CSCE 4220 Games from Spring 2009The programming students had experience in CSCE 4210 (Game Programming 1) or CSCE 5250 (Intro to Game Programming) before taking this class. They had to cope with inexperience, fuzzy requirements, group dynamics, and other demands on their time. In the course of a 15-week semester the students had to learn the tools of the game programming and game art trade and put them into action, while simultaneously taking other classes. Note that CSCE 4220 is a programming class, not merely a class in scripting. The students were given the source code for a simple game engine coded in C++ using Visual Studio and DirectX and were challenged to do better.
Ian Parberry's Rating System
Note that the above rating system doesn't necessarily reflect the students' grades. It is possible for a student on a one-sock game to get an A if their contribution is sufficiently impressive but their partners failed to produce. It is possible for a student on a 4-sock game to get an F if their contribution is sufficiently lacking. See LARC webpage for more information about game programming classes at the University of North Texas.
Group 0: SugarProgrammers: William Verhoeven, Russell YermalArtists: Loui Solomon, Christina Day, Ray Allen, Brad Goodson Ian Parberry's Rating: 
Comments: While the programmers get credit for turning SAGE into something it isn't - an indoor shooter, there's no real game play. I'm underwhelmed. The fact that the executable crashes on exit also dismays me.
Group 2: Project TowerProgrammers: Adam McEndree, Travis PorthArtists: Caitlyn Christian, Joe Holland, Sean Tomerlyn Ian Parberry's Rating: 
Comments: This appears to be a crash-and-burn case. There is just an unanimated model moving over the Ned 3D landscape to a tower, represented by the windmill model. There's no hint of any gameplay at all.
Group 3: ZombiesProgrammers: Daniel Piers (Lead), Adam Norris, Corey WhiteArtists: Stephen Fleming (Director), Corey Jones, Frank Torres Ian Parberry's Rating: 
Comments: It's nice to see some completed art for the intro sequence here, but it's a pity that the zombies aren't animated. There's some minimal gameplay (a shooting range), and it's actually fun to blow the zombies up and run them down with the tank. The programmers have some nice particle effects and the zombies swarm to the tank nicely.
Group 4: Star CluckProgrammers: Vincent Liguori, Jeremy Alleman, James PerezArtists: Brett Bullion, Kevin Edger, Sean Welch Ian Parberry's Rating: 
Comments: This game really knocks my socks off. Brett's cinematic intro sequence and game content rocks. Vincent implemented OBB collision detection to augment SAGE's rudimentary AABB collision detection to get major techno points.
Group 5: Ong Ke RampageProgrammers: Katina Ferguson, JR RazmusArtists: Eddie Bustamante, Harold Mateos, Oscar Perez, Immanuel Salas Ian Parberry's Rating: 
Comments: This game has great intro art, but it's a pity that the ogre model has a black texture and holes in the geometry. We did explain to the artists how to avoid holes in the model caused by the animation sequence. Turning SAGE into an isometric shooter worked well.
Group 6: Saturday Night SpecialProgrammers: Ricky SmithArtists: Jared Nay, Paul Harder, Brittany Miller, Kaitlyn Van Dorn Ian Parberry's Rating:
Comments: This game isn't bad for a single-programmer effort, but it's underwhelming. Future groups take note - more programmers means more game. You're supposed to wander around and ask the characters questions, but there's no direction for the gameplay. The characters being stiff, unanimated figures sucks too.
Group 8: Speedo Bear's Day OutProgrammers: Mike Wells, Sonny BrownleeArtists: Donna Lord, Traci Tisdale, Tiffany Mccrea, Shane Graham Ian Parberry's Rating:
Comments: At least there are some animated characters here, but I can't figure out the controls. The AI sucks, the opponents just line up behind each other in some kind of OCD queueing reflex. Having the bear go backwards is bizarre too.
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