Course Syllabus

EAE 3710-002: Traditional Game Development

Summer Semester 2025

Instructor: Adam Treu

Email: u1276802@umail.utah.edu

Office Hours on Discord (or by appointment):

Mondays from 5-6 pm
Tuesdays from 11:30 - 1:30 pm

Preferred means of communication:

Discord (~12-36 Hours)
Canvas or Teams (~12-36 Hours)
Email (~48-96 Hours)

TA: Raynard "Ray" Christian

Email: u1344059@umail.utah.edu

Office Hours: Wednesday, 12 pm - 2 pm (or by appointment)

Preferred means of communication:

Discord (will respond within 12 hours)
Canvas or Teams (will respond within 24 hours)
Email (will respond within 24 hours)

Unofficial Discord Server

Discord is a useful place to ask questions, find help, and reach out to me, your TA, and other students. Joining the class Discord is not required, but it is highly recommended since I will hold my office hours on Discord! - Important note: Grades cannot and will NEVER be discussed through Discord, as that is a breach of FERPA.

Invite Link: https://discord.gg/csYgA7fuZt

Course Description

"This course examines several aspects of video games and gaming through a variety of theoretical lenses. This course will serve as an introduction to game design and survey the many roles behind video game development, both amateur and professional. Students will study the fundamentals of game design theory and incorporate them into 2D [or 3D] gaming projects. Students should be familiar with image editing and other basic computer skills. Students will assume various roles as they work in teams to make fully functional video games."

Learning Outcomes

Produce a game as part of an integrated, interdisciplinary team of 4-6 developers.
Demonstrate independent competence in game development utilizing an industry-standard game engine.
Explain and implement genre-defining game mechanics theoretically and technically.
Understand agile development, SCRUM, and other industry project management strategies.
Evaluate and improve a game development team's production efficiency and workflow methodology.

Teaching and Learning Methods

"The creation of games, like many art forms, can be a chaotic process that is guided by genre conventions, communities of practice, and traditions. This class combines knowledge transference and active learning, meaning there will be moments of teaching and moments of doing. Both require student engagement to be successful. Students are in charge of their educations and are active partners in learning while in this course. The course will pair two practices: learning about games and making games. On one hand, we will be reading, debating, and writing; on the other hand, we will be building. We will be using both at the same time to develop games critically and to be production-oriented in our critiques." (Previous Teacher)

The instructor will give lectures and tutorials, start discussions, and observe presentations. Students will be assigned to teams where they will be responsible for the development of their own tasks and processes during the development of their game. Success in this class will come from being an active learner.

Class Materials

Students will be required to purchase and play (3) three games for the Individual Game Journal assignments. Most of the games to choose from are available on the Steam App, Xbox Live, PlayStation Store, or other online sources (Epic Games, GOG.com, etc)

I recommend setting aside approximately $30-60.00 to purchase these games. (If you end up hating the game you played and it was from Steam, you can request a refund if you played for less than 2 hours and within 14 days of purchase. Just by the way.)

Course Policies

Attendance & Punctuality:

Unless instructed otherwise, students are expected to be physically present in class on Thursdays from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The instructor reserves the right to adjust a student's final grade in the course in any way they see fit due to your attendance. Active learning requires your presence. If you are unable to attend, you also need to notify your team members in advance.

"The University expects regular attendance at all class meetings. Instructors must communicate any particular attendance requirements of the course to students in writing on or before the first class meeting. Students are responsible for acquainting themselves with and satisfying the entire range of academic objectives and requirements as defined by the instructor." PPM, Policy 6-100-III-O-1 Policy 6-100: Instruction and Evaluation - Regulations Library - The University of Utah

General Expectations

Professionalism

Preparedness and communication

Participation

In lectures and discussions

Cleanliness

In the classroom

Respect

To peers
Playtests

Attentiveness

During Lectures
To Canvas announcements

Time

"It is generally expected throughout the University that there is at least one hour in class and two hours outside of class per week..." Since our class is 3 hours, you are expected to spend an average minimum of 6 hours outside of class per week on your projects and assignments. Policy 6-100: Instruction and Evaluation

Self-care

Physical and Mental

Assignments

Assignments in this class will be split between personal assignments (to be completed individually) and group assignments (to be completed by you and your assigned team). Make sure to keep track of which assignments are individual or group assignments; if in doubt, clarify with your team, TA, or instructor.

For group assignments, it is usually only necessary that one team member upload the assignment submission. However, everyone on the team will be held accountable for missing or late group assignments. Group assignments do not give you permission to abdicate your responsibility as a team member. I reserve the right to adjust the individual team members' grades on group assignments to reflect the level of their contribution.

Participation

Participation is required and will be graded. "Education is about more than knowledge transference. Socialization (learning the cultural norms and mores of a community, in this case, game developers), soft skills (teamwork, verbal and textual communication, and presentation skills), and production-oriented hard skills are all major components of this course." (Previous Teacher)

Canvas

This course will utilize Canvas. I may send additional urgent updates regarding class cancellations, etc.

Evaluation

25% - Final Game, Wrap Kit, and PostMortem

24% - Group Production Assignments

9% - Group Participation

17% - Individual Development Assignments

15% - Individual Participation

10% - Attendance

Grading Policy (Evaluation Methods & Criteria)

Grades will generally be based on Teamwork, Organization, Work Quality, Communication, Creativity, & Effort. You can expect submitted assignments to be graded by the Teacher or TA within approximately 1-2 weeks after submission.

Grading Scale

Grades are based on the following scale out of 100 points. For simplicity, 1 point equals 1% of your total grade. Therefore, percentages in Canvas may not necessarily reflect the final course grade. (Policy 6-100: Instruction and Evaluation)

Letter Grade	Point Value	Grade Point Average (GPA)
A	93 - 100	4.0
A-	90 - 92	3.7
B+	87 - 89	3.3
B	83 - 86	3.0
B-	80 - 82	2.7
C+	77 - 79	2.3
C	73 - 76	2.0
C-	70 - 72	1.7
D+	67 - 69	1.3
D	63 - 66	1.0
D-	61 - 62	0.7
E	0 - 60	0.0

Late assignments

All assignments (excluding in-class and group assignments, and the Final) will receive a -10% penalty per 24-hour day (from the due time) up to a maximum of -30% (or 3 days late).

More specifically: 1 minute to 24 hours late = -10%. Then, 24-48 hours late = -20%. Then, 48-72 hours late = -30%.
If you need an extension AND have a reasonable justification due to extenuating circumstances, you must send me an email or Canvas message at least 24 hours before the assignment is due.

You may still turn in Late assignments after the 3 days until Friday, August 1, at 11:59 pm to receive up to 50% credit.

Final Turn ins or Redos

If you receive an unsatisfactory grade on any assignment you submitted on time, you may redo and resubmit your assignment in the hope of receiving a better score. Your final score will be the average of the two scores. You MUST notify the Teacher or the TA when you do so. The last day redos will be accepted will be Friday, August 1, at 11:59 pm.

Participation

Participation will take two forms: Individual and Group.

There are a few in-class group activities to practice and test students' understanding of agile development, SCRUM, and other industry project management strategies. Furthermore, students are expected to conduct out-of-class team meetings to implement these learned strategies into their development cycles.
The individual participation assignments will require students to present their game's progress in front of the class as part of each sprint's milestone deliverable.

Attendance

Attendance will be taken via a Quiz for the Word of the Game of the Day: Here. Your participation grade will be split between regular attendance to class and graded in-class activities (as listed in the class schedule). If you cannot attend class on the day of an activity or presentation AND have a reasonable excuse, you must send me an email or Canvas message before the class session to figure out an alternative solution. If you miss a class activity, I will require you to complete your portion of the class activity before I can award you full points.

Each day of attendance is worth 1 point, and we have 10 classes = which is 10% of your grade.
This grade will be MANUALLY adjusted at the end of the semester to account for lateness and excused absences.

(1) One excused absence throughout the semester.
Since each class session is only 3 hours, you will only receive half credit (0.5 points) if you are more than 10 minutes late.
- If you arrive late and miss the word of the day, just write the word "Late" on the quiz.
This should be obvious, but you may NOT share the word of the day with any students who are not present in class that day.

Individual Development Assignments

The assignments in this category are to be worked on individually. The Game Journals focus on establishing a theoretical understanding of game design principles and practices. Any sharing of written work between team members or uncited use of other content will be considered plagiarism.

In order to demonstrate independent competence in game development, you will also complete individual sprint milestone logs. In these assignments, you will detail your contributions to the game's development.

As part of these contributions assignments, you will also be *scoring and justifying your team members' contributions for each sprint milestone. The purpose is to evaluate and improve your development team's production efficiency and workflow.

Game Production Milestones

There will be three main sprint milestones in the class that will act as checkpoints to gauge if students are meeting the class's learning outcomes. They are reflective of the traditional stages of game development and encourage your game production to stay on track. Each milestone has two components that will both be graded as a team: a production "plan" and a working "build" of the game. The plan will be presented in class at the end of each production phase (1. Pre-Production and Prototype, 2. Vertical Slice and Alpha, 3. Beta to Gold). It will outline the work you have accomplished and what you expect to accomplish during the next sprint. The game build will be completed before class on these sprint review days and will be tested during a playtest session. You are individually responsible for presenting at least one slide to show your contributions to the game.

*The game build that is submitted for the group production assignment will be subject to point modification. Based on the "score" each student receives from their team members in the individual contribution assignments, each individual team member's score will be adjusted on the team's group submission accordingly.

University Policies

Utah Game's Values - Here

College of Engineering Guidelines: CoE Guidelines

University: Mandatory Institutional Policies for Syllabi

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities.

All written information in this course can be made available in an alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability & Access (CDA). CDA will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. Prior notice is appreciated. To read the full accommodations policy for the University of Utah, please see Section Q of the Instruction & Evaluation regulations.
In compliance with ADA requirements, some students may need to record course content. Any recordings of course content are for personal use only, should not be shared, and should never be made publicly available. In addition, recordings must be destroyed at the conclusion of the course.
If you will need accommodations in this class, or for more information about what support they provide, contact:
Center for Disability & Access
801-581-5020
disability.utah.edu
65 Student Services Building
201 S 1460 E
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Safety at the U

The University of Utah values the safety of all campus community members. You will receive important emergency alerts and safety messages regarding campus safety via text message. For more safety information and to view available training resources, including helpful videos, visit safeu.utah.edu.

To report suspicious activity or to request a courtesy escort, contact:
Campus Police & Department of Public Safety
801-585-COPS (801-585-2677)
dps.utah.edu
1735 E. S. Campus Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Addressing Sexual Misconduct

Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a civil rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran's status, or genetic information.

If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to university officials:
Title IX Coordinator & Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
801-581-8365
oeo.utah.edu
135 Park Building
201 Presidents' Cir.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Office of the Dean of Students
801-581-7066
deanofstudents.utah.edu
270 Union Building
200 S. Central Campus Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
To file a police report, contact Campus Police & Department of Public Safety
801-585-COPS (801-585-2677)
dps.utah.edu
1735 E. S. Campus Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
If you do not feel comfortable reporting to authorities, the U's Victim-Survivor Advocates provide free, confidential, and trauma-informed support services to students, faculty, and staff who have experienced interpersonal violence.
To privately explore options and resources available to you with an advocate, contact:
Center for Campus Wellness
801-581-7776
wellness.utah.edu
350 Student Services Building
201 S. 1460 E.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Academic Misconduct

Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may be punished by failure on an individual assignment and/or failure in the course. Academic misconduct, according to the University of Utah Student Code:

"...Includes, but is not limited to, cheating, misrepresenting one's work, inappropriately collaborating, plagiarism, and fabrication or falsification of information…It also includes facilitating academic misconduct by intentionally helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic misconduct."

This includes the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools without citation, documentation, or authorization. Students are expected to adhere to the prescribed professional and ethical standards of the profession/discipline for which they are preparing. Any student who engages in academic dishonesty or who violates the professional and ethical standards for their profession/discipline may be subject to academic sanctions as per the University of Utah's Student Code: Policy 6-410: Student Academic Performance, Academic Conduct, and Professional and Ethical Conduct.

For details on plagiarism and other important course conduct issues, see the U's Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Students who are found to have participated in academic misconduct in a class will be sanctioned with a failing grade for the course. Students who are sanctioned a second time will not be allowed to take further EAE courses at the University of Utah. Further, students in the degree program will be removed from the program.
Above is the Games program policy. In this course, any AI submissions (including AI translations) will warrant you failing the associated assignment. If it happens more than once, you will fail the course.

Note:

This syllabus is meant to serve as an outline and guide for our course. Please note that I may modify it with reasonable notice to you. I may also modify the Course Schedule to accommodate the needs of our class. Any changes will primarily be announced in class, and potentially highlighted in green and posted on Canvas under Announcements.
This syllabus was written by Adam Treu with modified sections used from syllabi of previous teachers at the University of Utah Games Division.