The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Lamar University’s Department of Computer Science is offering a new course, Introduction to Computer Game Development, designed for students interested in learning more about the game development industry. The course is required as part of a new computer science game development concentration, effective starting fall 2014.

“The computer game industry is the fastest growing segment of the entertainment market and an excellent field for career advancement,” said Timothy Roden, associate professor of computer science. “The course surveys important topics such as the history of electronic games, player motivation, elements of games, the development process, team composition and roles, programming, art, audio and marketing. The hope is that this degree brings a lot of new students to Lamar to study computer science.”

As part of the end-of-semester project, students are expected to create machinimas, videos created by using computer game technology.

“Students record video from 3D computer games and add their own titles, audio and special effects to create a short movie,” said Roden. “The project validates that students have learned how to use the content creation tools during the course. Other assignments in the course are to create original designs for games and research companies in the industry. The course is very multimedia oriented with many videos throughout the semester.”

Roden said that the course is open to any major interested in learning more about the game development industry. Interested students can sign up for the course this fall semester. No programming knowledge is necessary.