Module COMP41015: Efficiency and Optimization in Game Programming

Department: Computer Science

COMP41015: Efficiency and Optimization in Game Programming

Tied To

• G5K509: Games Engineering

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To provide students with an understanding of the techniques for improving and optimizing the performance of computer games, and will develop their ability to apply these techniques.

Content

• Low-level game programming across gaming platforms.
• Hardware behaviour, including that of graphics cards and specialised input devices.
• Optimization, including use of middleware technologies.
• Profiling in the context of system specification and throughput.
• Complexity and performance analysis.

Learning Outcomes

• An advanced level of understanding of the theory, principles and practice of software engineering and directly related technical topics.
• Obtain a good understanding of the "low-level" details of game programming.
• Obtain an understanding of the hardware of game programming.
• Understand the engineering of games for optimization.
• Be able to understand and apply different gaming systems technologies where suitable.

• Practical experience of efficient and optimized game programming.
• The ability to demonstrate systematic and advanced-level design, development, test and maintenance abilities using modern software techniques and tools.
• The technical process and industry-standard software lifecycle-based approach to designing and constructing large scale gaming systems.
• Advanced theoretical and practical appreciations of modern approaches to the software engineering required for gaming applications, including process technologies.
• Apply current best technical practices of software engineering in a manner appropriate to a given problem domain.

• Written communication skills to an appropriate professional standard.
• Apply research and problem solving.
• Achieve a practical solution through the integration of a number of technologies, many of which may be very rapidly changing.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching will be a combination of lectures, tutorials, individual development work in practicals and laboratory exercises. All these activities will be customised to support the requirements of the summative report.
• Summative report demonstrating the mastery of (i) "low-level" game programming, (ii) hardware in game programming, (iii) optimization engineering and (iv) different gaming systems technologies.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Staged written feedback and/or formative exercises.