UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF APPLIED
COMPUTING
BAC 2310: COMPUTER GAME DESIGN
FULL TIME/PART TIME
DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE (30 MARKS)
a) Define the following terms as used in game design and architecture:
i. Game [2 Marks]
ii. Game engine [2 Marks]
iii. Game code [2 Marks]
b) Explain why game development generally uses an iterative process.[6 Marks]
c) Briefly describe the difference between a vector and a scalar. [2 Marks]
d) Given vectors A and B as shown, draw the following:
e) Explain using examples, the purpose of a collisons and physics subsystem in a game
engine. [4 Marks]
f) Suppose you are adding a new kind of entity (e.g. a 3D cube/sphere/polygon) to a
game using an entity system, such as the one provided in Unity. Explain roughly the
major steps that you would follow to place your entity within the 3D system.
[6 Marks]
QUESTION TWO (20 MARKS)
a) Describe why a scripting system is important in game design
[2 Marks]
b) State any three game engines available in the market. [3 Marks]
A B
c) Describe why it is possible to use a single game engine for many different games.
[4 Marks]
d) Define the term unit vector [2 Marks]
e) Draw A · U using the diagram in question one (d), given that |U| = 1. Hint: U is a unit vector
[3 Marks]
f) Explain the following subsystems in a game runtime engine:
i. Human Interface Devices [2 Marks]
ii. Resources manager [2 Marks]
iii. Gameplay foundation system [2 Marks]
QUESTION THREE (20 MARKS)
a) Game studios are usually composed of five basic disciplines which the game
development team will fall under. Explain the basic disciplines. [10 Marks]
b) Explain the grid method for collision detection. In what situations is this method
likely to work well? [4 Marks]
c) Using diagrams describe the two types of coordinate system used in game design.
[4 Marks]
d) Define the following terms as used in Unity game studio [2 Marks]
i. Prefab
ii. Rigidbody
QUESTION FOUR (20 MARKS)
a) Version control is crucial whenever software (including games) is developed by a
team of multiple engineers. Describe four reasons why version control is an important
tool of trade in game design and development. [4 Marks]
b) Give two main kinds of calculations that are likely to be performed by a physics
engine, and explain how each is likely to be used in a game. [4 Marks]
c) Define the term scene as used in game design. [2 Marks]
d) Describe the shutdown and start methods used in a rendering manager.
[4 Marks]
e) The most common local lighting model employed by game rendering engines is the
Phong reflection model. It models the light reflected from a surface as a sum of three
distinct terms. Name and describe the three terms. [6 Marks]
QUESTION FIVE (20 MARKS)
a) Explain any five most common game genres in game design [10 Marks]
b) Imagine a game character representing a miner, who has the following main activities,
go to the gold mine and dig for nuggets until his pockets are full; then he will go to the
bank to deposit the gold. The activities can be interrupted if he gets thirsty or tired. If
he is thirsty, he will go to the milkbar for a drink to quench his thirst; if he is tired, he
will go home and get rested.
i. What is a Finite State Machine? [2 Mark]
ii. Identify the states of the miner and draw a state diagram indicating the state
transitions. [8 Marks]
