dentstoworkonprojectswithmoreuncertaintyincludinganeedtoadaptandrefinegoalsastheprojectprogresses.”Teamsoffourorfivestudentsarerequiredtogenerateashort,self-contained“module”forBioWare’spopulargameNeverwinterNightsTM(NWN).Eachteamisregardedasanewdevelopmentteam,buildingaprototypeorproofofcon-ceptforanewgame.Thisisconsistentwithouraimtoem-phasizecontentgenerationandmultidisciplinaryteamwork,ratherthanthemoretechnicalaspectsinvolvedingameen-ginedevelopment.

Tofosterthekindofenvironmentfoundintheindustry,teamsarealsorestrictedinthebackgroundsoftheirmem-bers.Asfaraspossible,teamsmembersarerequiredtohavedifferentmajorsandeachteamwasrequiredtohaveatleast

“InoneCSstudentsothatallteamswillbecertaintohaveatleastsometechnicalcapability.Teamsarealsostronglyen-couragedtoattendthesamelabsectionssotheywillbesuretohavesometimewhentheentireteamcanbetogether.

4.1ProjectTools

BecauseCMPUT250isopentostudentsofallback-grounds,wecannotassumethattheywillhaveanycom-putingorprogrammingbackground.Thisprecludesusfromusingmanyoftheavailablegameengines.NWNhasbeenapopularchoiceforuseintheclassroom(eg[1,4]),asthisgamewasoneofthefirsttoincludeacompletesuiteoftoolstoallowuserstocreatetheirowngamestorywithinagame.TheBioWaretools,AuroraandNWScript,provideacom-pletegame-authoringpackage.

Tominimizethetechnicalrequirementsofdevelopment,studentsareencouragedtousethepubliclyavailableScript-EasetoolwhichhasbeendevelopedattheUniversityofAlberta[3].ScriptEasepresentsagraphicalinterfacethatallowstheusertoselectfrompredefinedpatternsofbe-haviortodescribecommonscenariosandeventsinrole-playinggamessuchasNWN.Forexample,openingachestandhavingamonsterappearisacommonpatterninrole-playinggamesthatissupportedasaScriptEasemenuse-lection.Basedonthesepatterns,ScriptEaseautomaticallygeneratesBioWare’sNWScriptthatimplementthebehav-ior.ScriptEaseissuitableforstudentswhoarenotprogram-mers,asithasevenbeenusedinseveralGrade10Englishclassesaspartoftheshortstorywritingcurriculum[2].Thesetoolsareprimarilytaughtthroughtutorialsandotherexercisesprovidedinthecourselab,whichstudentsattendfortwohoursaweek.Theteachingassistantsmainroleistofacilitatetheselabsections,helpingstudentswiththecoursetoolsandanyissuesthatariseintheirprojects.Toensurethatallstudentslearnthesetools,thereareshortassignmentswhichcanbecompletedduringthelabeachweekandalabexamhalf-waythroughthecourse.

Notethatagoodlabinfrastructureisnecessaryforsuchacourse.Role-playinggamescanbebuiltonrelativelymod-estplatformsusingtheNWNandScriptEasetoolkits,butextensivedesignandvideoworkrequiresahighperformanceplatform.Computerswithdualdisplaysareparticularlyusefulfordesignandtesting.Thekeyinfrastructureisawell-defined,rapid-responsereportingsysteminplaceforhardwareandsoftwareproblems,astheycanbeexpectedtooccurinanylabsetting.Finally,gameassetscangrowtomultiplegigabytesandstudentscannotbeexpectedtobackuptheirownprojects,soitisimportanttohavearepositoryandbackupsysteminplaceaspartofthelabenvironment.

4.2ProjectManagement

Thereareanumberofimportantwayswehaveworkedtohelpstudentsmanagetheirprojectswell.Teamsareal-lowedtoorganizethemselves,butmustselectonememberasa“leaddesigner”andanotherasan“associateproducer”.Theleaddesignerensuresthatonepersonhasfinaldecision-makingauthorityasregardsfeaturesofthegameitself.Theassociateproducerisresponsiblefortheoperationoftheteam,includingtheschedulingoftheprojectandensuringthatallcourseobjectivesaremet.Beyondthesetwospecificroles,teamsareallowedtoallocatepeopletotasksastheydesire,withconsiderationtomaintaininganequalworkload.

Akeydangerinaprojectofthiskindisthatstudentswillbeover-ambitious,planningoutafarlargergamethantheirresourcesallow.Inourfirstcourseofferingthiswasthecase,asseveralofthegamesdevelopedinthecoursereflectedeffortfarinexcessofanormalcourseload.Toavoidthis,insubsequentofferingsofthecourseweadoptedthreemeasurestohelpteamscontrolthescopeoftheirgames.First,gamesarelimitedinscopebytheadditionofa‘bud-get’systemthatlimitsthenumberofgameelementsteamscanemploy.Second,gamesarerequiredtobeplayablein10-15minutes,assumingthattheuserknowsexactlyhowtoplaythegame.Thisrequirement,suggestedbyBioWare,providesadditionalfocusfortheteams,encouragingstu-dentstobuildsmall,richmodulesinsteadofsprawlingun-focusedones.Finally,a‘producer’isassignedtoeachteamtoadviseandcritiquethem.Initiallythiswasoneofthelecturingfaculty,butforthepastyearwehavehiredprevi-ousCMPUT250students.Studentsworkwell,astheyhaveexperienceinthecourseandcanbeeasiertoapproachthanaprofessor.Wemotivatethembyrewardingtheproducerwhosegroupcreatesthebestgame.Together,theselimita-tionsimprovethequalityandscopeoftheprojects.

4.3ProjectOverview

Theprojectissplitintosevenmilestones.Inour13-weeksemester,thismeansthatthereisadeadlineeveryotherweek.Byusingmanysmalldeadlines,studentsgraduallycompletetheworkforthecourse,insteadofleavingevery-thingforthelastminute.

TeamFormation:Tofacilitatesocialinteractionsbetweenstudentswithdiversebackgrounds,apizzapartyishelddur-ingthesecondweekofthecourse.Thisgivescoursemem-berstheopportunitytodiscusstheirprojectideasandhelpstheteamformationprocess.Bytheendoftheweek,stu-dentsformteamsandsubmittheirteamnametothecourseinstructorforapproval.

ConceptDocument:Inthisdocumenttheteamsprovideashortdescriptionofthegametheyareplanning,includingdetailssuchasthetypeofnarrativethatwilldrivethegameandaspectsofthegamethatwillbeinterestingorunique.Thisdeadlineensuresthattheteamsaremeetingtogethertosolidifythegoals,andisthefirstopportunityfortheheadinstructorandproducerstogivefeedbackonthescopeandscaleofthegamebeingdeveloped.

DesignDocument:Withinthegamesindustry,thede-signdocumentisoftenconsideredthe“bible”oftheproject,documentingwhyandhowmostoftheprojectwillbeac-complished.Forthiscourse,thedesigndocumentfulfillstworoles.First,itservestoprovidethecompleteenvironmentofthegame,addinginformationsuchasthesetting,themaincharacters,andtheobstaclesfacedduringthegame.Thesecondandmoreimportantroleistodocumenthowtheteamplanstocompletethecourseproject.Teamsareexpectedtooutlinetheirownmilestonesandtoformbudget.Thegamedevelopmentbudgetconceptnotonlyhelpscon-trolthescopeofteamprojects,italsoencouragesteamstoanalyzetheirgamerequirementsindetailandhelpstocap-turethelimitedresourcesanddesignrestrictionsfoundinreal-worlddevelopment.Togiveteamsasenseoffreedomindevelopment,theyarealsoallowedtoconstructa“wishlist”ofextraitemsbeyondtheircorebudget.Custommusicandartworkcangreatlyenhanceagame,butonlywhenthestoryandotherplotelementshavebeencompleted.

GamePrototypeWalkthrough:Atthispointinthecourse,teamsareexpectedtohaveaskeletalversionoftheiren-tiregameconstructed.Allplayareasshouldbelaidout,althoughnotnecessarilyfullydecoratedandrefined.Simi-larly,allmajorcharactersandencountersshouldbeinplace,althoughallconversationalelementsandscriptingneednotbecomplete.Theaimistomakesurethatprogressisbeingmadeandthatthereisenoughfunctionalitysothatpro-ducersandtheheadinstructorcanseehowthegamewouldprogress.Thismilestoneoriginallyonlyrequiredastory-board,butduringthefirstofferingofthecoursewefoundthatitwastooeasyforstudentstoshowastoryboardwith-outcompletinganytechnicalwork.

DesignIssuePresentations:Tohelpgroupsthinkcriti-callyaboutthedecisionsfacedindesigningtheirgameswedevotedoneortwolecturestoteampresentationsthatde-scribea“designchallenge”facedbytheteam.Thispresen-tationisfollowedbyadiscussionwiththerestoftheclass.Asidefromthebasicpedagogicalvalueinstudentspractic-ingpresentations,thisexerciseencouragesthemtothinkaboutgamedesignasaproblemtobesolvedaswellasameansforcreativeexpression.Manyteamsdonotconsiderwhatwouldhappenifaplayerplaystheirgameinanunex-pectedway,forinstance,killingakeycharacterintheplot.Theymayviewsuchpossibilitiesasannoyancesinsteadofopportunitiesforcreativedesign.Thus,thesepresentationsprovideauniqueopportunitytoexploredesignpossibilities.ThePitch:Bythispointeachteam’smoduleisexpectedtobefinishedandreadytodemonstrate.Teamsgiveten-minutepresentationsduringclassinwhichtheyattemptto“sell”theirgame.Inadditiontointroducingtheback-ground,maincharacter(s),andplot,theyarerequiredtoshowscreenshotsorrecordedvideodemonstrationsofthegame.Mostteamschosetocreateshortgametrailers,sim-ilartowhatisdoneinindustry.

Check-offandPeerEvaluation:Whentwoweeksremaininthecourse,studentsmustplayandevaluateothergroups’modules.Groupsthenhaveanopportunitytofixanyout-standingissuesintheirownmodules.Afterthisperiod,eachteammustprovideadocumentthatsummarizestheirgame,pointingoutanyinterestingaspectsincludingsophisticatedscripts,customartwork,music,orotherfeaturesthatmaynotbeimmediatelyapparenttotheevaluator.

4.4ProjectEvaluation

Itisverydifficulttoevaluateopen-endedprojects.Someteamshavememberswithtimetoputextraeffortintoaproject,whileotherteamshavemoreconstrainedschedules.Thus,wecannotmarkprojectssimplybycomparingthere-sultinggamesamonggroupsintheclass.Additionally,inourfirstofferingofthecoursesometeamscreatedgamesthatweretoolargetoplaythroughquicklywithoutaddi-tionalguidance.

Therearethreecriteriabywhichwehavebeenabletoeffectivelyevaluatestudentprojects.Thefirstcriterioniswhethertheyfollowedthestatedguidelineswhencreatingtheirgames.Forinstance,isthemoduleplayablein10-15minutes,giveninsiderknowledgeofhowtoplaythemodule.Wehavealsoaskedstudentstocreatemodulesthatarenon-linear,sothattheoutcomeofthegameisaffectedbythechoicesyoumake.Itisnotdifficulttoevaluatewhethertheseelementsarefoundwithinagame.

Thesecondcriterionisthroughevaluationsofotherteams’

games.Eachstudentisrequiredtoplayallothergamesandturninanevaluationsheetform.Theseevaluationsdonotdirectlydeterminethemarksforothergroupsbut,theygiveusawiderangeofexperiencewitheachgame.

Thelastmeanswehaveusedtoevaluateacourseprojectistodoawalk-throughofeachmodulewiththeteam.Thisallowstheteamtopointoutallthedifferentthingsthattheydidinthegame.Someaspectsofthegame,suchascustomartwork,canbemissed,sothisensuresthateachteamcanshowthecreativitytheyputintotheirmodule.

Whenallofthisinformationisputtogether,wecanes-tablishamarkforeachteam.Wethentakeanadditionalsteptocompensatefortheworkdonebyvariousteammem-bers.Eachteammembermustfilloutateamevaluationformwhichaskshowtheworkloadwasbalancedbetweenteammembers.Weusethistodeterminea“multiplier”foreachstudentwithinateam.Studentsthatputinextraworkreceiveabonus,whileifotherteammembersconsis-tentlyindicatethatateammemberdidnotcontributetheirfairshare,thisteammemberdoesnotreceivethefullmarkawardedtherestoftheteam.Studentsareawareofthismarkingschemefromthebeginningofthesemester,butproducersalsoservetokeeptheinstructorinformedaboutanyproblemsthatmaycropup,sotheinstructorcanstepin,ifnecessary,tohelpmitigateanyproblems.Thishasworkedwell,givingusenoughinformationtoascertainthebalanceofworkwithinateam.

5.INDUSTRYPARTNERSHIPS

Theoneaspectofthiscoursewhichcannotbeeasilydupli-catedbyotheruniversitiesisthecontributionsfromBioWareCorp.Inadditiontomakingsoftwaredonationsforthecourse,BioWareemployeeshavegivenlecturesandhavegivenfeedbackonstudentprojects.

BioWarehasgivenlecturesonleveldesign,onwhatmakesgamesfun,andquestion-and-answersessions.WhilethislevelofparticipationcanonlybegainedfromhavinggoodrelationshipswithacompanylikeBioWare,manyofthethingstheydiscussedinlecturecouldbegleanedfromgam-ingresourcessuchastheGameDeveloperConference,theGamasutrawebsite,orGameDevelopermagazine.

TheadvicethatBioWarehasgivenonstudents’projectsisdifficulttoreplicate,asprofessionalsintheindustryhavemanyuniqueexperiencesingamedevelopment.But,ifastrongcourseisbeingoffered,evenremotegamestu-diosmightbepersuadedtohelpparticipateinacourse.BioWarehasreapedonerewardfromtheirrelationshipwithourcourse:fourofourformerstudentshavenowbeenhiredtoworkatBioWare.

6.COURSEEVALUATION

Itisdifficulttomakeaquantifiableevaluationoftheeffec-tivenessofacourse;askingstudentstheiropinionofacoursemaynottellyouwhetheryouhaveachievedyourpedagog-icalgoals.Wecanlookatcoursereviewstogleanatleastsomeinformationabouttheeffectivenessofacourse.

TheUniversityofAlbertaconductsreviewsofallcoursesattheendofeachsemester.Asummaryofthecourseeval-uationcanbefoundinTable1.Thereare15metricsbywhichacourseisevaluated;wepresenttheaverageresult.Foreachmetric,wealsoreportedhowthecoursecomparestoothercoursesoncampus.

TableAverage1:CourseEvaluationEvaluationInTop25%of

Year(Outof5.0)allUofACoursesFall20053.872of73Winter200.386of83Fall200.4711of15Winter20074.8715of15Althoughweemphasizedtostudentsduringthefirstsemesterthattheyweretakinganexperimentalofferingofthecourse,theywereveryupsetaboutseveralthingsthatdidnotgosmoothly,particularlyalabexamthatwastoodifficult.Therewasalsoaprojectteamwhichfellapartneartheendofthecourse,resultinginafairlylowcourseevaluation.Wewereabletofixmostoftheseissuesduringfollowingofferingsofthecourse.

Inadditiontoformalcourseevaluations,wehavealsocon-ductedourownevaluationsofthelectures.Thisiswherewehavebeenabletoseetrendsinmoredetail.Studentsassessalllecturesaccordingtotheirlevelofinterestinthemate-rial,thequalityofthedelivery,andtheamountofknowledgethattheyfelttheylearned.Forfairlytechnicaltopicslikeartificialintelligencestudentsgenerallyindicatedthattheylearnedalot,buttheyalsohadlowercomprehensionofthematerial.AnothersetoflectureswhichhaveastrongCSbent,ahistoricaloverviewofthehardwareusedtoproducegames,isoneofthehighestrankedlectures.Thehumanitieslectureswerealsohighlyrankedastheyhavecontentwhichisrelevantandinterestingtoallstudentsinthecourse.Weusedthisfeedbacktorefineourlectures;usuallybyin-creasingordecreasingdetail,butalsobyeliminatingsomelecturetopics.Wedonotclaimtohavesolvedthelec-turecontentproblem,onlythataproactiveanditerativeapproachwillallowustohelpreduceitsimpact.

7.DEMOGRAPHICS

Theexperienceofteachinganycourseiscontingentonthestudentsenrolledinthatcourse.Toprovidecontextonthestudentsenrolledinourcourseandtheirbackgroundsweprovidesomestatisticsaboutthestudentsandtheworktheydidinthecourse.

Themajorityofstudentstakingthecourseareintheirsecond-year.Thecoursehasnoprerequisites.Enrollmentislimitedthroughanapplicationprocesssowecanbalancestudents’backgrounds.Studentshavetofilloutashortformdetailingwhytheyareinterestedintakingthecourseaswellastheirmajorandotherbackgroundexperience.

Table2showsthedemographicsofthestudentstakingthecourse.Wehavegenerally,butnotalways,beenabletomaintainagoodbalanceofCStonon-CSstudents.Thishaspartiallybeenduetoadvertising.BecauseCMPUT250wasnotanofficialcourseuntilfallof2007,itwasdifficulttokeepstudentsinformedaboutthecourse.Whenweswitchedtheheadinstructorafterthefirstyear,therewasagapinoureffortstoadvertisethecourse.

Oneareawherewecanimproveisinboostingthefe-maleenrollmentinthecourse.Frominformaldiscussionswithwomeneligibletotakethecourse,theyoftenperceivethattheywouldneedtobeprogrammerstotakethecourse.Whilethismisconceptionmayclearasmorestudentstake3

provideTherewereuswithnotstatisticallyenoughevaluationssignificantforrankstheforUniversityallmetrics.

toTable2:CourseDemographicsYearMaleFemaleCSScienceArts

Fall20051566015Winter2006

204798Fall2006140842Winter20071611133Fall2007196133

9

thecourse,weneedtomodifyouradvertisingtobettertar-getfemalestudents.

8.CONCLUSIONS

CMPUT250hasbeenasuccessfortheCSdepartment.First,wereceivedpositivefeedbackfrommoststudentsinthecourse.Althoughpartofthesuccessisduetothestu-dents’passionforgames,asurprisingnumberofstudentsfeltthebestpartofthecoursewasthemultidisciplinaryteam-work.Second,byintroducingamultidisciplinarycourseandengagingthehumanities,ithashelpedtobuildimportantrelationshipsbetweendifferentdepartments.Third,intimesoflowcomputingscienceenrollments,courseslikethisactasattractorstostudents.Finally,thecoursehasstrengthenedourtieswithindustry.

Theteam-basedfocusprovidesstudentswithauniquelearningopportunitynotusuallyseenattheuniversity.Thecooperative,multidisciplinarylearningenvironmentbroughttogetherstudentswithdisparateskillsetswhichresultedinsomeremarkablycreativeefforts.

OnechallengewhichweanticipateoverthenextfewyearsiswhattodowhenNWNisnolongeranappropriateplat-formforthecourse.Wehaveagooddealofexpertisein-vestedinthisgame,andsoitwilltakesometimetotransi-tionthecourseovertoadifferentplatform.

Whilewecontinuetoworktoenhancethelearningexpe-rienceforstudentstakingthiscourse,thecoursehasmetourdesignobjectives.Itprovidesanexcellentlearningen-vironmentnotonlyforthosewhowillcontinueontoworkwithinthegamesindustry,butforallstudentswhowillbeinvolvedininterdisciplinaryorcollaborativeprojectsduringoraftertheycompletetheiruniversityeducation.

9.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ThisworkissupportedbygrantsfromNSERC,iCORE,andBioWareCorp.Wegratefullyacknowledgethehelpof:LorenAndrucko,KevinBarrett,andMarkBrockington(BioWare);ourexcellentteachingassistantsMattBouchardandHectorPerez;andtheCSInstructionalSupportGroup.

10.ADDITIONALAUTHORS

FinneganSouthey,MatthewBouchard,andGhassanZa-baneh.

11.REFERENCES

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