AI-assisted Game Programming

Catalog description

This experimental class for undergraduate and graduate students will cover how to integrate AI into your programming practice, while remaining in control of your creative vision. The goal is to show how AI can both assist and hinder you in developing your game’s codebase. We will experiment with a variety of different AI tools, including Copilot, Unity AI, Cursor, and Claude Code, to help you grow as a programmer, deepen your knowledge and understanding of code, learn new technologies, and learn to use AI as your assistant, not your replacement. We will also discuss the ethical issues around the development, maintenance, and use of AI, examining intellectual property, energy usage (especially as it relates to climate change), and the impact on human productivity and ingenuity. Students must have a foundational understanding of programming.