Offered: Fall Semester
[Course Link]
Official Course Description:
Graphics Programming I looks into the basics of computer graphics from a programming perspective. Through the use of programs and graphics development tools, you’ll be introduced to and be able to implement 2D and 3D coordinate spaces. Line drawing algorithms and rasterization are presented and applied to make an image come alive to the viewer. Linear Algebra algorithms will be refreshed and/or introduced specific to the topic at hand.
Professor’s summary:
In this course students explore the many graphics features and systems that are used in the creation of 2D games. This includes the fundamentals of graphics hardware, sprites, sprite animation, the illusion of depth (including foreground user-interface and parallaxing background elements), particle systems, pixel shaders, and polish.
Where relevant, processor architecture is examined (including the GPU), in order to build a fundamental understanding of graphics architecture before moving on to 3D graphics.
Each week, students design, create, and test an additional graphics system component and present their work in class. In the last few weeks of the course students are required to bring all the individual systems together for a final project.