Session 1

Game Design & Development

Build a Digital World

Students in this two-week program will explore the core concepts of game design with School of Engineering and Computer Science faculty as they create their own video game using Unreal Engine 4, an open-source gaming engine. This fast-paced “learn-by-doing” game design camp will teach students how to think about game mechanics and player behavior as they create a game that will be played at the end of the course. Along the way, we will discuss the nature of the video game industry, roles within game design teams and the life of a game designer.

Curriculum

This hands-on course will teach students to think like a game designer. Students will participate in lectures, discussions, and activities as they learn how to design games that are fun to play. Students will also learn to use Unreal Engine to create their own first-person video game.

Game Design student working at a computer
Planned Topics

Course topics will likely include:

  • Principles of Game Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics
  • Unreal Engine (Basic creation, visual scripting and terminology)
  • First-person Games
  • The Video Game Industry
  • Careers in Game Design
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Daniel Cliburn
Faculty Lead
Daniel Cliburn

Professor of Computer Science, Department of Computer Science

Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Kansas, December 2001
M.A., Curriculum and Instruction, University of the Pacific, August 2010
M.S., Computer Science, University of Kansas, August 1999
B.S., Mathematics and Computer Science, Illinois College, May 1997

Dr. Cliburn's research interests include virtual reality and virtual worlds, human-computer interaction, and computer science education. Dr. Cliburn has been using games to teach computer science concepts for over twenty years.

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