Welcome to Computational Form, I’m looking forward to meeting you all (and seeing some of you again).
Please read this email fully and do everything listed here before the first class to be fully prepared.
The course website and textbook is http://compform.net
This site hosts the course calendar, syllabus, assignments, and lecture notes. Click the “Class Notes Fall 2020” link to access them.
Feel free to get started reading on any topics that you find interesting or look at the notes and work from previous semesters.
We will be using Notion to keep shared notes during in-class activities.
Please visit the class notion page now to make sure you have access.
If access to notion is blocked for you, please try using the New School’s Apps Anywhere service (apps.newschool.edu) to access the notion and email me to let me know that you were blocked, and if Apps Anywhere helps.
The Syllabus is on the class website. Read it now!
Add three questions about the syllabus to the Class Notion > Week 1 > Syllabus Questions.
These will count toward your “participation” grade! This can be an easy A or an easy 0 to kick off your semester.
Watch these videos before class on Monday.
How (and Why) Spelunky Makes its Own Levels | Game Maker’s Toolkit
Digital Creatures Learn to cooperate | Two Minute Papers
Read this chapter before class on Monday.
Procedural Content Generation in Games is a free online textbook. The book focuses on gaming applications, but the first chapter is good to read no matter what kind of procedural generation you are interested in. This is the only chapter of this book that will be assigned in Comp Form, but you might be interested in some of the other chapters, so take a look at the table of contents.
Read the tilemaps chapter on compform.net before class on Monday.
I usually start Computational Form by talking about tile-based graphics. It’s a fun topic, and works really well for a quick-start on-site workshop. I don’t think it would work as well online, so I’m cutting it and we’ll jump right into random numbers on the first day. It is still a fun topic though so take a little time to read the related chapter anyway.
Read the compform.net chapter on tilemaps.
This is optional, but recommended! Get a set of polyhedral dice. You can find single sets for ~$5 or buy several sets for ~$10. You can never have to many dice!
If you can’t get a physical set, there are places you can roll online.
The short version of my attendance policy:
Attend every class, arrive early, stay late.
I’ll open the zooms 15 minutes before class starts so you can join early, make sure your AV is working, and get settled in, and ask me any quick questions you might have.
Bring these things to Monday’s class and to every class:
computer + a Comp Form sketchbook + red pen + black pen + pencil + polyhedral dice + camera/phone
See you Monday!
Justin