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Spring 2008
Art Practice 98 / 198
2 Unit(s)

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About the Course:

> Just the facts, jack.

- We're going to build levels for Counter-Strike: Source. Then we're going to play them. Then we're going to discuss them. You might end up enjoying yourself, who knows?

- You'll need a decently powered laptop to bring to class. Almost any laptop bought within the last few years should be able to run the level editor program sufficiently well. Oh, and bring a mouse, too!

- It might not seem like a lot of work ("Wow, 2 units to play CS? Sign me up!") but don't be fooled... This class probably demands a bit more work than your average DeCal in terms of hours. I don't want to scare you off or anything, but I'm also not going to lie. CS levels can take a long time to build; work time varies from person to person. You can be as fast or as slow as you want.

But you know what? It's worth it, because (a) you'll have more fun when building a level than when writing an essay (b) classes are lab / discussion based, and there's relatively very little required writing / reading. So for all you people who list "I don't read" as your favorite books on your Facebook profile, this should be a pretty decent course.

Still not sure if you can trust a few paragraphs of mindless copy to get a sense of the course? Then come to the first day of class and judge it for yourself. 

> Is This Class For Me? 

- All experience levels, academic majors (and genders!) are welcome! You don't have to be a computer science major to be in this class. In fact, it's probably better if you're not, because then you can bring in your own academic discipline to level design, be it history, astrophysics, philosophy, or anything!...

- There are really only two basic prerequisites for this class: (1) Good computer proficiency, e.g. You're skilled with MS Office. (2) Familiarity with a first person shooter (Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Quake, Unreal, Halo, Call of Duty, etc.) and the genre's basic rules and strategies. You also need to be comfortable with mouse-look + WASD keyboard style controls; the level editor uses this setup, and we're also going to be playtesting a lot.

- This seems to be a common misconception, so I'll throw it out right now: There is no computer programming involved.

How to Enroll:

Attendance for the first and second weeks of class is mandatory. Yes, you read that correctly. BOTH days: January 30th and February 6th. Mark it on your calendar, your hand, your pet, or your significant other.

Here's my thinking - January 30th: Watch a design demo, get a sense of the class, eat some snacks, decide if it's your kind of thing. February 6th: Start committing to the course.

Ideally, the class size should be about 10-15 students. IF, and only IF there is a big turnout, then: (1) attend both days and sign in (or at least sign in, leave, and then hope I won't notice) (2) I'll have a lottery (3) I'll e-mail CCNs to the winners (4) CCNs will be posted after the 3rd week of class (February 13th) and then the wait-list will be processed on a first-come first-serve basis.

Also, if you'd like to e-mail me to indicate your interest or ask any questions, that's fine too. I'm a very approachable guy... Most of the time.