As your professor, I am committed to ensuring equality and valuing diversity throughout our course. Our individual differences can deepen our understanding of one another and the world around us, rather than divide us. In this class, people of all ethnicities, genders and gender identities, religions, ages, sexual orientations, disabilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, regions, and nationalities are strongly encouraged to share their rich array of perspectives and experiences. If you feel your differences may in some way isolate you from UCI’s community or if you have a need for any specific accommodations, please speak with me early in the quarter about your concerns and what we can do together to help you become an active and engaged member of our class and community.

This course is for any interested eligible student who has met the prerequisites and is a community member in good standing at UC Irvine. Every kind of student is welcome in this class and can do well. Every student has a right to a productive learning environment — again, in person or online, in our weekly lectures or via email, anywhere on campus or at any sanctioned school event. 

This implies a corresponding responsibility that we all protect and maintain this space as one that promotes a specific function: learning to develop games. This class welcomes students of any gender identity, any sexual orientation, any national origin, any disability status, any racial identity, any political persuasion, any major, any marital status, any military/veteran status, any documentation status, any class, caste, or clade. It should go without saying that as a university classroom we respect intellectual disagreements and diversity in our community, but sister campuses of the University of California have recently been sites of distracting, unhelpful, and sometimes violent conflict related to issues of campus climate. We cannot guarantee everyone’s chance to learn without mutual respect.

We are a diverse and interdisciplinary group, and we may not always agree with each other in this classroom. I am committed to ensuring a collaborative environment where everyone is empowered to contribute fully. Central to any effective design practice is the ability to give and receive critical feedback in a manner that supports the goals of the project, builds up the abilities of your colleagues, and generates new creative opportunities. Certain behaviors undermine this process and have no place in our community. We expect all participants in the class to abide by these guidelines for maintaining a constructive and inclusive environment.

Pronoun Policy

My name is Tess and I use she/her/hers pronouns. When you introduce yourself you may choose to share your gender pronouns. Always use the correct gender pronouns and names for your classmates. Gender pronouns are words like she/her, he/him, or they/them. If you have a name you would prefer the teaching team and your colleagues to use instead of the one listed on the roster feel free to let us know and we will happily use it. If you have any questions about pronouns in general or have any requests about your own pronouns or other gender-related needs in this space, you are welcome to chat with me.

A Note About My Necronym

I am very open about the fact that I am trans. Some of you may know me by my previous name (also called a “deadname” or a “necronym”), many of you likely do not. Due to the public nature of my work, there is a good chance that you will learn my deadname over the course of the next 24 weeks. I ask, if you happen to learn my old name, to please keep that knowledge to yourself. Do not share my old name, do not use my old name to refer to me, and do not cite my old name in your papers. For more information on how to cite me, see this article: How to Talk about Tess

Conduct Guidelines

Refrain from using derogatory language, such as words with negative connotations that refer to a specific racial or ethnic group, or that are related to gender or sexual identity. Also avoid “ableist” language, words that use references to mental or physical disabilities as slurs.Here is a good resource for identifying ableist language and thinking about alternatives.

Check your privilege. Think about who in the class has had a chance to speak and make space for others to share their ideas. When speaking, consider how your own experiences and background inform your perspective, and extend that consideration to your colleagues. Avoid making blanket or stereotyped statements about any person or group of people.

Climate of Respect

The classroom, your project groups, and our online exchanges should be open and safe spaces for discussion. I encourage you to challenge each other through respectful dialogue. Critiquing each others’ work is an integral part of this course. I expect your critiques to remain constructive and focused on the work at hand.

“UCI is a multicultural community of people from diverse backgrounds. Our activities, programs, classes, workshops, lectures, and everyday interactions are enriched by our acceptance of one another, and we strive to learn from each other in an atmosphere of positive engagement and mutual respect.” (UCI Code of Student Conduct).

As a community, let’s agree to hold ourselves to the highest standards of intellectual rigor and respectful comportment. I am asking for a good faith effort to create a classroom that rewards creativity and honesty. 

In accordance with campus-wide policies, students with documented permanent or temporary disabilities who require individual academic accommodations must contact the Disability Services Center. Students should notify DSC at the start of the quarter so that appropriate accommodations can be arranged and coordinated with the instructor well in advance of course assignments and due dates. Please follow UC Irvine’s procedures in this area to make sure you get the accommodations you need: I am not allowed or qualified to deal with these kinds of requests. 

If you have a life circumstance that inhibits your ability to study, there are many resources available to you. Please reach out! Don’t worry if you don’t know the appropriate office to contact: any decent teacher, faculty, or staff person in the University will at least try to point you in the right direction. A good place to start if you are dealing with a difficult life circumstance is the UC Irvine Counseling Center. The food pantry at FRESH provides emergency food and toiletries to UCI students experiencing basic needs insecurities. Many student services offer help on a confidential basis. 

It is common for university students to experience periods of emotional distress, such as depression and anxiety, especially around periods of stress or change–for example, the transition to college from high school, beginning graduate school, or in the case of an unprecedented global pandemic. At times, these emotional challenges can interfere with schoolwork, making it difficult to attend class or complete assignments. If you are experiencing emotional distress, we strongly recommend contacting the UCI Counseling Center, which offers many forms of resources and support.

While I sympathize with the challenges you may be facing, I am not a mental health professional. Therefore, I cannot grant you special accommodations due to emotional distress (such as a deadline on an assignment) unless you have sought assistance from the UCI Counseling Center or an outside mental health professional and can provide relevant documentation. Please do not share the details of your mental health crisis with me or my TAs. This is for your privacy and allows us to maintain appropriate professional boundaries in our interactions.

If you are concerned about how your emotional health is affecting your overall quarter grade, seek assistance from the UCI Counseling Center immediately. Students whose grades suffer considerably are sometimes able to withdraw from the course after the drop/add deadline. However, they may only do so if their ongoing mental health issues have been documented by the UCI Counseling Center.

To the extent that I am able, I will try to help you if you experience something that interferes with your studies. Please note: I am legally obligated to report some kinds of harassment, domestic violence, or potential Title IX violations. If you are system-impacted or otherwise concerned about law enforcement, tell me those concerns up front and I’ll do my best to accommodate you. 

Any student who faces challenges securing sufficient food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Please also notify me if you are comfortable doing so. This will enable me to provide any resources that I’m able. 

Plagiarism, whether intended or not, is academic fraud. You plagiarize when, without proper attribution, you do any of the following: copy verbatim from a book, an article, or other media; download documents from the Internet; purchase documents; report from other’s oral work; paraphrase or restate someone else’s facts, analysis, and/or conclusions; or copy directly from a classmate or allow a classmate to copy from you. I cannot and will not tolerate academic dishonesty. For more information, refer to the UCI Student Handbook. The UCI campus policy on academic honesty resides here: https://aisc.uci.edu/students/academic-integrity/index.php

Here is an excellent resource to help you determine if you have plagiarized or not?

Any instances of academic dishonesty will result in an F for the course and a letter that will go into your academic file at UCI.

When you are developing a game for school there are lots of pitfalls around licensing, copyright infringement, and open/closed source software to be on guard for. There are plenty of resources out there for game developers including asset packs of sprites, sounds, and animations. There is also a lot of open source code that can be used to solve problems that others have already solved so that you can focus on your designs. I’m generally comfortable with you using these resources in moderation, but you need to be extremely disciplined about maintaining records of where you are sourcing materials and be confident that you are not violating any copyrights or other intellectual property agreements by including 3rd party materials in your game.

Please be aware that this only applies to open source and freely available assets. Any libraries, asset packs, or assistance that costs money is not permitted in capstone game projects. If you are found to have paid for assets or libraries, you will be considered to have plagiarized and your entire team will receive an F in the course.

This class is covered by all official notices from UCI’s Academic Senate Policy on Academic Integrity. Students are subject to all policies with regard to academic integrity whether or not these rules are reviewed in class or individually. Of particular note, the section on “Students’ Responsibilities” states,

 “All students are expected to complete a course in compliance with the Instructor’s standards. No student shall engage in any activity involving any Academic Integrity Policy Violations. No student shall engage in any activity that involves attempting to receive a grade by means other than honest effort, and shall not aid another student who is attempting to do so. All students are encouraged to notify instructors, but may also notify the AIAO, about observed incidents of Academic Integrity Policy Violations. Instructors should take reasonable steps to preserve the confidentiality of students making such reports.”

Instructors have responsibilities too. These include reviewing class policies and grading expectations in writing. I am also required to report all suspected incidents of academic dishonesty to the appropriate school authorities.  Please consult the official statement at https://aisc.uci.edu/policies/academic-integrity/AcademicIntegrityPolicyApproved-04.23.15.pdf

Please keep these obligations in mind when you interact with your classmates in any capacity

For some of you, the following resources may be helpful:

Avoiding Ableist Language: https://www.autistichoya.com/p/ableist-words-and-terms-to-avoid.html

Diversity and Awareness at UCI: http://www.studentaffairs.uci.edu/diverse/index.php

Disability Services Center: http://disability.uci.edu; 949.824.7494

Dean of Students: https://dos.uci.edu/; 949-824-5181

UCI LGBT Resource Center: http://lgbtrc.uci.edu

Undocumented Student Support: http://dreamers.uci.edu

UCI Counseling Center: http://www.counseling.uci.edu ; 949.824.6457

Student Outreach and Retention Center (SOAR): https://soar.uci.edu/

SOAR Food Pantry: https://basicneeds.uci.edu/get-resources/food-pantry.php