Module Descriptors
PROGRAMMING PHYSICS AND AI ENGINES FOR GAMES
COSE50394
Key Facts
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences
Level 5
15 credits
Contact
Leader: Claude Chibelushi
Email: C.C.Chibelushi@staffs.ac.uk
Hours of Study
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities: 36
Independent Study Hours: 114
Total Learning Hours: 150
Assessment
  • ASSIGNMENT weighted at 50%
  • EXAMINATION - UNSEEN IN EXAMINATION CONDITIONS weighted at 50%
Module Details
Module Additional Assessment Details
Assignment - 2,000 words (50%) assessing learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Exam 2 hours (50%) assessing learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3.
Module Indicative Content
Review of fundamental concepts:
- Cartesian co-ordinates; Vectors
- Newton's laws of motion; Motion with constant velocity or constant acceleration.
Physics for game development:
- Rigid-body, particle, and articulated-body dynamics for modelling or animation:
Force, gravity, friction, momentum, energy, collisions
Particle systems
Forward and inverse kinematics
Quaternion rotation
Simulation of rigid or deformable bodies
- Genre-specific physics models: motion capture for skeletal animation, vehicle simulation.
Artificial intelligence (AI) for game development:
- Finite state machines, planning, path finding
- Fuzzy logic, rule-based AI
- Intelligent agents
- Flocking.
Module Learning Strategies
This module will be delivered through a combination of formal lectures and practical exercises. Emphasis in the lectures will be placed on presenting a broad overview of the subject area, while a single practical assignment will be used to give depth in the core physics and AI principles, algorithms and techniques for generating computer game environments. You will be expected to read the relevant literature, think critically, discuss with, and consult peers and tutors. You will also be expected to develop and appraise software that implements physics and AI models for computer games.
2 lectures and 1 practical per week, (1:n)2 (1:20)1
Module Special Admissions Requirements
Prior study of CE00371-1, Introduction to Software Development and CE00882-1, Object Oriented and Event Driven Programming or equivalent.
Module Texts
Physics for Game Developers, David M Bourg, 2002, O'Reilly, ISBN: 0596000065
Game Physics, David H Eberly, 2003, Morgan Kaufmann, ISBN: 1558607404
Applied Physics for Game Programmers: Creating Real-Time Simulations (Game Development Series), Christopher Watkins, 2004, Charles Rivr Media ISBN, 1584502738.
AI Game Programming Wisdom 4, Rabin (ed.), 2008, Charles River Media, ISBN: 1584505230.
AI for Game Developers, David M. Bourg, Glenn Seemann, 2004, O'Reilly, ISBN: 0596005555.
AI: A Modern Approach, 2nd. Ed., Russell & Norvig, 2002, Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0137903952.
Module Resources
A personal computer or similar, a development environment or kit, an API or middleware suitable for programming physics and AI in computer games.