The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Are you ready to take on a challenge that will always be interesting, push you to your intellectual limits, and still be fun? Video Game Design and Development is challenging, but the rewards are worth it. With our unparalleled comprehensive training program, you will master skills that open doors to the growing video game industry.

Developing and managing the complex environments for games and related visualization applications is a challenging task, but with the right training and with professional guidance, the challenge becomes much less daunting. Using a comprehensive and analytical approach to game engine architectures, this program offers students the opportunity to learn how to effectively implement game ideas. A reasonable familiarity with computers and a background in high school level mathematics are all that is assumed. No prior game or graphics programming experience are necessary.

The curriculum is divided into eight modules covering five major areas of study: programming languages, mathematics skills, 3D graphics pipeline programming, real-time game engine architectures, and artificial intelligence algorithms.

The Video Game Design and Development program is an appropriate starting point for students who seek a professional career as a game developer. It is also well-suited for enthusiastic amateurs and gamers looking to explore this exciting field as a recreational endeavor.

Objectives

The objectives of the Video Game Design and Development online program are:

  · To provide students with the core programming language skills
  · To provide students with a sufficient level of proficiency in the areas
  · To provide students with a thorough understanding of the main concepts involved in real-time 3D graphics programming.

  · C++ Programming for Game Developers I

  · How to Create a C++ Program, Console Input and Output, Variable, and Arithmetic Operators
  · Logical Operators, Controlling Program Flow, Repetition, and Arrays
  · Functions
  · References and Pointers
  · Classes and Object Oriented Programming Design
  · Strings
  · Operator Overloading
  · File Input and Output
  · Inheritance and Polymorphism


  · C++ Programming for Game Developers II

  · Template Classes and Template Functions
  · Error Handling
  · Number Systems, Data Representations, and Bit Operations
  · The Standard Template Library
  · Introduction to Windows Programming
  · Menus and Drawing with GDI
  · Dialog Boxes
  · Timing, Animation, and Sprites
  · Designing and Implementing a 2D Game


  · Math Primer

  · Real Numbers
  · Algebra
  · Analytic Geometry
  · Triangles


  · Graphics Programming with DirectX 9 I

  · 3D Mathematics
  · The Transformation and Lighting Pipeline
  · Initializing Direct3D
  · Vertex and Index Buffers
  · Single and MultiTexture Effects
  · Camera Management Systems
  · Compressed Textures
  · Texturing & the Texture Blending Cascade
  · Alpha Blending
  · Loading GILES™ Scenes


  · Game Mathematics

  · Set Theory and Functions
  · Polynomials
  · Trigonometry
  · Vector Mathematics
  · Matrix Mathematics
  · Quaternion Algebra
  · Linear Transformations
  · Analytic Geometry


  · Graphics Programming with DirectX 9 II

  · The D3DX Mesh Containers
  · Progressive Meshes
  · Scene Hierarchies
  · Keyframe Animation
  · Indexed / Non-Indexed Vertex Blending
  · Software and Hardware Skinning Techniques
  · Skeletal Animation
  · Tree Animation and Rendering
  · X Files
  · Motion Blending
  · Collision Detection and Response
  · Quadtrees, Octrees, and kD-Trees
  · Binary Space Partitioning (BSP) Trees and Potential Visibility Sets (PVS)


  · Artificial Intelligence for Game Developers

  · Decision Making
  · Grid Traversal and Search Algorithms
  · Path finding with A*
  · Flocking Behaviors
  · Finite State Machines
  · Scripting
  · Squad Level AI
  · Waypoint Networks
  · AI Engine Integration


  · Physics for Game Developers

  · The Principles of Newtonian Physics
  · Simulating Gravity
  · Simulating Friction
  · Modeling Acceleration and Velocity
  · Trajectories
  · Kinematics and Motion Control
  · Collision Detection and Response
  · Animation Technique