Addressing the need for a java based game curriculum

The computer games industry has grown rapidly over the last fifteen years. In 2004, game industry sales reached $7.3 billion, more than doubling since 1996 [6]. During the same period of time, universities around the world have begun to take notice; game design courses have become an integrated part of the curriculum at a number of well-respected universities. In this paper, we examine a key decision involved in establishing a game design course---choosing a game engine. We present a set of six game engine attributes that are particularly relevant to educators. A survey of current pedagogical engines reveals that most of today's game engines rely on advanced knowledge of the C++ programming language, but many college curricula are based on Java, presenting a potential obstacle. To help bring game design courses and projects to these institutions we introduce JIGE, an open source game engine we are developing that is based on Java instead of C++.