Courses Offered
The Department of Media Study at UB has been teaching classes focused on programming, designing, and critiquing virtual and interactive environments since 2001.
In the 2007-2008 Academic Year DMS and Visual Studies are offering four new "Game Studies" courses:
- VS 415 Designed Play (Fall 2007)DMS 438/556 Game Design (Spring 2008)DMS 458/558 Games Studies Colloquium (Fall 2007)DMS 516 Interactive Fiction (Spring 2008)
Current Courses (Fall 2007)
DMS 218 History of Animation
This course is a survey of the development of animated filmmaking, stretching from the beginning of film to modern computer work. We will look at both well-known mainstream material, and a range of experimental animation. Students will view will learn about some of the technical aspects of the films' creation; we will also discuss the relations to live-action film, and the thoughts of media theorists regarding animation.
VS 415 Designed Play (Fall 2007)
This combined theory and studio course will focus on the changing role
of "play" and its impact on contemporary cultural production as a
design medium. Questions surrounding how we currently define play and
how the current production of "play" and the use of game-based models
in both consumer, educational and corporate culture is shifting the
boundaries between work and leisure will be explored.
Prerequisites - One of the following: ART 380, ART 383, ART 320, DMS
151, DMS 419/533, DMS 537, DMS 538, DMS 420/534 OR Permission of
Instructor: Stephanie Rothenberg
DMS 417/517 Games Studies Colloquium
This course is a comprehensive and in depth investigation of the emerging field of Games Studies: which we take to be the critical analysis of games and interactive environments made possible by the computer. The course will first address different theoretical perspectives that view games and gaming as a historical, social, cultural, aesthetic, technical, performative and cognitive phenomenon. Then we will examine the way video games encompass an increasingly diverse set of practices, populations, locations – from fantasy football to multi-player medieval fantasy; from simulations of real life to alternate realities; from fanatics to activists; from nightclubs to competitive arenas to public streets to the classroom; from consoles to mobile phones to large-screen projections. In this course we will analyze not only popular games but interactive installations, pervasive games, mixed and virtual reality environments. We will discuss the interdisciplinary nature of a cultural practice which depends on art, artificial intelligence, computer graphics, interface design, human-computer interaction, psychology, narrative, networking and technical innovation. We will ask why interactive experiences are popular, and try to understand the social and cultural implications of games and gaming.
DMS 423 Programming Graphics I
This production course will introduce students to the concepts and practice of programming 3D computer graphics and audio using OpenGL and other libraries. The major focus will be on creating interactive art or games experiences by programming both graphics and sound. The course has three goals: to demystify computer code - we get behind the Graphic User Interface to the machine below; to explore the potential of programming - writing our own code means we can create customized computer tools as well as customized visuals; to teach the fundamentals of graphics programming.
DMS 438 Virtual Reality I
Virtual Reality Worlds is an interdisciplinary production course. Teams of students will collaborate to build immersive virtual reality environments. We will explore issues of immersion, through the visual, aural, and kinetic. Student works can take the form the narrative experinces, digital installation, games, or any permutation of the above. Student's will be introduced to the Ygdrasil system, a high-level VR authoring toolkit for large scale art projects. While experience in programming or a 3d modelling package is prefered, it is not required
Spring 2007
DMS 416/516 Theory and Practice: Intermedia Performance
Performance, whether traditional or experimental, is increasingly impacted by media, and Intermedia Performance embraces and explores this union. This course combines the study of recent debates in performance theory and the creation of Intermedia performance projects based on individual students interests and skills. We will consider topics such as the performing body across media; what performance means to current media practice; new theories of media as performance. We will analyze intermedia performers and performances in theatre, performance art, interactive arts (games, VR, locative and installation practice), networked art, time-based arts (film, video, TV).
Pervasive Games blur the boundaries between fact and fiction, and sprawl between media and non media (websites, phones, emails, websites, location-based activities). They are hybrids that may include performance, treasure hunts, art installation, political activism, advertising. In this course students study pervasive games in order to produce a pervasive game of their own.
Fall 2006
DMS 423/523 Programming Graphics 1
This production course introduces students to the concepts and practice of programming 2-D and 3-D computer graphics using OpenGL. The major focus is on developing the skills needed to create interactive, real-time CG experiences. Students write their own code to create customized computer tools and visuals and learn the fundamentals of graphics.
Human beings have two eyes, not to provide an emergency backup, but to give us more information. Binocular vision provides so-called stereoscopic depth cues about the world. This course explores the creation of stereoscopic ("3D") imagery.
VR Art Project 1
In this course students are encouraged to create imaginative and compelling interactive graphic and audio environments for Media Study's immersive virtual reality system.
Science Fiction ("The Veldt", Neuromancer, the Holodeck) has promised us fully immersive interactive narrative for decades. In the 1980s and 90s, hype about artificial intelligence and virtual reality; the eagerly awaited marriage between video gaming and Hollywood; and (and perhaps less dramatically!) hypertext, suggested the promise was about to be fulfilled. But killer interactive fiction has not emerged. This course asks why not?
Spring 2006
DMS 424/524 Programming Graphics 2
This production course extends students knowledge of OpenGL and interactive graphics programming, building on the fundamentals learned in Programming Graphics 1. The course will cover advanced techniques for rendering, animation, and interaction. Students will work individually or in small teams to produce a significant semester project, of their own choosing.
VR Art Project 2
This is a studio class in which students are encouraged to create imaginative and compelling interactive graphic and audio environments for Media Study's immersive virtual reality system.
Fall 2005
DMS 423/523 Programming Graphics 1
This production course introduces students to the concepts and practice of programming 2-D and 3-D computer graphics using OpenGL.
VR Art Project 1
In this course students are encouraged to create imaginative and compelling interactive graphic and audio environments for Media Study's immersive virtual reality system.
DMS 516: Advanced Modeling in Maya
Design visual models targeting consumer electronics platforms including cellphones BREW(Qualcomm), WAP(Nokia), console games: Playstation, and Xbox, and the web. Measure and model information, manipulate modeled information to form patterns that appeal to consumers and can be implemented in the targeted platform. Build a series of models, from real world data, for embodiment in a cellphone, DVD, computer, web application, or games hardware.
Spring 2005
DMS 424/524: Programming Graphics 2
The course will cover advanced techniques for rendering, animation, and interaction. Students will work individually or in small teams to produce a significant semester project, of their own choosing.
This is a studio class in which students are encouraged to create imaginative and compelling interactive graphic and audio environments for Media Study's immersive virtual reality system.
Fall 2004
In this course students are encouraged to create imaginative and compelling interactive graphic and audio environments for Media Study's immersive virtual reality system.
In this course we will analyze not only popular games but the wilder reaches of interactive installations and virtual reality constructed by artists and researchers.
This production course introduces students to the concepts and practice of programming 2-D and 3-D computer graphics using OpenGL.
Virtual Reality Project 2
This course focuses on the creating of an art project using the projection-based VR system at Media Study. Students will expand and utilize their knowledge of the Ygdrasil VR authoring system, 3D modeling, and 3D graphics programming.
Spring 2004
DMS 424/524: Programming Graphics 2
The course will cover advanced techniques for rendering, animation, and interaction. Students will work individually or in small teams to produce a significant semester project, of their own choosing.
DMS 439/554: Virtual Reality 2
Teams of modelers and programmers will collaborate to build immersive virtual reality art experiences over the course of 2 semesters. The course introduces students to Ygdrasil, a high-level VR authoring toolkit and Performer a graphics library.
Fall 2003
Interactive Environments in Art and Entertainment
In this course we will analyze not only popular games but the wilder reaches of interactive installations and virtual reality constructed by artists and researchers.
Teams of modelers and programmers will collaborate to build immersive virtual reality art experiences over the course of 2 semesters. The course introduces students to Ygdrasil, a high-level VR authoring toolkit and Performer a graphics library.
Spring 2003
This course focuses on the creating of an art project using the projection-based VR system at Media Study.
DMS 424: Programming Graphics 2
This production course extends students knowledge of OpenGL and programming into the realm of 3D computer graphics.
Fall 2002
This course is designed for Media Study with graphics programming experience and those with experience with 3D modeling packages (specifically Maya). Teams of modelers and programmers will collaborate to build immersive virtual reality art experiences. The course introduces students to Ygdrasil, an high-level VR authoring toolkit and Performer a graphics library.
