This course will explore the algorithms, data structures, and tricks used
to program computer video games. We will be programming in Java and
focussing on arcade-style video games (new and "classic") rather than
text-based adventures or strategy games such as chess.
The second exam will be on the computer, in class, on
Friday, Nov 4. Anything we've
studied so far this semester is fair game.
If you want a rough idea of what such an exam is like, here's
the exam
from a couple of years ago. We studied different topics that
year, so some of these questions might not seem familiar.
This is a link to a directory of class demos stored by date.
They are not intended to be self-explanatory (although they might
sometimes be), but rather are created as visual aids to the lectures.
I'm making them available here so you can play with them and study
the examples further after class. In other words, I can't imagine how
you would take intelligent notes on some of this stuff, so here are
my "animated notes".
