THE MAKING OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY GAMES PROJECT

M any universities with a Computer Science (CS) curriculum now offer a game develop-ment course in a variety of flavors. However, the fundamental standpoint that leads their particular course design is not always clear. Delft University of Technology intro-duced project-based education in its CS curriculum five years ago, including a second-year games project. Initially designed as little more than a companion to the computer graphics course, the games project matured into a large project integrating a broad range of computer science topics. More importantly, though, the current games project brings CS students together for the first time to work in a realistic and interdisciplinary game development team, involving students pursuing a Game Design and Development degree at the Utrecht School of the Arts. We believe that the key to the huge success of our games project lies in the consistent combi-nation of this careful interdisciplinary organization with the deployment of professional tech-nology and working environment specifically crafted for an educational environment. We also conclude that a streamlined collaboration among students of related disciplines works as a very powerful catalyst in their personal and academic development