Brian Moriarty built his first computer in the fifth grade. This early experience with digital electronics led him to persue a BA in English at Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMass Dartmouth), where he graduated in 1978. His professional career began later that year, when he sold TRS-80 micros at a Radio Shack store in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. After working for a few years as a technical writer at Bose Corporation, he became Technical Editor at ANALOG Computing, the first and largest magazine dedicated to Atari home computer systems. His first published games, Adventure in the 5th Dimension (1983) and Crash Dive! (1984), appeared in the pages of ANALOG.
In 1984 he joined legendary text adventure company Infocom, where he authored three award-winning interactive fiction titles, Wishbringer (1985), Trinity (1986) and Beyond Zork (1987). He also contributed to Douglas Adams’ Bureaucracy (1987). His first graphic adventure game, Loom, was published in 1990 by Lucasfilm Gamesto wide critical acclaim. He collaborated with Ron Cobb on the design of Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine (Rocket Science, 1994), and is enigmatically credited with “Additional Additional Story” for Steven Spielberg’s The Dig (LucasArts, 1995).
In July 2009, he was appointed Professor of Practice in Game Design in the Interactive Media and Game Development program at Worcester Polytech, thus returning to the city where his career began.
The Digital Game Design: Getting Started with Perlenspiel program introduces students to digital game development through courses taught by Brian Moriarty, Professor of Practice at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and author of several award-winning game titles. This hands-on program focuses on the development and functional expression of game ideas using Perlenspiel, an abstract microgame engine programmed in JavaScript. Upon completion, students will be able to demonstrate familiarity with the techniques needed to create, implement and iteratively refine digital game designs in working code.
Learning Outcomes
- Game Design and Practical Creativity. Ability to define, express and iteratively refine digital game ideas in working code.
- Game Engine Scripting. Ability to implement game mechanics and aesthetics using common programming patterns and syntax, including variables, conditional statements, functions, objects and arrays in an interactive, event-driven engine architecture.
- Introduction to Core Web Technologies. Ability to set up and compose projects in JavaScript, the industry-standard programming language that powers all Internet browsers and >95% of the pages on the World Wide Web.
Overview
- Session 1: Perlenspiel Overview: Just Enough Rope
- Session 2: Start Your Engine
- Session 3: Spaces and Colors
- Session 4: Animating the Grid: Getting a Bead On
- Session 1: Timing and Animation
- Session 2: Nuances of Color
- Session 3: Images & Motion
- Session 4: Actor Movement
- Session 1: Worldbuilding in Color
- Session 2: Sprite Subsystem
- Session 3: The Game Map
- Session 4: Finessing Appearance and Experience
Featured Coursework
- Learn how to define; express and iteratively refine digital game ideas in working code
- Use JavaScript to compose a series of demos and toys that illustrate the capabilities and creative possibility space of the Perlenspiel microgame engine
- Build a simple but extensible adventure game framework that demonstrates every major feature of Perlenspiel’s application programming interface (API)
Requirements
Prior Knowledge: This program is at a beginner level. However, prior familiarity with digital games and the basic principles and tools of software engineering are recommended.
Materials: No special materials required.
Equipment: Computer with broadband Internet access and a updated web browser, preferably Chrome or Firefox. Installation privileges may be required if a student wishes to employ an integrated development environment (IDE) for project work.
Software: (Optional but strongly recommended) An interactive development environment (IDE) for HTML/JavaScript such as WebStorm (JetBrains), Brackets (Adobe) or Atom (GitHub).
- A verified Specialist Certificate that prove you completed the Program and mastered the subject.*
- A verified course Certificate for each individual course you complete in the program.*
* Each certificate earned is endorsed by Kadenze and the offering institution(s).
Price: $500 USD *
Specialist Certificate
Why join a Program?
Becoming a specialist in a subject requires a highly tuned learning experience connecting multiple related courses. Programs unlock exclusive content that helps you develop a deep understanding of your subject. From your first course to your final summative assessment, our thoughtfully curated curriculum enables you to demonstrate your newly acquired skills.