Creating a Game Development Course with Limited Resources

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the challenges in implementing a game development course with limited resources in computing curricula. An approach to a holistic game development course is outlined in terms of its organization, software, and instructional methods. The course had 23 students enrolled in its first offering and was systematically evaluated in light of the approach using multiple sources of data. Descriptive statistics and measures of internal consistency reliability are provided. Three important findings resulted from this research: 1) a game development course can be implemented with limited institutional monetary support for a reasonable cost per student, 2) cooperation and competition can be effectively integrated into a game development course as instructional strategies, and 3) integrated lecture and computer lab sessions with cooperative learning is an effective instructional method for a game development course. Finally, insights and lessons learned are provided to assist educators in creating their own game development courses.