CS 419G -- CS Skills for Simulation and Game Development

Fall 2007

http://eecs.oregonstate.edu/~mjb/cs419g

IM	Classes	Grades	VHR

This page was last updated: November 27, 2007

Announcements:

• For Thursday, November 29, please print the Finding More Information handout.

• Click here to get the executable for the Chain demo.

• Click here to get the executable for the Cloth demo.

What We Will Be Doing (and Not Doing) This Quarter

This is not a game-programming course. We will not be creating any games (yet). Game and simulation development is very much a data and math-intensive activity. So, this is a middleware CS course that will fill in many of the missing pieces for those wanting to enter the simulation and game development worlds in a software tool-building capacity.

Similarly, this is only a little bit a computer graphics course. We will not be writing graphics programs, but you will sometimes be given graphics program skeletons to test your coding.

Even if you aren't looking for a job in one of these fields, you will likely find these fast-paced and varied topics useful and enjoyable.

CS 419G topics include:

• Parametric lines
• Vectors: dot product, cross product, uses for dot and cross products
• Matrices: definition, multiplication, transpose, determinant, inverse
• C++ vector and matrix classes and methods
• C++ vector, map STL classes, more efficient dynamic memory allocation and freeing
• 3D coordinate systems, transformations
• Forward kinematics (hierarchical transformations)
• Newton's method for solving for roots of nonlinear equations
• Inverse kinematics using Jacobian matrices
• Rigid-body constant-acceleration kinematics, projectiles
• Rigid-body dynamics, integrating equations of motion
• Collisions, impulse-momentum, rebounding
• Particle systems
• Multithreading, OpenMP
• Multicore architectures
• CUDA
• Modeling the world as a mesh of springs (e.g., cloth)
• Guest Lectures

For your programming assignments, you will have access to the graphics systems in OSU's Computer Graphics Education Lab (CGEL) in Batcheller Hall 244.

Prerequisites

Professor

Office:	Kelley 2117
Phone:	541-737-2542
E-mail:	mjb@cs.oregonstate.edu
Web site:	http://eecs.oregonstate.edu/~mjb

Office Hours:

The Virtual Hand Raise (VHR)

I recognize that it sometimes takes a certain amount of courage to ask a question or express an opinion in class. But, the worst thing of all is to not say anything! So, this class also has a feature called the Virtual Hand Raise. Click here to get into it. It will allow you to send me a question or comment, completely anonymously. I will answer all questions submitted this way at the start of the next class.

Textbook

Class Note Handouts

1. Parametric Lines
2. Vectors
3. Matrices
4. Transformations
5. Forward Kinematics
6. Newton's Method
7. Inverse Kinematics
8. Physics
9. Collisions
10. Particle Systems
11. Parallel Computing
12. MultiThreading
13. Modeling the World as a Mesh of Springs
14. CUDA
15. Finding More Information

Guest Speaker Note Handouts

1. Dan White
2. Brian Apgar

Class Schedule

To see an academic year calendar, click here.

The class lecture time is: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 - 11:20. Unless otherwise specified, all lectures will be held in Kelley room 1001.

1	Sept 25	Introductions. Discussion of class objectives and how we will go about it. Project #1. Parametric line equation. Vectors, I.
2	Sept 27	Project #1 (the web form) is due at 23:59:59 tonight! Dan White, Pipeworks, speaking on: "The Big Picture of Game Development" Attendance will be taken.
3	Oct 2	Vectors, II.
4	Oct 4	Davey Jackson, Garage Games, speaking on: "Come to Indie GamesCon" Attendance will be taken.
5	Oct 9	Matrices.
6	Oct 11	Transformations using matrices.
7	Oct 16	Brian Apgar, Buzz Monkey, speaking on: "Hardware Matters: Designing multi-platform game code" Attendance will be taken.
8	Oct 18	Forward kinematics (hierarchical transformations). Solving nonlinear equations.
9	Oct 23	Inverse kinematics.
10	Oct 25	Test #1 review. Rigid body, constant-acceleration physics.
11	Oct 30	Test #1
12	Nov 1	Rigid body collisions.
13	Nov 6	Rigid body dynamics. Numerical integration.
14	Nov 8	Particle systems
15	Nov 13	Parallel computing. Multiprocessing architectures. Multicore architectures.
17	Nov 15	Multithreading programming.
17	Nov 20	Mesh of Springs.
18	Nov 22	Thanksgiving Holiday -- no class today
19	Nov 27	CUDA.
20	Nov 29	Class Evaluations. Where to find More Information.
*	Dec 7	Test #2 Friday, December 7, 9:30 - 10:50, Kelley 1001.

Projects

Project #	Points	Title	Due Date
1	25	Register your Grade-Posting Alias	September 27
2	50	Vector package	October 4
3	75	Matrix package	October 10
4	100	Forward Kinematics	October 26
5	100	Inverse Kinematics	October 30
6	100	Collisions and bouncing	November 7
7	100	Particle system	November 20
8	100	Mesh of Springs	December 5

Projects are due at 23:59:59 on the listed due date, with the following exception:

Bonus Days

Each student is granted five bonus days, which are no-questions-asked one-day extensions which may be applied to any project, subject to the following rules:

1. Up to 2 bonus days may be applied to any one project
2. Bonus Days cannot be applied to tests
3. Bonus Days cannot be applied such that they extend a project due date past the end of Finals Week
4. Weekends and holidays are not considered in determining the number of days of extension, (so Friday-Monday would count as a single day of extension)

Click here to get a copy of the Bonus Day Submission Form. Fill this out and turn it in the next class period after turning in your project.

Project Turn-In Procedures

• Your electronic turnin will be done at http://engr.oregonstate.edu/teach and will consist of:
  
  1. Source files of everything (.cpp)
  2. A Windows .exe file if needed. This file must be able to run on the CGEL machines.

  Electronic submissions are due at 23:59:59 on the listed due date.

• Your project will be graded and the score posted to the class web page.
  If you disagree with the score, or want to know why you did not receive full credit, then turn in a note to me along with a listing of your program.
  You have one week after the grades are posted to do this!

Grading

Click here to see the current grade posting.

CS 419G will be graded on a fill-the-bucket basis. There will be 9 projects and two tests. You get to keep all the points you earn.

Your final grade will be based on your overall class point total. Based on an available point total of 850, grade cutoffs will be no higher than:

Attendance at the Guest Lectures will count 5 points each, making it possible to earn a bonus of 15 points to add to your total.

Class Rules

• Lab Rules: No propping the CGEL doors open, no food in the lab, drinks only in closed containers. (I am not being a jerk about the no-food requirement -- ask me to see my exhibit of the cockroaches that once inhabited the CGEL. Their friends are no doubt waiting for a reason to come back.)

• Keep the air conditioning in the CGEL running -- we have had problems with systems in that room failing because the temperature gets too high.

• Computer Security: We take computer security very seriously. Please use intelligently-chosen passwords and protect them. Anyone caught abusing the system or causing deliberate damage will be asked to drop the class and the matter will be turned over to the Dean's Office.

• Working Together: It is OK to work together by sharing information, but each person's projects must be original work with no sharing of code.

• Cheating: You are expected to do your own work. Sharing code, except for explicit team projects, is considered cheating. Anyone caught cheating will fail this class, and the matter will be turned over to the Dean's Office.

• Academic Dishonesty: You are expected to read and understand the Computer Science department's Academic Dishonesty Policy. You can find it here. If you do not understand some part of it, ask me!

• The only address I will ever use to email you will be mjb at some Oregon State domain. If you get an email from a different address claiming to be me, do not respond to it, and let me know right away.

Students With Disabilities

Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability Access Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through DAS should contact DAS immediately at 737-4098.

Other Useful URLs:

• Game Development:
  • Game Developer: http://www.gamedev.net
  • Gamasutra: http://www.gamasutra.com
  • Select Parks Game Development Information: http://www.selectparks.net

• Companies:
  • Buzz Monkey: http://www.buzzmonkey.com
  • Garage Games: http://www.garagegames.com
  • Pipeworks: http://www.pipeworks.com

• Regional Discussion Groups:
  • Corvallis Gaming Special Interest Group: http://www.sao.corvallis.or.us/drupal/node/26
  • PAGDIG: Portland Area Game Developer Interest Group: http://www.pagdig.org

• Conferences:
  • Games Development Conference (GDC): http://www.gdconf.com
  • Indie Gamescon: http://www.indiegamescon.com