Prerequisites:

CS Students: Computer Systems Organization or equivalent, (Preferably also algorithms);

Comfort with some C or C++; Or with permission of the instructor based on experience.

Design-oriented Students / Students from other disciplines: students from different backgrounds may contribute their unique creative interests and expertise if they have compatible experience and motivation. Share a portfolio; Creative coding examples; Or with permission of the instructor based on experience.

Course Description:

A cross-disciplinary course that brings students together to design and prototype their own original interactive experience projects within 2D games and animations, creative user interfaces, or applications of emerging technologies. The course especially welcomes students from different backgrounds who are excited to learn “how things work” and combine technology, art, and design. Students will explore interactive systems and game programming to reach a fine-level of understanding at the coding level through a mix of guided practice and open-ended projects. For personal projects, they will be taken through the prototyping process from initial ideas to a working portfolio piece. For scaffolding, motivation, and inspiration, students will also be introduced to examples in human-computer interface design, games, and applications of human-computer interaction (HCI). HCI can help us understand how to design interactive systems from the perspective of human-centered needs and experiences. This includes techniques such as storyboarding, playtests, and human-centered user research. Through the course, students will take-away: transferable design- and problem-solving skills beyond coding; collaborative project experience; practice designing and creating real-time systems; appreciation for ideas in HCI to assist in the creative process; their own creative portfolio pieces. See the course page for up-to-date details: https://cims.nyu.edu/~ktr254/creativecourse/

Selection of Topics and Outcomes

Ideas

• User Interface Systems Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) & Creativity-Support Tools (CST)s
• Understanding prototyping mindset (when to care and prioritize or not)
• Flexibility to share real-world advancements and outlets in HCI (esp. for systems, creativity-support, creative coding) in research and industry
• Elements of user experience design; design and prototyping iteration process
• Brainstorming, articulating, presenting and prototype an idea (for interface, game, or experience)
• Cross-disciplinary collaborative project experience on a personal project

Programming & Design Topics for Interactive Experiences

• Techniques for interactive-time scenarios; e.g. Interface design, Entity and scene systems, Event systems, Scenario scripting, Data-oriented programming, Performance trade-offs
• 2D Animation, Sprites, Graphics & VFX, Music, SFX, Art and visual aesthetics
• Game feel & controls, Storytelling, Consider mobile devices and/or multi-user

Outcomes and Next Steps

• A personal portfolio piece (examples may include in general a 2D game, interactive art-piece/experience, creative tools application, or free-choice with instructor’s approval); students may wish to use the project as an opportunity to enter a showcase, game-jam or equivalent, or develop research for publication.
• Confidence working through an open-ended creative-problem-solving and prototyping process using HCI techniques; applicable to projects in other domains (engineering or artistically-motivated), with or without coding.
• Gateway to research and development or deeper exploration of HCI, emerging technologies, 3D graphics and games, interactive tech, lower-level systems.
• Experience working on a cross-disciplinary team akin to real-world teamwork.
• Introduction to research and industry practices for real-time applications.