Schedule of Classes

Provides an overview of the functions, responsibilities, design thinking, and culture of the User Experience Design discipline.

An introduction to the process of game development with an emphasis on iterative design.

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 structures development, storyboarding techniques, and the digital tools and applications necessary for the creation of animation. Writings, pre-visualization, presentation, and pre-production for many different types of media.

Introduction to scripting languages and their application in creating games.

Front-end development techniques and practices for website user interfaces and experiences. The course will be taught through lectures, demonstrations, and exercises using applications and scripting languages.

This course establishes a baseline for game discourse through lectures on play histories, genres, and mechanics, and by direct engagement with a number of types of games including tabletop and video games.

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 I M 426.

Art and techniques of computer-based 2D animation, motion graphics, and compositing. Study of various digital animation techniques using multiple applications.

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.

Fundamental principles and practices of user interface design and data visualization. Emphasis on the design of 2D graphical user interfaces and the development of applications that use them.

Introduction to user-centered design based upon usability research and testing. Topics include defining audiences, heuristic evaluations, and effective reporting.

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.

Further explorations of the art and techniques of 3D computer animaMon. Emphasis on traditional principles of animation in addition to camera manipulation, rigging, and character animation core mechanics including walk cycles, expressions, and lip sync.

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.

Examines scholarly concepts, theories, and practices about human communication, mass media, and computational digital technologies. Develops conceptual foundations derived from the cultural and commercial dimensions of media histories, technological innovation, professional practice, and contemporary/everyday phenomena. Provides increased and improved technical vocabularies and develops students' critical examinations of taken-for-granted media phenomena. Posits informed speculations concerning the future of media with particular attention to the roles of citizens, consumers, and producers. Applies intensive writing skills combining reading, study, and discussion with analysis and thinking via diverse written assignments.

Advanced and experimental interaction design strategies as applied to web & mobile/responsive application development.

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.

Advanced game design with an emphasis on prototyping for video games.

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

Advanced pre-production techniques used in the creation of an original animated short. Narrative structure development, research, concepting, time management, and technique development.

Topics course, with varying subjects, examining contemporary issues and problems in new media theory and the interactive media environment. Current topic/title in current schedule of classes. May be repeated three times under different topics.

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 within multi-disciplinary teams. Project work includes advanced game design, software development, art asset creation, and game production concepts. 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.

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. Topic and prerequisites stated in current Schedule of Classes.