Course description: The course aims to provide students with insights and practical skills in the object-orientated approach to the design and implementation of software systems.

Course content:There are three options contingent upon student skills.

(1) Introduction to object orientated programming (30) Professor Robert Zimmer Credits: 30 An introductory course in object orientated programming for non-programmers using the PROCESSING language.

(2) Creative coding (30) Dr. Marco Gillies and Dr. Mick Grierson Credits: 30 This course aims to offer students at masters level the opportunity to develop skills in applied audiovisual computing through a series of workshops and project sessions. The topics delivered in this course cover creative software development in C/C++, audio and graphics programming for embedded systems (iPhone and iPad).

(3) Advanced programming (30) Professor Frederic Fol Leymarie Credits: 30 This course will give students a firm grounding in software creation and architectural development as it relates to modern games development as a specialised branch of software engineering. The course is grounded in objected oriented development, using a range of programming languages, including C++, C# and Python to enable students to gain a strong understanding of object oriented methods in general and to gain an appreciation of OO design patterns for games development. The course focuses on the relationship between programming languages and hardware, particularly rendering hardware, through the study of DirectX and OpenGL-ES for particular implementations, namely PC, MicrosoftÕs Xbox, or Sony's PSP. In addition, the course will also investigate new technologies within game programming, namely the uptake of interpreted languages in games development, such as Python, C# and HLSL as well as the move toward symmetric and asymmetric processing arrays as seen in video sub-systems and the Cell processor. The course will also consider issues of design of software in a challenging environment such as in the Games industry, where most work is done in large teams of multi-disciplinary nature and will examine the commercial and cultural drivers that dictate certain approaches to software development within the games industry.

Course teaching and assessment: These courses are primarily assessed via programmins assignments together with (formative) labs, seminars & tutorials.

All MSC students are also expected to attend the Goldsmiths College Whitehead lecture series. To be added to the Whitehead lecture series seminar mailing list, please contact Mark Bishop by email: m.bishop@gold.ac.uk.