CA 190

• About CA190
• Syllabus
• Assignments
• Vocab
• Resources

See www.studygaming.com for more info about studying game development at MC!

Material on this website is subject to change. Students are required to check this website at least one day before each class to see if any updates have been made.

CA 190 - Introduction to Game & Simulation Development

Vocabulary:

[Please send me additional vocab words that you find in our readings so I can add them to the list. Thanks!]

As you read the text books make sure to look up any words you don't already know. Here is a list of some of the vocabulary terms and phrases you should know by the end of the course. Page references are to the Novak book:

Genre & Gameplay

• gameplay vs. story?
• genre vs. style?
• avatar
• uncanny valley
• POV
• haptic (some haptic devices, also force-feedback controllers)
• alternate reality game (see these articles: 1, 2, 3, 4) Related terms: puppet master, collective detective)
• Define these terms in your own words:
  • fun
  • game
  • play

Nuts & Bolts

• artificial intelligence
• motion capture (MOCAP)
• collision detection
• particle effects
• rag doll physics
• pathfinding
• isometric
• tilebased
• Lots of good definitions here
• COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf software)

Interfaces

• GUI (Graphical User Interface)
• HUD (Heads Up Display)

Development

• proof of concept
• mythical man month
• prototype
• iterative
• deathmarch
• bugbase
• gold-plating (p. 345)
• gold
• alpha
• beta

Marketing (Ch 12)

• "above the noise"
• sneezers/ideavirus (p. 355 & CH12)
• buzz
• marcom strategy
• out-of-game community (p.379)
• box art (p. 372)
• RL (p. 384)
• prosumer (p. 384)
• mod (p. 385)
• machinima (p. 386)
• ROI
• immersion (p. 402)
• "eyeball hours" (see this press release for this in-game advertising company)

Biz & Legal

• NDA (Non Disclosure agreement)

Conclusion

• instantiated vs. persistant spaces (p. 407)