teaching
CMSC 336
Games Systems: Platforms, Programs & Power (S2022)
overview | logistics | schedule | assignments | github | resourcesTentative Schedule (changes frequently)
| week | date | topics | readings | work assigned |
| 1 PLATFORM STUDIES (listen ahead) |
1/31/2022 | course introduction | syllabus; RtB and 10P forewards | TIC-80 10 PRINT |
| 2/2/2022 | platform study: 10: PRINT; TIC-80 | 10P pp. 1–155; vic-20 emulator; TIC-80 Tutorial | TIC-80 Github "Hello World!" | |
| 2 HACKING SYSTEMS "Programming as Forgetting" by Parrish |
2/7/2022 | hacking; remaking; demaking | 10P pp 157–195; "Hacker" by Coleman; read about & play a demake of Halo | REMAKE: Oregon Trail | Eliza | Colossal Cave | Hunt the Wumpus | ~(Pong | Breakout) |
| 2/9/2022 | arcade & mainframe: Tennis for Two; Pong; Breakout; OXO; SpaceWar (source) | RtB 1–11; A Video Game by Any Other Name; Pixels in Print part 1 and part 2; "The Gender Binary of Computing: Challenging Sexism in Technology" by Zalkikar | ||
| 3 TURING'S MACHINES "The Turing Problem" |
2/14/2022 | simulation; emulation | "Use of a Game Over: Emulation and the Video"; Excel Turing Machines; Game of Life; Turmites | |
| 2/16/2022 | computers | wireworld; |
number systems | |
| 4 GAMES AT HOME "Jerry Lawson: The Engineer Who Changed the Game" |
2/21/2022 | 6502 ASM | RtB 12-17; 10P pp. 195–242; run it!; 6502 tutorial | snake mini-hack |
| 2/23/2022 | REMAKE PRESENTATIONS | ELIZA by Weizenbuam (lisp); BASIC ELIZA (source); Oregon Trail (source); Apple II version & backstory; Colossal Cave; Hunt the Wumpus |
||
| 5 ATARI 2600 "High Score 1" |
2/28/2022 | Combat | RtB pp. 19–42; "Untold Story of the Game Cartridge"; Atari 1–48; | HACK: Adventure; Pacman; Pitfall; Donkey King; Bezerk; Yars Revenge |
| 3/2/2022 | sprites/controls | Atari 49–111; "Indigenous Circuits: Navajo Women and the Racialization of Early Electronic Manufacture" by Nakamura | stella debug & hack | |
| 6 ATARI PLATFORM STUDIES "High Score 2" |
3/7/2022 | timers & 2600 tricks; Breakout again | Atari 113–152; Atari Games vs Oman; TIC-80 memory map and file format; distellamap | poke challenge; |
| 3/9/2022 | E.T. | "Was E.T. Really the 'Worst Game Ever'?" & fixing ET | ||
| 7 HACK THE MAGIC CIRCLE "Atari Game Over" |
3/14/2022 | procedural graphics & sound | Atari 155–177; "West of the Magic Circle" by Fickle | |
| 3/16/2022 | HACK PRESENTATIONS: Adventure; Pacman; Pitfall; Donkey King; Bezerk; Yars Revenge | |||
| 8 | 3/21/2022 | SPRING BREAK | ||
| 3/23/2022 | ||||
| 9 | 3/28/2022 | |||
| 3/30/2022 | ||||
| 10 NES/FAMICOM "Story Behind Super Mario Bros. 3" |
4/4/2022 | NES; Hello C | Error 1–79; NES 1–40;"NES Memory Visualization" and plots | hello C; DEMAKE: flappy-bird; animal crossing; 2048; wordle; candy crush; overcooked |
| 4/6/2022 | platforming; scrolling & controls; SMB | Error 81–162; NES 41–81; Super Mario Clouds & I Shot Andy Warhol | arrays | |
| 11 SOUND Reliving Nintendo Soundtracks with the Brickster |
4/11/2022 | 2A03 | Error 249–288; NES 83–108; "The Women Who Invented Video Game Music"; sound tutorial | pointers |
| 4/13/2022 | zelda; storage | Error 163–196; NES 109–128; | the heap | |
| 12 NES Games archiving & game genie | 4/13/2022 | emulation; c-limber game | Error 288–329; NES 129–14 | structs & enums |
| 4/18/2022 | RPG; bank switching; DragonQuest; randomizers; game genie | Error 197–248; NES 147–167; "How 'randomizers' are breathing new life into old game"; | IRQ | |
| 13 ARCHITECTURE "American Hysteria #Gamergate" |
4/25/2022 | tetris; 6502 ASM reprised | tetris AI; NES 171-223 | |
| 4/27/2022 | tetris; 6502 ASM reprised | tetris AI; NES 171-223 | ||
| 14 |
5/2/2022 | ADVISING DAY | ||
| 5/4/2022 | patterns I | command, observer; lua functions | ||
| 15 NEW DIRECTIONS "Dr. Gladys West: The Mathematician Who Reshaped Our World" |
5/9/2022 | patterns II | state lua objects & coroutines; coroutines | design pattern poster: Flyweight; Prototype; Singleton; Double Buffer; Game Loop; Update Method; Bytecode; Subclass Sandbox; Type Object; Event Queue; Service Locator; Dirty Flag; Object Pool; Spatial Partition |
| 5/11/2022 | design pattern poster: Flyweight; Prototype; Singleton; Double Buffer; Game Loop; Update Method; Bytecode; Subclass Sandbox; Type Object; Event Queue; Service Locator; Dirty Flag; Object Pool; Spatial Partition | |||
| 16 PLATFORM STUDIES |
5/16/2022 | DEMAKE PRESENTATIONS: flappy-bird; animal crossing; 2048; wordle; candy crush | ||
| 5/18/2022 | COMPLETION WEEK | |||
| 17 | 5/23/2022 | |||