Game Programming

CSCI 3213 - Spring 2026

Instructor: Bobby Reed | Oklahoma City University

🎮 Course Overview

Welcome to Game Programming! This course teaches professional game development using Unity 2021.3.45f2 LTS and C# with industry-standard design patterns. You'll build Blade Racer (guided class project) while learning 13 essential design patterns, then create your own Unity game in our workshop-based second half.

Course Information:

Two-Phase Learning Model:

📚 Course Literature & Resources

Primary Textbook
Game Development Patterns with Unity 2021
By David Baron (2nd Edition) - Our primary reference for all design patterns
Unity Documentation
Unity Manual & Scripting API
Official Unity documentation for C# scripting and engine features
Unity Learning
Unity Learn Platform
Free tutorials, pathways, and courses for Unity development
C# Programming
C# Programming Guide
Microsoft's official C# documentation and language reference
📅
Full Schedule
Week-by-week course schedule
⬇️
Unity Hub
Download Unity 2021.3.45f2 LTS
💻
VS Code
Code editor with C# extension
🔧
GitHub
Version control for your projects
🏆
Leaderboard
Track your progress

📅 Course Schedule - Spring 2026

🚀 Course Introduction

Week 1: January 13-16 | Environment Setup & C# Fundamentals

Lecture 0
Course Introduction
📅 Tuesday, January 13
Course overview, Blade Racer game introduction, syllabus review, and environment setup instructions
Lecture 1
C# & Unity Crash Course
📅 Thursday, January 15
Advanced C# features (events, delegates, generics), Unity essentials (prefabs, ScriptableObjects, coroutines, MonoBehaviour lifecycle)

🎮 Phase 1: Unity Patterns - Intensive Learning

Weeks 2-9: January 20 - March 12 | Build Blade Racer & Master 12 Core Design Patterns

Lecture 2
Singleton Pattern
📅 Tuesday, January 20
Generic Singleton<T> implementation, Game Manager pattern, DontDestroyOnLoad persistence
Creational Pattern
Lecture 3
State Pattern
📅 Thursday, January 22
Finite State Machines (FSM), BikeController states (Stop/Start/Turn/Crash), Context and IState interface
Behavioral Pattern
Lecture 4
Event Bus Pattern
📅 Tuesday, January 27
Publish-subscribe architecture, RaceEventBus implementation, UnityEvent dictionary, decoupling game systems
Service Pattern
Field Trip
Motion Capture Day
📅 Thursday, January 29
Field trip to the motion capture lab. Experience professional motion capture technology used in game development and film production.
Lecture 5
Command Pattern
📅 Tuesday, February 3
Encapsulating actions as objects, recording and replay systems, Invoker and Command structure
Behavioral Pattern
Lecture 6
Object Pool Pattern
📅 Thursday, February 5
Unity 2021+ ObjectPool<T> API, drone spawning and recycling, performance optimization, garbage collection benefits
Creational Pattern
Lecture 7
Observer Pattern
📅 Tuesday, February 10
One-to-many relationships, Subject-Observer structure, BikeController → HUD/Camera/Audio notifications
Behavioral Pattern
Lecture 8
Game Project Planning Day
📅 Thursday, February 12
Planning session — reflect on Blade Racer patterns, introduce the game project requirements, and map out your personal game using all but 2 of the 13 patterns
Lecture 9
Visitor Pattern
📅 Tuesday, March 3
Power-up system implementation, double dispatch technique, adding operations without modifying classes
Behavioral Pattern
Lecture 10
Strategy Pattern
📅 Thursday, March 5
Enemy drone AI behaviors, three attack maneuvers, interchangeable algorithms at runtime
Behavioral Pattern
Lecture 11
Decorator Pattern
📅 Tuesday, March 10
Weapon system with upgrades, weapon attachments (Injector, Stabilizer, Cooler), dynamic capability extension
Structural Pattern
Lecture 12
Spatial Partition Pattern
📅 Thursday, March 12
Level editor optimization, grid-based collision detection, stack-based segment loading, performance for large worlds
Structural Pattern

📝 Midterm Exam

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 | 12 core design patterns + Blade Racer implementation

⭐ Bonus Lessons

Covered only when time permits — not part of the Spring 2026 required curriculum

Lecture 13
Adapter Pattern
System integration and compatibility, Object Adapter vs Class Adapter, third-party inventory integration
Structural Pattern
Lecture 14
Facade Pattern
Simplifying complex subsystems, bike engine facade example, unified interface design
Structural Pattern
Lecture 15
Service Locator Pattern
Managing dependencies globally, service registration and retrieval, Unity services integration (Analytics, Ads, Logging)
Service Pattern
Workshop
Completing Blade Racer
Turn the Blade Racer prototype into a shippable game — main menu, complete game loop with win/lose conditions, and credits screen. Build it your way using the patterns you already have.

🎨 Phase 2: Personal Project Workshop

March – April 2026 | Create Your Own Unity Game

Lecture 16
Project Pitch & GDD Workshop
Present your game concept (5 min): core mechanic, patterns you plan to use, target audience and goals. Then complete your Game Design Document using the GDD template, with pattern selection guidance and feature prioritization.
Lecture 17
Workshop: First Playable
Core mechanic implementation, basic player controls, one complete game moment, peer playtesting round 1
Lecture 18
Workshop: Core Mechanic Polish
Refine one core system, demonstrate pattern usage, improve game feel, add juice and polish, design feedback round
Lecture 19
Workshop: Vertical Slice
Beginning → middle → end of one level, complete game loop demonstration, integration of multiple systems, peer playtesting round 2
Lecture 20
Workshop: Alpha Build
All features implemented, may have bugs (that's okay), playable start to finish, code review session for pattern identification
Lecture 21
Workshop: Beta Build & Polish
Bug fixes from Alpha, visual and audio polish, performance optimization, peer playtesting round 3, presentation preparation
Lecture 22
🎉 Public Play Day - Showcase
Demo your game to the public! Other professors and students invited, professional presentations (5 min each), community celebration

📖 Final Exam

Thursday, May 8, 2026 | 8:00–10:00 AM | Document your game's pattern implementations — open-note