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XNA Based Games-Themed Programming Assignments for CS1/CS2 |
Project Goals:
· Here is a high level overview of this project.
· Design/Develop games-themed programming assignment modules for CS1/CS2:
o Implementation will be based on the Microsoft XNA framework (in C#).
o The modules will be self-contained so faculty members currently teaching CS1/2 courses can pick and choose from our games-themed assignments, and combine them with their own non-games assignments.
o Faculty will be able to incorporate these modules with a minimum of effort, a minimum knowledge on computer gaming, and a minimum investment in computer-gaming specific curricula. We believe that the key to successful, widespread adoption of computer gaming within CS1/2 is to provide educators with easy, pre-packaged modules that can be incorporated quickly and easily into existing courses.
· Design/Develop template-tutorials to enable faculty members with little or no experience in graphics and gaming to develop their own games-themed assignments.
XNA Game-Themed Assignments (XGA) Release:
· Simple information for getting started with XNA and working on the XBOX. Here are a two very simple test cases for verifying your XNA installation is correct for the PC (download, unzip, compile and run):
o Simple Point Test: you should see some white points around the perimeter of a circle dropping down in the application window.
o
Simple
Texture Test: you should see a purple-ish rotating circle with a
building-like image bouncing up and down in the application window.
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XGA Releases:
Release
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Links
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Date
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Version 0.99
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§
The Release.
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The zip–entire
release in the zip file.
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2008/2/25
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Related Publications and
Presentations:
·
K.
Sung, "Developing Game-Themed Applications with XNA Game Studio
V2.0," Invited Full day workshop, Microsoft Research, Redmond, Washington,
April 2008 (Link to the Main page
of the tutorial notes).
·
K.
Sung, "Developing simple games for the XBOX 360 Console," Invited
Tutorial, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, March 2008 (Link to the Main page
of the tutorial notes).
· P. Shirley, K. Sung, E. Brunvand, A. Davis, S. Parker,
S. Boulos, "Fast
Ray Tracing and The Potential Effects on Graphics and Gaming Courses,"
Computer & Graphics, Vol. 32,
Issue 2, PP. 260-267, April 2008 (invited full-length paper based on ACM SIGGRAPH 2007 Educator’s Program
conference paper).
· K. Sung, M. Panitz, R. Rosenberg, R. Anderson,
"CS1/2 Game-Themed Programming Assignments for Faculty," Journal of Game Development, Vol. 3, Issue 2, March 2008, PP. 27-47, (invited full-length paper based on SIGCSE 2008 conference paper).
·
K.
Sung, "Developing Programming Assignments on the XBOX 360 Console,"
Invited Tutorial presentation at the GDCSE’08 Conference, February 2008 (Link
to the Main page of the tutorial notes).
·
K.
Sung, "Developing Programming Assignments on the XBOX 360 Console,"
Invited Full-day Workshop offered at the SIGCSE’08 Conference, March 2008
(Link to the Main page
of the tutorial notes).
·
K.
Sung, M. Panitz, R. Rosenberg, R. Anderson, "Assessing Game-Themed Programming Assignments for CS1/2
Courses," Proceedings
of the Third International Conference on Game Development in Computer Science
Education (GDCSE’08), Feb 2008 [Acceptance
rate: 15 of 60 (25%)].
·
K. Sung,
M. Panitz, S. Wallace, R. Anderson, and J. Nordlinger, "Game-Themed
Programming Assignments: The Faculty Perspective,"
Proceedings of the 39th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science
Education (Portland, OR, USA, March 12-15, 2008) SIGCSE '08, PP. 300-304 [Acceptance
rate: 100 of 324 (~31%)]..
·
K.
Sung, M. Panitz, and R. Anderson, "Program Development with Graphical User
Interface," Peer reviewed conference tutorial at The Journal of Computing Sciences in College, Workshop at the Ninth
Annual CCSC-NW Conference, October, 2007.
(Link
to the Main page of the tutorial notes)
·
K.
Sung, and M. Panitz, "Developing Applications on the XBOX 360
Console," Peer reviewed conference tutorial at The Journal of Computing Sciences in College, Workshop at the Ninth
Annual CCSC-NW Conference, October, 2007. (Link to the Main page
of the tutorial notes)
·
P.
Shirley, K. Sung, E. Brunvand, A. Davis, S. Parker, S. Boulos, "Rethinking Graphics and Gaming Courses Because of Fast Ray
Tracing, " in SIGGRAPH
2007 Educator’s Program Conference CD/DVD-ROM, August 2007.
·
K.
Sung, P. Shirley, R. Reed-Rosenberg, "Experiencing
Aspects of Games Programming in an Introductory Computer Graphics Course,"
SICCSE Bulletin, Vol. 39, Issue 1, March,
2007, PP. 249-253, (Proceedings of the 38th
SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, SIGCSE 07).
·
K.
Sung, "Computer Games and Teaching of Computer Graphics," Invited
Talk,
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K.
Sung, "Integrating Computer Gaming into Computer Graphics Courses,"
Microsoft Research Asia, Gaming and Graphics Workshop,
Personnel:
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Department |
Institution |
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Kelvin
Sung (main contact) |
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Software Programming |
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Ruth Anderson |
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Link to On-going Results
Background Information
Rationale: A proficient computing workforce is essential for maintaining the country’s leadership and competitiveness in the global economy. The recent decline in enrollments across Computer Science departments and the decrease in student diversity pose significant challenges to the continuation of the nation’s prominent position in the global high technology arena. An immediate solution is urgently needed. For the health of the national economy, and to sustain successful and vibrant software industries, we must build excitement and enthusiasm for our discipline in order to attract a bright new generation of students early in their academic careers. In the recent professional gatherings, numerous Computer Science educators have reported that incorporating computer gaming in programming classes creates high levels of excitement and motivations. This phenomenon is observed firsthand by the PI in his graphics programming classes, where gaming components have drastically increased the enrollments and engaged students’ interest in challenging physics and mathematics topics. Integrating computer gaming into CS1 and CS2 (CS1/2), the first programming courses students encounter, is a promising strategy for recruiting and retaining potential students.
For more details: here is the original project proposal.
This work is supported in part by a grant from Microsoft Research under the Computer Gaming Curriculum in Computer Science RFP, Award Number 15871.
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Last updated: Feb 2008 KS |
