GAME:IT Advanced provides an introduction to C# programming and game development with XNA game studio. It assumes no prior knowledge of programming or C#.
- Description
- What's Included
- Curriculum Layout
- Course Standards
- Technical Requirements & Downloads
- Register for a Webinar
Description
The GAME:IT Advanced course is an introduction to C# programming and game development with XNA game studio. The teacher and students do not need prior programming experience to complete this course. The teacher and students will benefit from having completed the GAME:IT course, but the Advanced course is not dependent on GAME:IT and assumes no prior knowledge of programming or C#.
The first half of the course involves learning core C# programming skills by programming within console applications. Console applications are an easy and excellent way to learn C# and become familiar with Visual C# Express features and tools.
In the second half of the course, the student eases into XNA game development by starting with a simple bouncing ball project. The core XNA game development concepts are learned and applied through experimenting with a few different physics concepts.
The final part of the course is the RPG game project. This is the heart of the course and all the information and skills that have been learned up to this point prepare the student for the complexity of the RPG game code.
We believe the students will enjoy making a number of unique enhancements and then playing the game and experiencing the results first hand. The students will dive into the inner workings of a fully functional game. They start by customizing playable characters, items, maps, and chests and work into applying some of those customizations by altering and enhancing the core game code. With the additional exercises, the students really get a chance to use their imagination and skills to create unique features limited only by their imagination. The material is simple enough for any student to work through, yet there is flexibility to challenge the most advanced and curious students.
What's Included
The GAME:IT Advanced Curriculum is web-based and easily accessible from our website. The course comes with a Teacher’s Guide and ALL materials you will need to teach the course: PowerPoints, worksheets, assessments and step-by-step instructions on C# programming and game development with XNA game studio.
Upon purchase, you will be granted access to the full curriculum and can download the materials to your system. The materials are organized within their respective units.
Visual Studio First Console Project (1 day)
In this lesson you will become familiar with the basics of the Visual C# Express development environment. You will be creating your first console application program. Console applications will be used in the 6 C# lessons that follow and are an excellent way to learn the C# programming language.
C# Console Projects - (6-8 weeks (30-40 hours))
The individual C# lessons are meant to be completed in 1 to 2 days. Depending on how much time you have for the overall course, this gives you the option to have the student complete the optional exercises on day 2 or 3 and then have an optional assessment on day 4 or 5. You may move through some of the C# lessons quicker than others and you may opt to spend a little more time and review or do additional exercises on another. This is ok and gives you a lot of flexibility between lessons. The high end recommendation for any of the individual C# lessons is 7 classroom days.
The following will be covered:
- Types and Variables
- Methods
- Conditional Statements
- Loops and Collections
- Exception Handling and Other Concepts
- Object Oriented Programming
XNA Bouncing Ball Project - (1-2 weeks (5-10 hours))
The XNA game studio bouncing ball project is broken into 2 parts and is meant to be completed in 2 or 3 days. This gives you the option to complete the additional exercises in 1 or 2 days and have the possibility for an assessment after that, depending on how much time you have. The overall time spent on the bouncing ball project lessons should be between 5-10 classroom days.
There is a setup guide provided for this lesson to assist in project setup and troubleshooting.
XNA Role-Playing Game (RPG) Project - (2-6 weeks (10-30 hours))
The XNA game studio RPG project is really the heart of this course. All the information and skills learned from the previous lessons build up to support the programming involved in this lesson. The lesson itself is broken down into 2 parts. The first lesson eases into the game by explaining the game functionality and by providing some game play tips. Additionally, some time is spent reviewing the code and project structure and configuring and customizing the game with XML. The only C# code that is involved in part 1 is the debugging code. There is a lot of flexibility with part 1 of the lesson, depending on how much time you have. We walk you through creating a character, creating a chest, and creating an item with XML. The students should really enjoy customizing the game with XML because they can see the results almost immediately. The additional exercises provide some options to take the customization even further. You should be able to move through part 1 of the lesson in 3-5 days. You can optionally spend another 3-5 days on the additional exercises, customization, and game play. It’s important that the student has a feel for how the game plays before moving onto part 2.
In part 2, the development and testing of the game is a little more involved. With that said, you should be able to move through part 2 of the lesson in 3-5 days. It’s possible that some students might experience some challenges as they work through the programming exercises, so a little cushion here is beneficial. The additional exercises provided at the end of part 2 are a little more involved and you could really spend the remainder of the class experimenting with these exercises. By this point, the student should be comfortable with the overall game structure and code, which gives you a lot of flexibility to explore and experiment depending on how much time you have. One idea is for students to form groups and work on the additional exercises or explore other enhancements to the game. Some students may be comfortable working through these enhancements individually but having the option to work as a group is a great team building exercise and something done regularly on the job in the computer programming field.
There is a setup guide provided for this lesson to assist in project setup and troubleshooting.
Curriculum Layout
The GAME:IT Advanced curriculum is organized to provide the best teaching experience for you and your students. Each unit comes with a Teacher’s Guide and ALL needed materials – PowerPoints, worksheets, step-by-step instructions to cover an intro to C# programming and how to develop games for Microsoft’s XNA platform.
This course consists of 18 weeks (1 semester) of material, but is flexible enough to fit your specific school’s calendar. Upon purchase, you will be granted access to the full curriculum. Here is a snapshot of the materials that are included.
Course Standards
Technical Requirements
Before you purchase, make sure you have access to the technology and equipment needed to teach this course.
Computer lab with internet access. Internet access is a must as this course will send your students to various websites for activities, video clips, games and research.
Visual Studio C# Express: This program must be downloaded on each student’s computer. This is a free program. To download:
- Go to: www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/downloads#d-2010-express
- Click Install Visual C# 2010 Express
Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0: This program must also be downloaded on each student’s computer. This is a free program. To download:
- Go to: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=23714
- Download Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0
Visual Studio C# Express Requirements
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
Visual Studio 2010 can be installed on the following operating systems:
- Windows XP (x86) with Service Pack 3 – all editions except Starter Edition
- Windows Vista (x86 & x64) with Service Pack 2 – all editions except Starter Edition
- Windows 7 (x86 & x64)
- Windows Server 2003 (x86 & x64) with Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2003 R2 (x86 & x64)
- Windows Server 2008 (x86 & x64) with Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2008 R2 (x64)
Supported Architectures:
- 32-Bit (x86)
- 64-Bit (x64)
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
- Computer that has a 1.6GHz or faster processor
- 1 GB (32 Bit) or 2 GB (64 Bit) RAM (Add 512 MB if running in a virtual machine)
- 3GB of available hard disk space
- 5400 RPM hard disk drive
- DirectX 9 capable video card running at 1024 x 768 or higher-resolution display
- DVD-ROM Drive
XNA Game Studio 4.0 Requirements
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
- To run XNA Framework games on a computer running a Windows operating system, you need a graphics card that supports, at a minimum, Shader Model 1.1 and DirectX 9.0c. We recommend using a graphics card that supports Shader Model 2.0, which is required by some samples and starter kits.
- To execute and debug XNA Framework games for Windows Phone with the Windows Phone emulator, you need a graphics card that supports, at minimum, DirectX 10, with a supporting WDDM 1.1 driver.
- Ensure your graphics card is using the latest driver. Check with your hardware vendor or access Microsoft Update to find the latest version of a driver.
- To develop XNA Framework games for Xbox 360, you need a hard drive installed on your Xbox 360 console.
- Other hardware requirements for XNA Game Studio are identical to those for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. For information about Microsoft Windows Phone SDK requirements, see the Microsoft Windows Phone SDK documentation.
- 1GB of additional available hard disk space
Projector or Printer / Copier: Course material is web based to keep costs down, provide easy access anywhere with internet connection and enhance flexibility. Most topics are covered in PowerPoint format so the ability to project them or print them out is a must.
