2008 Summer Course Schedule by Program
Pro Series Courses
Educator Series Courses
Teen Summer Camps
Kids Summer Camps
“An excellent introduction into the inner workings of Game Creation. A very informative, and fun course.”
- Keith Anderson
- High School Student
- Woodlands, TX
3D Game Creation with 3ds max III - Video Game Camp
Targeted to:
- High School Teens & College-Age Youth
Locations, Dates, & Instructors:
- Stanford University
- Jul 23-27
- Chris Platz
- Jul 30-Aug 3
- Chris Platz
- Aug 6-10
- Chris Platz
Course Outline:
Preview the 5-day Course Outline for this course.
Autodesk 3ds max & Maya:
Course Overview
3ds max training with expert Mark Gerhard. In this intensive and challenging three week video game camp, teens will have the opportunity to learn game production workflow as it is practiced in the industry. They will learn, and be required to use, industry techniques and methodologies in both the creation of their art assets and in programming how their game will work.
As this game design camp is meant to be a window into the game production process, students will begin by working from a true game design document. This document will define the gameplay and interactions that they wish for their game. The emphasis will then turn to producing true game quality art using advanced modeling, texturing and animation techniques in 3ds max 8. This will include character rigging, skinning and texture unwrapping. Of particular importance will be studying the rules and tradeoffs involved in real-world game art production as it relates to the game engine itself, which is the software that actually runs the game. Lectures on underlying game engine principles and how the game engine interacts with game art will be presented.
Students will learn to export their art assets to the game engine, and be taught how to control game cameras, lighting, fog and particle effects via script commands. They will also design their own user interface for the game, then program the gameplay and interactions defined in their design document. At the end of this summer camp, students will bring home a completed, playable stand-alone game of their own creation.
Teen Camp - Week 1:
- Quick 3ds max refresher
- Students define the game they want to create
- Lectures on game engine technology and their relationship to game art
- Students build environments using game industry standard procedures
- Game props and animations are created
- All non-character assets are exported to the game
- Programming of animation triggers, cameras, fog and lighting
Teen Camp - Week 2:
- Model characters using adanced modeling techniques in 3ds max
- How to model with various sub-object mesh and poly workflows
- Advanced rigging techniques including skinning
- Texture unwrapping
- Exporting characters and their animations to the game
Teen Camp - Week 3:
- Programming the gameplay and game interactions
- Learning how to optimize gameplay
- Advanced lighting in the game
- Programming particle systems for fire, explosions, etc.
- Completion of a stand-alone, playable game
Prerequisites
3ds Max II or equivalent experience.
DMA’s Recommended Multiweek and Multilevel Course Tracks
Our courses are all built around the weeklong immersion format and can be taken in multi-week tracks. DMA's multiweek/multilevel tracks allow you to gain a great deal of knowledge and skills in a particular topic and progress from beginning to advanced levels. The suggested tracks below are just a few of the many course combinations that are available. You may even want to try a completely different topic each week over multiple weeks. To build your own course track, please go to our Stanford schedule page.
