Topics Covered in this Session

Game Design
The Art of Game Design didn’t spring into life with the invention of Mario.  It is an ancient art, and the video game industry is only but the latest technology to take advantage of structured play.  Over the course of the summer, the students will be taught an overview of the principles of game design through the use of traditional board and paper games, and then learn to apply those techniques in the design of their own Warcraft mission.

Game Art Production
Art created for video games takes the form of 3D polygonal models combined with 8 or 16 bit 2D textures mapped onto those models.  Students will be taught the basic techniques for the creation of these game assets using tools such as Photoshop and Maya .

Video Game Programming
It is a truism that video games reply on the talents of programmers to deliver the goods.  But unfortunately, many young people are intimidated by the thought of learning how to program.  Fortunately, Carnegie Mellon University has created a programming development environment entitled ‘Alice’, entirely designed to make learning to program easier.  Over the summer, students will have a chance to build some sample programs in the Alice environment to get their feet wet in this field.

Business of Game Publishing
Individuals who desire to get into the video game business often don’t really have a good idea of how the business itself works.  We’ll be discussing the way games get published, what roles on the development teams are available, and what type of career someone just entering the field can expect.