Using game level design as an applied method for Software Engineering education

Hands-on training is considered one of the major requirements for most of Computer Science curriculum; some courses mandate lab components, while other courses do not require it. Students´ learning outcomes are usually enhanced by “doing” rather than simply reading or attending lectures, therefore skills acquired by projects and hands-on training are a must have for the job market. This paper shows by experiments that students´ learning outside classroom using a hands-on project. Students experienced first-hand how to work on team to achieve one goal of engineering and design a Video Game Level design. Level design is the process of creating levels for a video game. Level design process is usually split up among a group of designers. A level designer is a crucial member to a video game development team. Level design team responsible of creating the world that the player is put into. The design process consists of 4 phases: the idea on paper, hammering the level, testing the product, and back to the drawing board phase. There are several concepts should be taken into consideration during the design process; geography, sound and lighting concepts are highlighted and considered. The most important finding from this research is; group based project even if it is not part of a formal course offering using an attractive method, like game level design, can be of a great impact on students learning and skill building.