Game Programming Lab

3D Games Unlimited

20 June 2007

On June 19, the participants of the first "Game Programming Laboratory" presented their 3D computer games - developed under the supervision of Prof. Markus Gross and three of his assistants from the department's Computer Graphics Group - with great effort and enthusiasm.

by Katja Abrahams

Computer games naturally hold a great fascination for young people. Therefore, a group at the Department of Computer Science decided to combine fun and learning by introducing a course which teaches the basics of 3D graphics through game design. "In my 13 years at ETH I have repeatedly been asked to offer a game lab, this year I finally succumbed", Prof. Markus Gross says with a grin.

Applied Project Work Instead of Lectures

Groups of three designed, programmed and implemented computer games for the Xbox 360 console – ranging from fast-paced racing games to sophisticated strategy games – using Microsoft's XNA Studio Express software. "Together, we've probably put over 400 hours into our project, but it was worth it", says student Henning Avenhaus, who together with his colleagues developed the game "Gravity Bound". The game's hero is a sticky, oily blob which must make way through a world of evil monsters.

The main focus in developing the games lay in technical challenges such as digital image formation, interaction, keeping in line with physical laws, visual effects and artificial intelligence. The premises for participating in the lab were good programming skills in Java and C++ as well as basic knowledge in Visual Computing. "The Game Programming Laboratory is not a normal seminar in the sense that its focus lies on applied project work; there are no introductory lectures or exercises", says Bob Sumner, co-instructor of the course and a senior researcher in the Computer Graphics Laboratory.

Jury and Audience Award

The audience at the public game presentation got what they came for and immersed themselves in a gaming heaven by entering the full lecture hall. Four course instructors plus Silke Lang of the ETH Competence Center for Digital Design & Modeling as well as Adam Moravanszky, principal engineer at Ageia, a supplier of accelerator chips for computer games, made up the panel of experts.

The jury kept the audience in suspense by deliberating for full 20 minutes which game was to be named the winner. Since no unanimous vote could be cast, two prizes were eventually given out. The regular "Jury Award" went to "Titor's Equilibrium", a futuristic strategy game where glowing ghosts move across space in cubes or in other geometric shapes. The "Honorable Award" went to "S.P.H.E.R.E.S", a game where the user has to collect coins and can even gain a special "Power Up" enabling him/her to control an adversary's mind.

The Audience Award went to the game "Battle Balls". Tough balls battle it out in a maze of houses and make skyscrapers collapse in spectacular ways.

Since organizers and participants were equally happy with the laboratory and its outcome, future editions may be expected: "This course was a pilot project. Our concept worked very well and we will certainly offer a lab of this kind again next year", promises Bob Sumner.

More information on the Game Programming Laboratory can be found on the course page