Integrating the Computer Science Curriculum by Reusing Soccer Simulation Game

Vadim Kyrylov, PhDAssociate Professor

Sarkeys Endowed ChairSchool of Business & Technology

Rogers State UniversityClaremore, OK

vkyrylov@rsu.edu

Presented at Oklahoma Computing Conference. Langston University, Oklahoma City, March 04, 2011

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Outline

• Scope, Issues, Possible Answer• What Is Curriculum Integration?• Case Based Integration• Simulated Soccer Game as Learning Case• Opportunities for Reusing Tao of Soccer across

CS/IT/Game Curricula• Conclusion

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Scope

Upper-level courses in the undergraduate curriculum in

–Computer Science–Game Development and – Information Technology

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Issues

• What opportunities exist for the improvement of learning and instruction?

• How to improve student achievements?

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Possible Answer: Curriculum Integration

Integration ::= the unification of all subjects and experiences(as defined by National Council of Teachers of English (1935))

Proven way to enhancing student’s experience

Can be: •multidisciplinary – theme based learning across several disciplines•transdisciplinary – the curriculum is organized around student questions and concerns •interdisciplinary – the curriculum is organized around common learnings across disciplines•intradisciplinary – subdisciplines are integrated within a subject area

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103011/chapters/What-Is-Integrated-Curriculum%C2%A2.aspx

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Case Based Intradisciplinary Curriculum Integration

Sometimes is used in engineering schools

How about Computer Science?

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Simulated Soccer Game: a Case for CS and IT Curricula

• Reasonably sophisticated software system• Distributed system, different applications connected over

the network• Real time system• Some physics and much of trigonometry • Has elements of applied Artificial Intelligence – no limit for

the sophistication• Has elements of 3D Computer Graphics• Could be used as a massive multi-player game

– needs good human-computer interface and – is emotionally engaging

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RoboCup Soccer Simulator• RoboCup: international research and educational initiative• World and regional competitions since 1995• 2D and 3D versions• 200+ universities from 40+ countries• Great for advanced students (a team of dedicated MS and BS

students)

Cons: • Too long learning curve • No human controlled players – cannot be used as a game• 2D version lacks focus on quality image rendering• 3D version is mainly focused on human body locomotion – great for

engineering students; difficult for CS/IT

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Tao of Soccer (TOS)

• A simplified soccer simulator - open source project http://sourceforge.net/projects/soccer/

• Based exclusively on Java technology • Originally developed by Yu Zhan; substantially redesigned

by Vadim Kyrylov in 2003 for the educational purposes• Special features: – simplified player actions and physic – allows human player participation – 3D graphics – sky is the limit for the sophistication– Developer Toolkit provided (coming soon)

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TOS v.1.5: Architecture

In version 2, added Debugger(integrates all parts in one application)

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TOS v. 2 Toolkit

• Allows doing research in Game AI – great for student projects

• Includes several workbench Java applications for investigating:– ball interception – ball passing – player offensive positioning– player defensive positioning– duel situations

• Could be used as learning objects in some courses

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Courses Where TOS Could Be Used

•Game AI•Modeling and Simulation•Distributed Systems•Software Architecture•Systems Analysis

•Software Engineering•Multi-Agent Systems•Computer Graphics•Human-Computer Interaction•Capstone Project

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Courses Where TOS Could Be Used

Game AI • Modeling non-player character behavior• Exploring advanced methods such as multi-criteria

optimization and application of Game Theory

Modeling and Simulation• Provides good and easy understood source of

experimental data • Exploring and experimenting with soccer game physics

and player behavior models

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Courses Where TOS Could Be Used

Distributed Systems• Exploring the communication between applications

(server + up to 24 clients of two different types)• Experimenting with the communication quality

Software Architecture• Exploring the architecture (~120 Java classes) • Identifying design patterns and learning form them

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Courses Where TOS Could Be Used

Systems Analysis• Reverse engineering with the purpose of

requirements analysis

Software Engineering• Reverse engineering for documenting

software design (UML)• Using to learn software testing

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Courses Where TOS Could Be Used

Multi-Agent Systems• Illustrates key concepts of MAS

Human-Computer Interaction• Evaluating user interaction and experience as

massive multi-player game player

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Courses Where TOS Could Be Used

Computer Graphics • Sky is the limit

Capstone Project• Reverse

engineering project (up to 10-weeks)

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Conclusion

Using TOS in CS/IT/Game curricula as a case study may:

• create synergies in learning• saves time on introducing cases in different courses• creates opportunities for enhanced learning due to

the emotional engagement • create opportunities for getting undergraduate

students involved in research (RoboCup is just one step away)