New Masters Degree: “Game Design and Simulation Programming”

New certificate: “Graphics for Gaming”

New certificate: “AI for Gaming”

Contact: Professor George Kamberov (e-mail: The Professor's GivenName.FamilyName@stevens.edu)

The 30 credits program will prepare students for positions in the gaming industry as well as in industrial, government, education and research organizations involved in simulation, visualization, training and edutainment. Furthermore, the program will prepare students for entry in elite PhD programs in Computer Science, Remote Sensing, and Geographic Information Systems.

The program will expose the students to:

• The fundamentals of interactive game design.
• State-of-the-art graphics and animation and behavior modeling.
The methodologies for game development.
• Provide an insight in the entrepreneurship skills and environment needed to be a successful member of the gaming community.

Masters Degree Requirements:

There are two paths towards the degree

1. No MS thesis path: 30 credits from classes (see the sample curriculum below).
2. MS thesis path: 24 credits from classes plus 6 credits from a thesis. See Professor Kamberov to discuss the viability of this path for you.

Masters Degree Curriculum

Certificates Requirements

Courses in Game Design and Simulation

CS 522 Mobile and Pervasive Computing

This course introduces the field of mobile computing and the closely related field of pervasive computing. Topics covered include: mobile hardware, wireless communication, ubiquitous data access, resource scarcity, sensing and actuation, location and context awareness, security and privacy, design methodologies and infrastructure, and end-to-end application considerations.

Prerequisites: CS 392, CS 492, or CS 520.

CS 537 Interactive Computer Graphics

This is an introductory-level course to computer graphics. No previous knowledge on the subject is assumed. The objective of the course is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the field of computer graphics, focusing on the underlying theory, and thus providing strong foundations for both designers and users of graphical systems. The course will study the conceptual framework for interactive computer graphics, introduce the use of OpenGL as an application programming interface (API), and cover algorithmic and computer architecture issues.

Prerequisites: CS 385 or CS 590.

CS 539 Real-Time Rendering, Gaming, and Simulations Programming

The course is an introduction to the techniques for designing and building computer games and real-time graphics-oriented simulations. The topics include: 3-D game engine architecture, design, and implementation; simulation, modeling, and object control; character behavior and behavior-based animation; human-computer interaction; and event-driven simulations.

Prerequisites: CS 537 or instructor approval

CS 541 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence 

This course is an introduction to the large and diverse field of artificial intelligence. Topics include: problem-solving by search and constraint satisfaction; alpha-beta search for two-player games; and logic and knowledge representation, planning, learning, decision theory, statistical learning, and computer vision.

Prerequisites: CS 385 or CS 590.

CS 543 Principles of Computer Mediated Entertainment

This course provides an introduction to entertainment-based user interface design and development from a computer science perspective. The course includes: a survey and classification of the types of computer-mediated entertainment (CME); challenges in developing such interfaces; software architectures to support CME; design principles for sketching CME; and software tools to create CME and provide the technical infrastructure necessary to sustain it.

Prerequisites: CS 347 or SSW 540, CS 545

CS 545 Human-Computer Interactions

This is an introduction to Human Computer Interaction (HCI). It covers basic concepts, principles, and frameworks in HCI; models of interaction; and design guidelines and methodologies. The course includes extensive readings and reports, as well as work on projects involving interface design and development.

Prerequisites: CS 385 or CS 590, or instructor approval

CS585 Introduction to Game Development

The course will provide the students with: (i) A theoretical understanding of the principles, concepts, and structures underlying game designs; (ii) An analysis of game specific engineering frameworks and architectures including software and hardware architectures, game play mechanics, design documentation, and production methodology; (iii) An  introduction to the processes and skills needed to formulate a viable design and take it from the idea stage to a  published game.

Prerequisites: N/A.

            CS586 Machine Learning for Game Design

            This course examines the use of machine learning techniques in all stages of game design. Topics covered include environment and character modeling, motion synthesis, behavior learning, evolution and competition. The emphasis will be on cutting edge technology that utilizes the vast amounts of recorded game data as a basis for learning more realistic or more effective game design strategies. Advanced topics that will also be covered are gamebot identification in online games, as well as integration and evaluation of learning in games. Students will participate in groups to develop a game using principles learned in class. To complete the project, they will be required to implement and observe a representative set of the techniques covered in class.

            Prerequisites: MA 222, CS5XX (Game Engine Design) or CS539, or instructor      approval

CS587 Game Engine Design

In this course we will study the science and concrete programming tools underlying the design and implementation of game engines. The course will cover the principal components and techniques of a modern game engine: physics simulation engines, 3D graphics engines, artificial intelligence engines, scripting languages, network gaming for massively multiplayer games.

Prerequisites: CS 537, CS 539, CS 541, or instructor approval

CS 638 Advanced Computer Graphics

The course covers advanced architectures and programming techniques for rendering, collision detection and processing, and physics and AI engines. Special attention will be paid to surfaces and shapes, physics-based modeling, and visualization. This class covers the architecture and programming of multicore processors and graphical processing units and associated programming frameworks and languages, for example, CUDA and OpenCL. C/C++ programming skills are essential for this course.

Prerequisites: CS 537 or instructor approval