Schedule of Classes

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.

This course is an introduction to the foundational concepts, tools, and techniques needed to create artwork for video games. Topics include: 3D modeling, Digital Sculpting, creating textures and materials, and how to present digital artwork.

Introduction to the twelve principles and techniques of animation. Projects will vary from hand-made to computer-computer made forms.

Principles of design for digital devices. Emphasis is on user interfaces and experiences.

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 investigates the history of comics, their formal characteristics, and their contributions as vital expressions of humanity and culture.

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.

Expanding on skills developed in IM 230 Game Art Development, this course will be an artistic and technical exploration in the requirements necessary for designing and developing environments for real-time engines. Topics include: concepting for environments, Modular kit construction, kitbashing, photogrammetry, procedural texturing, environment VFX and terrain generation.

This course is an introduction to the concepts, tools, and techniques needed to sculpt human anatomy in a digital environment. Topics include: Digital Sculpting in ZBrush, Human anatomy, and creating dynamic poses.

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

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.

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.

This course provides insight into the process of creating game art for non-game art majors. Topics include digital painting for concept art, asset creation for game engines, art workflows/ pipelines, and how to present digital artwork.

This course will explore a variety of the latest tools and techniques relevant to game art, also, there will be a focus on digital portfolio and reel development. Topics include: advanced tools and techniques in game art, Portfolio development, communication skills, industry networking opportunities, business cards, cover letters, and resumes.

Fundamental principles of three-dimensional computer animaLon and modeling. Creation of basic models using polygonal modeling, texturing, lighting, and rendering for various animaLon projects.

Animation projects made from an artistic point of view. Students will engage in wide variety of techniques and mediums to make movie images which may be narrative or non-narrative.

Initial planning for the production of an animated short film including storyboarding, concept art, script development, color scripts, research, and development.

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.

Studio course focused on further developing core skills of UX design, information and visual/communications design, and advanced wireframing techniques.

Focuses on the innovative and pioneering tools, techniques, and methodologies used in designing user experiences. This course teaches the best practices and principles of human/computer interaction.

Development techniques and practices for websites and mobile application user interfaces and experiences. The course will be taught through lectures, demonstrations, and exercises using applications and scripting languages.

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 production processes and techniques for creating an original animated short.

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.

Software development and programming aspects of computer games, game engine modification, and virtual reality simulations, including event loops, execution threads, collision detection, multi-threading, performance analysis, multi-user games and networking. Cross-listed with IM 552, CIS 452, CIS 552.

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.

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.

The second in a two-part User Experience Design capstone course where students build, test, and release the interactive designed in User Experience Design Capstone 1. Agile methodologies and a tight feedback loop will be used to ensure a user-centered experience. Students will present their work in the Interactive Media showcase.

Concepting and prototyping of games that might be fully realized in IM 459 Computer Game Capstone Project and IM 489 Advanced Game Capstone.

A continuation of the project began in IM 459 Game Capstone Project I with an emphasis on the production and post-production phases of game development.

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.

This course covers the development of interactive projects for exhibition as well as the preparation and execution of exhibition events.

Presentations by faculty, alumni, and other professionals in the field. Repeatable to a maximum of 2 credits.

An exploration of issues and contemporary critical approaches to games through study and discussion. Topics might include feminism, semiotics, cultural criticism, and poststructuralism. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 credits.

Game development within a multidisciplinary team. Project work includes advanced game design, scope control and reduction, software development, art asset creation, and game production concepts. Repeatable to a maximum of 12 credits.