The information presented in this syllabus is subject to expansion, change, or adjustment during the quarter.

Instructor:

Name: Christopher A. Egert
Office: Bldg. 70, Room 2515
475 - 4873
cae (*at*) it.rit.edu

Office Hours:

MW 1-3PM
and by appointment

Course Text and Materials

• Readings will be provided as handouts or web URLS.

Important RIT Deadlines

Last day of add/drop is Monday, December 10, 2007. Last day to withdraw with a grade of "W" is Friday, February 8, 2008. The deadline for withdrawing from a course with a W grade is the end of the 8^th week of the quarter. The withdraw process must be completed online before the deadline.

NOTE: IT department policy states that a student has one quarter to challenge any grade. After that, grades cannot be challenged

Course Description

This course allows students within the Game Design and Development program to develop a capstone proposal and design document. The capstone design document specifies the scope and depth of the capstone project as well as defines the group and individual responsibilities for the cohort capstone project experience.

Prerequisite Courses

Permission of MS Game Design and Development Faculty

Course Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of this course is for students to develop a Capstone Project proposal and associated design document, which will serve as an implementation framework for a cohort-based capstone project experience. As part of this course, students will be formed into game design and development groups that are balanced based upon student background and skill. Students will explore all parts of the capstone development process, including the selection of a topic, relation of the topic to a particular gaming domain, and analysis of relevant theories and practices from academic literature and industry. The division of group and individual responsibilities for the design and implementation of the capstone project will also be determined. When complete, the capstone design document should reflect common practices for game design documents within the industry. The final proposal must include sections that present the problem statement, specify the relevance of the problem, situate the problem in both literature and industry practice, define the plan of work, specify a timeline, specify the delegation of responsibility, and indicate resources required for the completion of the project.

Specific Objectives (Learning Outcomes)
Students will be able to apply theory and practice from the field of Game Design and Development towards the completion of a capstone design document. The document will be reviewed by at least three members of the faculty active within the Game Design and Development program.

Course Organization

Game Design Document
The primary deliverable for this course is the Game Design Document that will define the group and individual contributions to the capstone process. It will be expected that the document meets equivocal departmental standards for a capstone proposal and is of sufficient quality to stand on its own in industry. The Game Design Document will be the contract by which the capstone development course (4002-888) will be evaluated. The grading and feedback of the design document will be the primary responsibility of the assigned faculty member, however, all Game Design and Development faculty can provide feedback to the viability of the project plan. The game design document will focus on elements such as story, gameplay, level design, technology, architecture, user interface, and much more!

Technology Tests
As part of the game design process, students will be responsible for delivering technology tests to demonstrate the viability of their approach. To be determined and assessed over the course of the quarter.

Participation & Creativity
Portions of your grade in this course are based upon participation and how ideas are drawn from previous coursework. I expect students to make the connections between all of their areas of study in the program.

Website
The course website is located on the RIT myCourses system. You will only be allowed access to the section of the course in which you are registered. You will use myCourses to retrieve class notes, assignments, and supplemental materials. In addition, myCourses will be used as a discussion forum as well as a dropbox.

Grading

The grading scale used along with the grading criteria is as follows:

Finally...

Any or all of the previous information is subject to change or adjustment during the quarter.