Team game programming assignment

Students in the Advanced Visual Basic Programming course must complete a group project to develop a computer game. While the topic does not fit exactly in a business programming course, for the students it is a good exercise in software development. Students enjoy the game aspect and the development, but from a learning perspective, the development process is more valuable. Most of the work and development must be completed on their own. They work as a team and become responsible, not only to themselves, but to the other members of the team as well. The students work in teams of three for the project. Student ideas for a computer game are submitted in advance. The games can range from simple card games like Solitaire and Black Jack, to parlor games like 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe and Chutes and Ladders, to games of chance like Craps and Roulette. The programs must have online help screens available, storage for winners and scores and an option to play against the computer. Each student writes a proposal and a description of the game they would like to program. Students teams are drawn randomly and the student projects are selected randomly from the proposals submitted for that group. From there, one team member writes a complete set of rules for the game. Another writes the requirements for the program and a third creates the algorithm for the program. Each then critiques the work of the other team members and they submit their plan for approval. Once approved the group develops their software. Each team member must log their share of work on the project and each team member rates the other team members. The projects are scored and the students are graded.