Schedule of Classes

Process of design for projects relating to animation, game design and development, and user experience design. Focus on technical instruction, design aesthetics, and production using a wide variety of software and delivery methods.

Tools and aesthetics of media production: word processing, photography, audio production, videography. Visual literacy. The desktop computer interface. Desktop publishing, presentation software, multimedia documents. Internet navigation and page production. Credit by examination available.

Process of narrative structure development. Writing, pre-visualization, presentation, and production of animation, game design, and user interface projects.

Game industry terminology, culture, and history. Current employee roles and responsibilities in the game industry, including programmers, artists, marketing, and sales. Required skills and knowledge for these roles. Game development and distribution models. Publisher/developer relationships.

Acquisition and computer processing of text, photographs, video and sound files. Incorporation of processed files into documents for computer multimedia. Solving problems in visual and multimedia communications assignments. Theories and cultural effects of visual communication and new media.

Introduction to the use of scripting languages in a web-based environment. An overview of current scripting languages such as JavaScript, VBScript, and PERL. Cross-listed as CIS 215.

Presentations by faculty, alumni, and other professionals in the field allow students to make connections serving their academic and professional pursuits. Students will also engage in additional career development activities including portfolio creation, resum authoring, career research, networking, and engagement in public festivals and presentations of their works. Repeatable for up to a maximum of 8 credit hours. Crosslisted with IM 426.

Art and techniques of hand-drawn animation. Immersion in a variety of techniques exploring founding principles of animation, storytelling, drawing, and design.

Study of the historical, cultural, economic, political, and social forces that helped shape the evolution of animation as an art form. Written and oral discussions focused on the attitudes and influences of race, gender, technology, culture, and the conflict between art and industry.

Extracts and recombines fundamental aspects of art, communication, rhetorical, and computer theories to describe, explain, and understand new Interactive Media interaction environments.

Quality assurance in games. Testing process including the importance of testing and test plan development and implementation.

Fundamental principles and practices of professional video cameras, microphones, and lights for multimedia production. Interviewing procedures plus aesthetics and visuals. Non-linear editing.

Gameplay, storytelling, challenges, interface and information design, and world interaction. Construction of experiences, including rule design, play mechanics, game balancing, social game interaction, and the integration of interactive media. Playtesting and game design documentation.

Interactive design and production using scriptable authoring and animation tools. Problems in interface design. Advanced media creation applications. Virtual reality environments. Cannot be taken concurrently with IM 413 or IM 459.

Introduction to building virtual environments and related field research. Philosophic and practical rationales for social virtual worlds. Virtual environment planning, layout, and implementation. Tools for designing and coding presence and interactivity. Avatars, space, terra forming, accessories, traffic and interaction patterns, social activities, communities. Monetization of virtual environments and presence. Fundamentals of qualitative field research methods in online virtual worlds.

Reviews the creative, social, cultural, and legal contexts and challenges surrounding the protection of intellectual property, intellectual creativity, and creative environments in the commons. Promotes increased appreciation of interrelationships among the roles of law, public policy, economic development, and creativity in interactive media activities.

Criticism, analysis, and history of electronic and non-electronic games. Articulation of game aesthetics. History of computers and digital games and toys, construction and critique of significant and influential games, and game criticism and journalism.

A studio course exploring typography and visual layout principles of interactive website design. Survey of theory, history, and methods of web design solutions. Discussion of transitional strategies in response to developing technologies. Cross-listed as ART 365.

Criticism, analysis, and history of electronic and non-electronic games. Articulation of game aesthetics. History of computers and digital games and toys, construction and critique of significant and influential games, and game criticism and journalism.

Introduction to High Definition (HD) video and grip essentials. Advanced lighting and cinematography. Enhanced proficiency in non-linear editing. Motion capture fundamentals.

Course is repeatable for up to a maximum of 8 credit hours. Crosslisted with IM 226.

Advanced techniques and technologies for programming computer game engines, multi-user games, virtual environments, and virtual reality simulations. Cross listed with IM 556, CIS 456, CIS 556.

A studio course exploring computer modeling and animation. Survey of the theory, history, and practice involved with creating quality modeling for print media, and also modeling and animation for time-based audiovisual media. Cross-listed as CIS 457, CIS 557.

Theoretical and practical sound design. Music composition, field sound recording, studio tracking, aesthetic analysis of music, electronic sound generation. Digital game technologies, 3D sound processing and generative audio structures. Mixing in non-linear environments and final mastering. Cross-listed with IM558, CIS458, CIS558.

Game development, including advanced game design, software development, and game production concepts. Integration of audio, visual, storytelling, programming, and design. Project build within multi-disciplinary teams. Cross-listed with IM 559, CIS 459, CIS 559.

Research and exploration of traditional and non-traditional human-computer interaction. Students study, plan, design, and produce applications that seek out new or refine current trends in interactivity.

Advanced techniques in 3-D design, modeling, animation, and compositing. History and aesthetic development of animation. Principals, languages, and challenges encountered in animation filmmaking.

Individual scholarly research or advanced creative production investigating aspects of interactive media. May be repeated under different topics for a maximum of six hours. Requires application available from department chair or faculty.

Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. May be repeated under different topics for a maximum of 9 hours credit. Topic and prerequisites stated in current Schedule of Classes. Only three hours may be applied toward IM specialization requirement.