Teaching Computer Graphics Programming Using a Game Development Engine

Abstract

This poster presents our experience in using a Game Development Engine (GDE, i.e. Unity) for teaching introductory Computer Graphics (CG) courses. About a decade ago, standard textbooks used in CG courses began updating to adopt shader-based APIs and programmable GPUs. More recently, Graphics APIs evolved towards a lower level of hardware abstraction, reduced overhead, and multithreading capabilities. Once again, CG instructors have to either use outdated models, or change the way they teach. Acknowledging the divide between the development speed of GDEs, and the complexity and vastness of new graphics APIs, we show how the use of a GDE can help students understand core CG concepts, and still include shader-based programming, while low-level tasks are managed by the engine itself.