Software Engineering for Computer Games

1
Software Engineering for Computer Games

• Introduction
• Course schedule

2
Software engineering

• Application of engineering concepts to software
  production design

3
Software engineering

• Application of engineering concepts to software
  production management

4
Software engineering

• Application of engineering concepts to software
  production budgeting
• Application of engineering concepts to software
  production quality control
• Application of engineering concepts to software
  production operations

5
Learning software engineering

• There are at least three different approaches to
  learn software engineering

6
Learning software engineering
1

• The academic way

7
Learning software engineering

• At least 180 hours attending courses on software
  engineering and related issues, e.g. in four
  specialised disciplines containing about 45 hours
  in class each.
• Good theoretical background and training

8
Learning software engineering
2

• The hard way

9
Learning software engineering
Self esteem
Classify SE as second class knowledge (when
compared e.g. with hard sciences)
Complete degree
Get job
Get lost
Get fired
Get drunk
Get back to school
10
Learning software engineering
3

• Our way

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Learning software engineering

• One semester (45 hours) this is what we get!
• Some theoretical material (attempting to optimise
  balance between depth and coverage)
• practical experience while still at the
  university

12
Learning software engineering

• Two parallel tracks
• Theoretical track lecture material software
  engineering in general, focusing on software
  construction. Textbook Steve McConnell. Code
  Complete (2nd. edition). Microsoft Press. 2004.
• Practical track project development, from start
  to end.

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Learning software engineering

• Practical track team work to
• Build a software tool to help the development of
  applications of a certain type
• Build at least two different applications using
  that tool

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Learning software engineering

• Practical track
• Teams 5 or 6 students
• Students in each team must organise themselves
  and deliver the requested products of each
  project phase obeying the corresponding deadlines

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Learning software engineering

• Theoretical track synchronised with practical
  track, in order to provide the necessary
  theoretical background for each phase of the
  project.

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Learning software engineering

• Practical track deliveries
• Lecture 2 names of students in each group
• Lecture 6 requirements elicitation general
  architecture allocation of tasks within group
• Lecture 10 detailed architecture detailed
  project management methodology

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Learning software engineering

• Practical track deliveries
• Lecture 16 unit testing
• Lecture 22 integration testing
• Lecture 26 applications
• Lecture 30 complete documentation of tool and
  applications

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Learning software engineering

• What do computer games have to do with all this?

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Learning software engineering

• Answer the software tool to be built is a tool
  to develop and implement computer games, namely a
  Game Engine.

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Learning software engineering

• To keep things relatively simple, we will stick
  to 2D game engines and games (a relevant issue in
  itself, considering the expanding market of games
  for mobile phones)