Course Syllabus

I will be in my classroom from 8:20 until 4:00 every day. My email address is scott.bryan@ucps.k12.nc.us. You may contact me by email at scott.bryan@ucps.k12.nc.us or phone at 704-296-9898. I will provide my cell phone number upon request.

Game Art and Design

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Introduction to Game Art and Design introduces the student to techniques used in the gaming industry. Students will focus on principles used for developing good game design; covering areas that relate to art, history, ethics, storyboarding, programming, and 2D visual theory. 

The prerequisite for this course is Scientific Visualization I.

	Technology: Standards for Technological Literacy (STL) (ITEA/ITEEA, 2000/2002/2007)
	STL 1   Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics and                    scope of technology.
	K   The rate of technological development and diffusion is increasing rapidly.
	STL 2   Students should recognize the core concepts of technology.
	EE    Management is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling work.
	STL 3   Students will understand the relationships among technologies and the connections between technology and other fields.
	STL 4   Students will develop an understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and political effects of technology.
	J  Ethical considerations are important in the development, selection, and use of technologies
	STL 6   Students will develop an understanding of the role of society in the development and use of technology.
	J   A number of different factors, such as advertising, the strength of the economy, the goals of a company, and the latest fads contribute to shaping the design of and demand for various technologies.
	STL 8    The attributes of design.  H     The design process includes defining a problem, brainstorming, researching and  generating ideas, identifying criteria and specifying constraints, exploring possibilities, selecting an approach, developing a design  proposal, making a model or prototype, testing and evaluating the design using specifications, refining the design, creating or making it, and communicating processes and results. STL 11   Students will develop abilities to apply the design process. O    Students should be able to refine a design by using prototypes and modeling to   ensure quality, efficiency, and productivity of the final product. P     Evaluate the design solution using conceptual, physical, and mathematical models at various intervals of the design process in order to check for proper design and to note areas where improvements are needed.           Q     Students should be able to develop and produce a product or system using the design process. R      Evaluate final solutions and communicate observation, processes, and the results of the entire design process, using verbal, graphic, quantitative, virtual, and written means, in addition to three dimensional models. STL 12   Students will develop the abilities to use and maintain technical products and systems.
	L    Document process and procedures and communicate them to different audience using appropriate oral and written techniques demand for various technologies. STL 17   In order to select, use, and understand information and communication technologies, students should learn that:    L   Information and communication technologies include inputs, processes, and outputs associated with sending and receiving information N   Information and communication systems can be used to inform, persuade, entertain, control, manage and educate Q   Technological knowledge and processes are communicated using symbols

Science: Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993/2009)1

 

Nature of Technology

• Social and economic forces strongly influence which technologies will be developed and used. Which will prevail is affected by many factors, such as personal values, consumer acceptance, patent laws, the availability of risk capital, the federal budget, local and national regulations, media attention, economic competition, and tax incentives. 3C/H1
• Mathematics, creativity, logic, and originality are all needed to improve technology. 3A/H2
• The value of any given technology may be different for different groups of people and at different points in time. 3B/H2
• Technological problems and advances often create a demand for new scientific knowledge, and new technologies make it possible for scientists to extend their research in new ways or to undertake entirely new lines of research. The very availability of new technology itself often sparks scientific advances. 3A/H1
• Organizations usually have explicitly stated social, business, or political purposes, but they also often have purposes beyond those for which they officially exist. 7B/H2
• One way science affects society is by stimulating and satisfying people's curiosity and enlarging or challenging their views of what the world is like. 3A/H3b
• Engineers use knowledge of science and technology, together with strategies of design, to solve practical  problems. Scientific knowledge provides a means of estimating what the behavior of things will be even before they are made. Moreover, science often suggests new kinds of behavior that had not even been imagined before, and so leads to new technologies. 3A/H4
• Complex systems have layers of controls. Some controls operate particular parts of the system and some control other controls. Even fully automatic systems require human control at some point. 3B/H3
• The more parts and connections a system has, the more ways it can go wrong. Complex systems usually have components to detect, back up, bypass, or compensate for minor failures. 3B/H5
• Risk analysis is used to minimize the likelihood of unwanted side effects of a new technology. The public perception of risk may depend, however, on psychological factors as well as scientific ones. 3B/H4
• To reduce the chance of system failure, performance testing is often conducted using small-scale models, computer simulations, analogous systems, or just the parts of the system thought to be least reliable. 3B/H6
• The human ability to influence the course of history comes from its capacity for generating knowledge and developing new technologies—and for communicating ideas to others. 3C/H6
• In designing a device or process thought should be given to how it will be manufactured, operated, maintained, replaced, and disposed of and who will sell, operate, and take care of it. The costs associated with these functions may introduce yet more constraints on the design. 3B/H1

 Human Society

• The ways that unacceptable social behavior is punished depend partly on beliefs about the purposes of punishment and about its effectiveness. Effectiveness is difficult to test scientifically because circumstances vary greatly and because legal and ethical barriers interfere. 7A/H2
• Differences in the behavior of individuals arise from the interaction of heredity, culture, and experience— the effect of each depends on the other. 7A/H4
• Organizations usually have explicitly stated social, business, or political purposes, but they also often have  purposes beyond those for which they officially exist. 7B/H2.
• Social change, or the prospect of it, promotes conflict because social, economic, and political changes usually benefit some groups more than others. That, of course, is also true of the status quo. 7F/H1
• Conflict between people or groups is sometimes reduced when the groups in conflict are fighting a common adversary. 7F/H3
• Conflict does not necessarily end when one side gets a decision in its favor, for the "losers" may then work all the harder to reverse, modify, or circumvent the decision. 7F/H4
• Cultural beliefs strongly influence the values and behavior of the people who grow up in the culture, often without their being fully aware of it. 

Habits of Mind

• Participate in group discussions of scientific topics by restating or summarizing accurately what others have said, asking for clarification or elaboration, and expressing alternative positions. 12D/H6
• Insist that the key assumptions and reasoning in any argument—whether one's own or that of others—be made explicit; analyze the arguments for flawed assumptions, flawed reasoning, or both; and be critical of the claims if any flaws in the argument are found. 12E/H4

Nature of Mathematics

• Mathematics is useful in business, industry, music, historical scholarship, politics, sports, medicine, agriculture, engineering, and the social and natural sciences. 2B/H6
• Mathematical modeling aids in technological design by simulating how a proposed system might behave. 2B/H1
• Mathematics is the study of quantities and shapes, the patterns and relationships between quantities or shapes, and operations on either quantities or shapes. Some of these relationships involve natural phenomena, while others deal with abstractions not tied to the physical world. 2A/H1

Nature of Science

• From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how things work. More often, however, the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge are small modifications of prior knowledge. Continuity and change are persistent features of science. 1A/H2
• In science, the testing, revising, and occasional discarding of theories, new and old, never ends. This ongoing process leads to a better understanding of how things work in the world but not to absolute truth. 1A/H3bc

The Mathematical World

• The effects of uncertainties in measurements on a computed result can be estimated. 9A/H4
• Tables, graphs, and symbols are alternative ways of representing data and relationships that can be translated from one to another. 9B/H4

Common Themes

• Graphs and equations are useful (and often equivalent) ways for depicting and analyzing patterns of change. 11C/H4
• Computers have greatly improved the power and use of mathematical models by performing computations that are very long, very complicated, or repetitive. Therefore, computers can reveal the consequences of applying complex rules or of changing the rules. The graphic capabilities of computers make them useful in the design and simulated testing of devices and structures and in the simulation of complicated processes. 11B/H2

The Designed World

• Computer modeling explores the logical consequences of a set of instructions and a set of data. The instructions and data input of a computer model try to represent the real world so the computer can show what would actually happen. In this way, computers assist people in making decisions by simulating the consequences of different possible decisions. 8E/H1
• Redundancy can reduce errors in storing or processing information but increases costs. 8E/H2
• Miniaturization of information processing hardware can increase processing speed and portability; reduce energy use, and lower cost. Miniaturization is made possible through higher-purity materials and more precise fabrication technology. 8E/H3

 

 

GRADING SCALE

Most assignments will be completed in class.  Only completed assignments turned in on time can receive full credit.  Come to class prepared!  This is part of your grade.  The grading scale is calculated on a weighted scale as follows: 

 

A  =  90 -- 100 B  =  80 --   90 C  =  70 --   80 D  =  60 --   70 F  =    0 --   60

 

 

 I have decided to use a points based grading system to be more fair with point distribution this semester.  The points shown are an estimate that may fluctuate throughout the semester based on assignments being added or removed.  All points will be weighted equally so that now averages may be calculated by simply adding the total points and dividing by the total points possible.

First Six Weeks            ……………………………………………………………………………………………….  25%

Tests                                                                             37 pts.

Participation/Productivity                                               610 pts. (20 points per day based on productivity not performance + 10 points for progress report)

Labs/Classwork                                                             296 pts. (based on quality of work and can be redone for a higher score up to 90% of total points possible after the first grade is given.)

Second Six Weeks       ………………………………………………………………………………………..……..  25%

Tests                                                                            141 pts.

Participation/Productivity                                              610 pts. (20 points per day based on productivity not performance + 10 points for progress report)

Labs/Classwork                                                            464 pts. (based on quality of work and can be redone for a higher score up to 90% of total points possible after the first grade is given.)

 

Third Six Weeks           ………………………………………………………………………………………………   25%

Tests                                                                            187 pts.

Participation/Productivity                                              610 pts. (20 points per day based on productivity not performance + 10 points for progress report)

Labs/Classwork                                                            950 pts. (based on quality of work and can be redone for a higher score up to 90% of total points possible after the first grade is given.)

 

Final Exam       ………………………………………………………………………………..………………….…...   25%

 

                        TOTAL FOR COURSE                                                                                                 100%

 

RESOURCES
Materials are available through Canvas

EmpowerED - this provides parents with links to online resources and apps that students can access.

Students will be using 3ds max to learn how to create 3D models.  It can be downloaded for free with a student email address from the Autodesk (Links to an external site.) website.

Student will use Gamemaker to make their video game.  It can be downloaded for free from the yoyogames website.

 

ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM

Canvas - ask your student for their login information to see updates on assignments, due dates, and grades

 

Students Supplies:      

• Flash Drive 16G or more
• Earbuds/Headphones
• Notebook
• Pencils
• Colored Pencils
• Markers

 

CLASS ATTENDANCE POLICY

Regular attendance is required.  Your presence in class is crucial since most of the activities in this course occur during class time.  Your active participation will enhance your success as well as that of your classmates.  Be active in class!  Participate in class discussions!  Your opinions, input, and questions are what this class is all about!  Class attendance is part of your final grade.

Credit will not be granted for classes when absences for a student reach eight days for a semester long course and fifteen days for a yearlong course. Absences include those that are lawful, unlawful, and due to suspension.

Following any absence(s), a student is required to present a written document from the parent or guardian stating the reason for the absence.

 

STUDENT USE OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT/INTERNET

Please READ pages 53 – 54 in your UCPS handbook and pages 14 -16 of your CATA student handbook regarding appropriate use of computer equipment/internet and consequences for misuse of both.

TUTORING

Students are required to attend mandatory tutoring for each class if grade drops below  “77”.  Tutoring is scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday 8:20 am – 8:50 pm.  Alternate and/or additional dates and times may be scheduled with teacher.

LATE/MAKE-UP WORK

Assignments are due on the announced due date. It is your responsibility to keep up with class activities and assignments and request missing assignments due to absence.  Upon returning from an excused absence, students will be given two days for each day absence to make up missed assignments/test.  All students work at a different pace and will be graded primarily on their quality of work and productivity level during class.  As long as the students are highly productive each day and producing work of high quality, they will receive excellent grades.  Extensions will also be available upon request.  

New Schoolwide policy:  Work that has recieved a 0 and cannot be made up will have a 0 in the gradebook.  If it has not been turned in but still may be completed for a grade, it will have a score of 1.

TARDY POLICY

Students are expected to be in class when the tardy bell rings. A student is tardy when he/she is not in the classroom or laboratory where his/her class regularly meets when the bell begins to ring.  Student must report to office for an admittance slip.  A tardy will be recorded.   Please see CATA Handbook for tardy policy and consequences.

CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

Please note:  Bottled water is allowed.  The privilege will be removed if containers are not disposed of properly.  Water is not allowed near the computers, and must remain by the desk.

 

Students are expected…………………………………..

• To act in a manner that is respectful and courteous

• Show respect and courtesy for all class members and the teachers

Disrespect WILL NOT be tolerated! 

• Be prepared daily with all required materials

• Be punctual – be seated quietly and ready to begin when the bell rings

• Conduct yourself in a manner which respects all students’ right to learn

• Follow all verbal and written instructions from the teacher

• Use time between class to take care of restroom needs

(If there is a medical reason, a doctor’s note is required)

• Stay in the room until the teacher dismisses class

• Contact teacher with any questions concerning a grade

(Progress reports are issued in the middle of each 6 weeks period.   You may schedule an appointment for tutoring, if needed)

• ALWAYS PUT FORTH YOUR BEST EFFORT!!!
• If a student produces sub par work but does so quickly to be ahead of the rest of the class, they will be expected to refine it until it is of high quality.  Completing work early for a lower grade is not an excuse for off task behavior.  Productivity points will be lost if such behavior is exhibited.  
• If work is completed early and of high quality, then the student may help assist other students while under the teacher's supervision or work on a more challenging extension project.

 

 

PARENT/GUARDIAN AND STUDENT SIGNATURE FORM

After reading and discussing the course syllabus and classroom procedures document with your son/daughter, please sign below, detach this page and return to the teacher.  Your prompt attention in this matter will ensure that your child is aware of what is required of him/her.  Thank you.

 

STUDENT:  I have read the course syllabus and classroom procedures document.  I understand what is expected and will honor these procedures.

 

 

Student Name:  ______________________________________________   Date:  __________________________

                                                (Please Print)

 

 

Student Signature:   __________________________________________   Date:  __________________________

 

 

 

 

 

PARENT(S):  My child and I have reviewed and discussed the course syllabus and classroom procedures document.  I understand and will support them.

 

 

Parent (Mother) Name:  _______________________________     Signature:        ________________________________                                                     (Please Print)

 

 

Email:  _____________________________ Contact #:  __________________________ Date:  ____________________

 

 

 

Parent (Father) Name:  _______________________________      Signature:        ________________________________                                                        (Please Print)

 

 

Email:  _____________________________ Contact #:  __________________________ Date:  ____________________

 

 

 

 

TEACHER:  I will be fair and consistent when administering consequences for those students not complying with classroom procedures.

 

Teacher Signature:  Scott J. Bryan                       Date: August 22, 2017                              .                                             Electronically signed

 

 

This course is a prerequisite for Advanced Game Art and Design, where students create 3D games and get more in depth into production.