PROD321-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025

Interactive Computer Graphics and Animation

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 February 2025
End Date: Sunday, 22 June 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 2 March 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 11 May 2025

Description

In this paper, students will learn about the technical aspects of how moving images are generated for use in video games. This includes topics such as geometric modeling, the rendering pipeline, the use of various texturing techniques, and programmable shaders. In addition, students will learn various techniques for making objects move, such as forward and inverse kinematics, behavioural animation, and physically-based animation.

Learning Outcomes

  • Students who pass this course will be able to:
  • Understand the principals of three dimensional graphics, and have implemented their own three dimensional rendering framework
  • Describe the parts of the rendering pipeline, and optimizations which can improve performance
  • Use lighting and global illumination techniques to create visually appealing environments
  • Write Cg/HLSL shaders to control how geometry is rendered at the hardware level and create visual effects
  • Use animation to bring their characters to life, and realistically interact with the environment.

Prerequisites

Timetable 2025

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 13:00 - 15:00 Otakaro 146 L1 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Thursday 15:00 - 17:00 Otakaro 146 L1 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
Computer Lab A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 15:00 - 18:00 Otakaro 205 Computer Lab
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Adrian Clark

Course Administrator

Alison Lowery

Assessment

Lab Attendance 1% Per Lab, Weekly 10%
Assignment 1 – 3D Graphics Programming Sunday 2nd April, 11:55pm: 30%
Assignment 2 – Animation and Optimisation Sunday 4th June, 11:55pm: 35%
Assignment 3 – Shaders Sunday 25th June, 11:55pm: 5%
Test – Thursday 1st June, 10am: 20%
Total: 100%

Lab Attendance: 10% in total:
• 1% Per Lab. Grade will be allocated as lab work complete (1%) or incomplete (0%). Work must be shown to course Lecturer or Tutor within 7 days of the end of the lab session to be awarded the mark.

Assignments: 70% in total:
• Assignment 1 –3D Graphics Programming: 30%; Students will be required to design three dimensional graphical environments and implement them using techniques covered in Foundations of Computer Graphics and Advanced Techniques in 3D Graphics.
• Assignment 2 – Animation and Optimisation: 30%; Students will design and create a playable game using techniques learned in Rendering Pipelines and Optimisations, controlling a character animated using techniques learned in Animation
• Assignment 3 – Shaders: 10%; Students will design and create their own shaders to create some unique and interesting visual effects
Test: 20% in total:
• Test covering material from the entire course, to be held in the final lecture.

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Gregory, Jason; Game engine architecture ; Third edition; CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $998.00

International fee $5,188.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see School of Product Design .

All PROD321 Occurrences

  • PROD321-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025