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.