Midterm

I've revised the assignment originally listed as homework for 10-29 to serve as our midterm. The due date for the project is November 10. The mention of a paper in the original syllabus was an error (it crept in from another syllabus I was using as a template). There is no paper in this class.

For our next meeting, Thursday, October 29, please bring removable media with the current state of your rocket work. (Or e-mail the files to yourself.)

Schedule Reminder

Please pay close attention to the syllabus for the next four weeks. I am meeting no classes the week of October 19.

ALL CLASSES WILL MEET THE FOLLOWING WEEK, beginning October 26. These meetings are VERY IMPORTANT. In COSC 160, I will assign and prepare you for the midterm. In COSC 150 and IDIA 619, I will be available to help with the midterm project. COSC 320 will wrap up work on the Unity tutorial and prepare for the final project.

We do not meet again in the week beginning November 2, but we DO MEET the week beginning November 9.

I will read e-mail during the non-meeting weeks, but since I will be traveling, there may be delays in response.

Syllabus Change

I've made a slight modification to the syllabus. Lesson 10 in the Photoshop book is lengthy and important, so we'll divide it in half and handle it over two weeks. This means moving Lesson 12 (3D images) to the end of the semester (December 8). There is no change to the grading scheme, and homework will continue to be assigned on a weekly basis.

However, if you printed an earlier copy of the syllabus, please discard it and replace it with a new one.

Homework

See the homework assignment for this Thursday, which replaces the original assignment on the syllabus.

AC 219 is open for walk-in use the following hours this Fall:

Monday

2:00 - 5:30 PM

Tuesday

4:30 - 5:30 PM

Wednesday

4:30 - 5:30 PM

Thursday

4:30 - 5:30 PM

Friday

12:00 - 5:00 PM

Saturday

10:30 AM - 4:00 PM

If AC 219 is not open when you arrive, please look for a Lab Assistant in AC 216, AC 224, or AC 223. He or she will open the lab for you.

The UB Office of Diversity Education is sponsoring an Asian Film Festival this November 4-5. The festival features three great films, all in the UB Student Center Theatre:

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE

November 4 at 4:30 PM

THE HOST

November 4 at 7:00 PM

LUST, CAUTION

November 5 at 7:00 PM

Mark your calendars!

The following suggested reading from your classmate Gabriel Kabik:

Analysis: Portal and the Deconstruction of the Institution by Daniel Johnson

www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23960

- A great analytical/semiotics-based approach to understanding how Portal communicates feelings of repression, submission and powerlessness, along with encouraging deviancy, through subtle design/art choices.

Ken Levine on Studio Culture: From Looking Glass to 2K Boston

www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4082/ken_levine_on_studio_culture_from_.php

- From the Producer of Bioshock and a design lead from System Shock 2 and Freedom Force, a great interview about his transition from Looking Glass Studios in Austin to heading up 2k Boston, and what he's learned with all of his experience, and what his studio looks for in a prospective employee.

From Brian White, President of TBN:

The SDE interest group To Be Named (TBN) is getting started for the fall semester. We're in process of moving all our information to a Facebook group, and we are holding our first meeting of the Fall Semester September 1st 4:30-5:30 PM on the fifth floor of the Student Center.

We are currently planning on meeting every week at that same time. The topics for the first week include:

• Review of TBN objectives
• Where are we going to meet this semester?
• What makes an efficient content generation group?

In addition to the physical meetings, there will also be a weekly update to the Facebook group including at least one tutorial relevant to the current classes at UB.