CPSC 585 - Games Programming (Winter 2025)

This course emphasizes the practical aspects of creating computer games through a combination of block week lectures and a semester long group project where students make one game.
All lectures will be in the block week (Jan 6 to Jan 10). Lectures will be co-taught by the course instructor and industry professionals, who will provide their insights and experiences. A group project will span the entirety of the Winter 2025 semester.

Instructors: Nigel Brooke, Alexei Pepers, Stephen Ma, Richard Zhao, Matthew McConnell

Course outline: Here.

Course schedule: Here.

Course material website: https://d2l.ucalgary.ca/

To get an idea of how this course was run in the past, see Winter 2024 and Winter 2023 website.

Example past game project: King of Buggies.

Meeting times

• Lectures: Monday, Jan 6 to Friday, Jan 10, 2025 (9:00am to 5:00pm, with an hour break for lunch) in ICT 516.

• Note that this course consists of lectures during a 5-day block week. Every day in the block week is equivalent to roughly 3 weeks of regular lectures. Students must attend every day in the block week to receive a passing grade in the course.

• During the regular Winter 2025 semester, there are no lectures but there is a weekly lab. Your TA will meet with each group every week to support the group project.

Sign-Up Form for Winter 2025
(Use your @ucalgary.ca email. Deadline: December 15, 2024)

• Enrollment in CPSC 585 requires consent of the department. To express interest in taking the course, submit the sign-up form above.

• If your transcript shows that you have already passed CPSC 453 with at least C- and you submitted this form by May 1, 2024, you will be guaranteed a seat to take CPSC 585 in Winter 2025.
• Otherwise, decisions are expected to be reached by December 16, 2024 once you complete CPSC 453.
• The deadline for submitting the sign-up form is December 15, 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are the pre-requisites?

  CPSC 453 - Computer Graphics. SENG 300 and CPSC 457 are also encouraged but not officially required.

• Can you waive the CPSC 453 pre-requisite or allow me to take CPSC 453 at the same time?

  No. It is important that you have completed CPSC 453 before you take 585. If you don't have CPSC 453, but have CPSC 413, consider taking my other course: CPSC 599.11 (AI in Games).

• Why are the decisions made so late?

  We need to confirm that the students taking CPSC 453 in Fall 2024 have completed the course with at least C-.

• Is there a minimum GPA for enrolling in CPSC 585?

  No, as long as the student is not on academic probation.

• Do I have to be in the Game Development Concentration in order to take CPSC 585?

  No. CPSC 585 is open to all students who have successfully completed its pre-requisite course, CPSC 453.

• Are there any exams in this course?

  CPSC 585 does not have any written exams. The course is group project based.

• How many students will be in one group?

  Typically, there will be 5 students per group to complete one game. The instructor makes the groups.

• Are you going to use any game engines in this course?

  No. CPSC 585 is about creating a "driving"-based game with AI opponents, using C++, PhysX, and OpenGL. I teach another course, CPSC 599.11 (AI in Games) every Fall semester, that uses the Unreal game engine. An advisor can enroll you in 599.11 and you do not need permission from me.

• More questions? Feel free to email Dr. Richard Zhao (richard.zhao1 at ucalgary.ca).