Research in Game Design¶

Outcomes¶

At the end of this research, students will be able to:

Learn basics of programming, plotting, and animations in Python
Learn how to install and run Python packages such as numpy and matplotlib for scientific computing
Learn fundamentals of game programming using pygame

Equipment List¶

All the resources are free.

Microsoft Visual Studio Code for Python: Download and install from here: Microsoft Visual Studio Code. Set up Python using this video and test a simple script shown in the video: Watch video
Install additional Python packages: Packages can be installed by typing the following in the "terminal" in Microsoft Visual Studio Code:
```
python3 -m pip install {package_name}
```
You need to run this command for each package. For {package_name}, type numpy and matplotlib. This minute-long video shows how to install a package: Watch video
Pygame for creating Python games: Install pygame after you have Microsoft Visual Studio Code. In the "terminal" type:
```
python3 -m pip install -U pygame==2.6.0
```
AI tools (optional): Feel free to use AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, etc. You can also search and copy-paste code from other sources like GitHub, Stack Exchange. My general advice is to outline a method for solving the problem and use these tools to help you code.

1. Basics of Python (1 week)¶

For this section, you will need to install Microsoft Visual Studio Code and the numpy and matplotlib packages (see items 1 and 2 in the Equipment list).

Material: Watch the video and practice coding as you watch it: Watch video

All the code is also available for download here: Lec01_python_basics.zip

Exercise

For the problems below, send your Python files to pranav@uic.edu

a. If-else conditionals and inputs: Write a Python file that will prompt the user to input a year and your code will print if it is a leap year or not. (You will have to search how to use Python to input a number).

b. Computing π using numerical experiments. The value of π = 3.141592 (6 decimals). How do you estimate this number? If you put a square of size 2r and a circle of diameter 2r in the rain and count the number of times raindrops fall on the circle and square, then the ratio of drops falling on either shape will be proportional to the area of the respective shape. Thus:

\[\frac{\text{no. of drops on circle}}{\text{no. of drops on square}} = \frac{\pi r^2}{(2r)^2} = \frac{\pi}{4}\]

You can watch this video for more information: Watch video

We can set up a numerical raindrop experiment using a random number generator in Python to compute the value of π using r = 1. Generate N random numbers for x and y between -1 and 1. By default these points lie inside the square of side 2. Now for each number check if the position (x, y) lies inside the circle. If it does, then increment the counter (call it \(N_c\)) that keeps track of points inside the circle. For a large value of N, the ratio \(\frac{N_c}{N} = \frac{\pi}{4}\). Thus \(\pi = 4\frac{N_c}{N}\).

Write a computer program that computes the value of π for a given N. Then tune N such that your solution to π is accurate to at least 4 decimal places.

2. Basics of Animation (1 week)¶

Material: Watch the video and practice coding as you watch it: Watch video

All the code is also available for download here: Lec02_python_animations.zip

Exercise

For the problems below, send your Python files to pranav@uic.edu

a. Creating a plot: Consider the function f(v) where v is the velocity in m/s,

\[f(v) = \frac{0.25 v^2}{450 + [\log(v)]^{2.5}} - 0.023v - 9.8\]

Write a Python file that generates a plot of f(v) vs v for velocities from 50 to 250 m/s. Be sure to plot the x- and y-labels and put an appropriate title. Use a font of at least 21. Also, ensure that the x- and y-axes have numbers in a font size of 12 or more.

b. Python animations: Create an animated face of your choice. For example, a smiling face, a crying face. At a minimum, you need to include:

At least one patch object. Use (e.g., Circle, Rectangle, Polygon)
At least one moving object. Use the pause() command in a loop.
At least one line object. Use the Line2D command.

Here are some example faces created in my robotics course: Watch video

3. Complete an Existing Pong Game and Add Features (2 weeks)¶

For this section, you will need to install the package pygame (see item 3 in the Equipment list).

The handout for creating a single-player pong game is here: project_pong.pdf

A short video explaining the instructions is here: Watch video

Exercise

There are two Python submissions for this part, as indicated in the handout. Please send your Python files (in a zipped folder) to pranav@uic.edu

4. Create Your Own Game (2 weeks)¶

Create your own game using Pygame. You can take some inspiration from the pygame community here: pygame.org/tags/all

Submission

Once ready, please send your Python files (in a zipped folder) to pranav@uic.edu