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378 Game Development Capstone

Program: 
Undergraduate Program
Division: 
Electives

The backbone of UT’s Game Development Program is the Capstone course. Starting in the Spring of 2013, the course will bring together about thirty students from different disciplines to work together in small groups to develop digital games. The class will reflect the realities of the industry: students with diverse talents will have to work together in order to meet a deadline. Admission to the Capstone course will be competitive.  Read below about details of application requirements.

Capstone Course Description

Game Development Capstone:  2D Games  Offered in Spring 2013 (expected to be offered in Fall, thereafter)

The Capstone Game Development course brings together students from Computer Science, College of Fine Arts, and Radio-TV-Film to form small teams in which each student will contribute specialized knowledge to the group creation of 2D games for mobile, online, and social technology platforms.  Students will gain a thorough understanding of the 2D game development process, through modeling of the environment and practices that are used in game studios.

Game Development Capstone:  3D Games:  Expected to be offered in Spring 2014 and every Spring, thereafter

The Capstone Game Development course brings together students from Computer Science, College of Fine Arts, and Radio-TV-Film to form small teams in which each student will contribute specialized knowledge to the group creation of 3D games for mobile, online, and social technology platforms.  Students will gain a thorough understanding of the 3D game development process, through modeling of the environment and practices that are used in game studios.

Course Numbers for Spring 2013

  • Computer Science:  CS 378
  • College of Fine Arts:  TBD
  • Radio-TV-Film:  RTF 344N
Prerequisites: 

Eligibility

The Capstone course is an upper division course. Applications from upper-division students with the following experiences will be preferred:

 Bridging Disciplines Program – Digital Art and Media. BDP DAM students who are not majoring in CS, RTF or one of the COFA departments must have some combination of courses to demonstrate prior expertise in any area of game design and development.

Computer Science  –  Game Technology (may be waived depending on experience, other course work, and graduation date)

Radio-TV-Film – RTF majors must take at least of one of the following courses: RTF 344M, RTF 351C, or RTF 351D. Students who have taken courses in animation, 3D modeling, post-production, game development, and interactive story telling will be given preference.

College of Fine Arts – upper division students from any department in the College of Fine Art who can clearly demonstrate prior expertise in game art, 3D modeling, game music and sound or any other game development related areas will be given priority.

How to Apply to the Capstone Course (there is no harm in applying!)

Students who wish to apply to the Capstone Course must submit the following:

  • Resumé with emphasis on game design and development experience
  • Include name, email address, EID, list of game related classes taken, GPA, year of study and year of expected graduation
  • Statement of career goals
  • Examples of game related creative work, including possibly a list of URL’s to on-line materials such as video clips, artwork, sound and music, etc.

How will Your Submission be Assessed?

A committee of two UT faculty members and an external professional from one of the local game enterprises will review all of the submissions.

We will take into account grade point average and the level of experience and expertise shown in the portfolios. We are looking for the most talented, creative and productive candidates who can work together in game development teams to produce exciting new game products.  However, we will also take into account when you graduate and prerequisites may be waived.

Deadline for Spring 2013 Applications

MONDAY OCTOBER 22, 2012 at 6:00 PM

Applications will continue to be accepted until October 29th, but will only be considered if there are any remaining seats in the class.

Where to Send Your Materials and Contact For More Information

Dr. Paul Toprac                   
Office Hours:  TH 2-3:30
Associate Director of Game Development       
Office:  CSA 1.134
topcat [at] cs [dot] utexas [dot] edu

Because game development is highly collaborative and interdisciplinary, it is highly recommended that students use their own laptops.  If you use your own laptop, below are the minimum requirements.

PC/Windows
3rd Generation Intel Core i5 Processors, 2.5 GHz
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz
500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s
1 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M w/Optimus
14.0" High Def (720p/1366x768) with WLED backlight
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0

Apple Macintosh
15-inch MacBook Pro
2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
8GB RAM
750GB 7200-rpm hard drive
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB of GDDR5 memory