Williams College CS012 - Creating the Williams Adventure Game

CS 012 Creating the Williams Adventure Game -- WSP 1995

Instructor:

Kim B. Bruce

Description:

The programming of games on computers ends up being more subtle and tricky than most people imagine, but the results can be very rewarding. This winter study will introduce students to object- oriented program design and analysis. These techniques will then be applied to designing a computer-based game. The suggested game is an "adventure-style" game: wandering through campus, finding items, running into interesting people/creatures, etc. It would also be possible to program another complex game with prior approval of the instructor.

The course will begin with an intensive introduction to object- oriented design and analysis, a relatively new technique for designing complex software. This will include introduction to techniques of software engineering which are useful for designing such systems and working in teams. Students will form design teams to create their own games. Once each design is complete, the members of the team will implement the game. Students may use any of several programming languages for the implementation phase (though object-oriented languages will fit the best with the program design) and may target the game for either Macintosh or Sun computers. The course will include a brief introduction to object- oriented extensions of Pascal for those who have not programmed with an object-oriented language.

The prerequisite for this course is either a computer science course numbered 134 or above or permission of the instructor and equivalent programming experience to 134. Students with more background are encouraged to enroll and will be given the opportunity to work on more sophisticated projects. Evaluation will be based on regular class attendance and a completed and well-documented program design and implementation.

Enrollment limited to 20 students.

Cost: Textbook (approximately $50).