CS4803 Design and Programming of Game Consoles

Spring 2011



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Course Description
In this course, we will explore game console architectures, parallel processors and GPU architectures. The course will provide background knowledge of programming in a game console architecture to better understand the hardware. The course will cover architectures in Xbox360, playstation3, NVIDIA GPUs, Nintendo DS (ARM processors), SoC Design, Tegra and other emerging game platforms.
The course focuses on the microarchitecture level of both traditional architectures and game console architectures. We will learn the details of how processors will work through programming assignments. The first 3 lab assignments will cover GPGPU programming (programming using graphics processors) and the following 3 lab assignments will cover Nintendo DS Programming to better understand embedded processors.

Topics:
- Game console architectures (Xbox360, playstation3, NVIDIA GPU, Intel Larrabee, ARM processors)
- GPU architectures
- GPGPU programming (CUDA programming, OpenCL programming)
- Microarchitecture
- Game console programming (Nintendo DS)
- OpenGL ES

Pre-requisite:
CS2200 or an equivalent course
Good knowledge of C/C++ programming

Textbooks: There is no required textbook for the course.
Suggested books: Course Home Pages: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~hyesoon/spr11/index.html

Grading
Programming assignments: I encourage you to study in groups. However, examinations and your work on all programming assignments must be your own individual work. Collaboration with other students or other persons is prohibited. Submitting any work other than your own is a violating of the Academic Honor Code. If you are not sure what you can discuss or not, please contact the instructor.

  • Programming assignment late policy: All programming assignments are due on the day specified by the assignment description and posted online. Typical due date is Friday. To account for short-term unexpected events like computer crashes, submission problems, and clock skew, we will allow 5:55 hours of slack and accept projects until exactly (due time + 5 hr 55 m).
    Projects received after the due date will lose 10% of the grade on the first late day, 20% on the second, 40% on the third, 80% on the forth, and 100% on the fifth day. Weekend days are counted in exactly the same way as weekdays (e.g., if the project deadline is Friday and you turn it in Sunday, that's two days late).

  • Programming assignment extension: You can request an extension for programming assignments for up to 1 week without any penalty only once during the semester for special situations such as interviews etc. You must request the extension 2 days before by e-mail. No late policy will be applied together if you request an extension.

    Assignment submission rules: You must follow the submission guidelines specified in the assignment description. We will use T-squares. Wrong file names, broken file formats, missing files will lose 20% of grade. For reports, you must turn in a hardcopy of your report during the class time.

    Exams: Absolutely no collaboration at all. Copying or receiving any other information from another person or their exam, with or without their consent, is unethical and unacceptable. Cheating is a direct violation of the GT Academic Honor Code and will be dealt with accordingly.

    Regrades: Regrades are obtained by submitting a written explanation to the instructor within a week of when the work was returned in class. Regrades will only be discussed after submitting the work in this manner. In order for a test to be re-graded, you must neatly state in writing the reason that you would like your test to be re-graded. If a test is submitted for a re-grade, I have the right to re-grade the entire test-so keep it mind that it is possible to lose additional points. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you do not ask for a re-grade unless you have substantial reason to believe that I made a mistake when originally grading the test.

    Student honor code: Zero tolerance toward a violation of the student honor code. Any misbehavior will be reported to Dean of Students directly.

    Class Room Policies: No cell phones and no computers (except lab lectures) during the class time.

    Office Hours: Please respect the office hours of the instructor by planning ahead. Other times are possible by appointments.

    Newsgroup: It is your responsibility to check the newsgroup. Discussions in the newsgroup are also considered as class discussions.