Case Study of a Video Game Design & Development Course for Mechanical Engineers

Anecdotally, it has been observed that many engineering students are not motivated to learn or apply computer programming in their courses. Possibly, this is due to computer science topics being pushed upon them rather than students learning them as needed. A senior-level video game design class was offered as a technical elective. This class combined a "humanities" viewpoint of video game design (e.g. gaming psychology, theory of fun) with the "technical" side of computer programming and physics engines. Students compared and contrasted two games and wrote a critical analysis of a game. The majority of the class was spent conceptualizing, planning and creating a video game. Groups learned the required programming skills as needed to implement their vision. Students completed a survey at the conclusion of the course. Generally, students found the course exercised their creative skills, motivated them to learn more programming and provided them experience in project management.