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Mathematics for computer games technology

Despite their entertainment focus, Computer Games are at the forefront of computer science. These days the successful computer games (programs) make strong calls on a number of other disciplines: psychology, mathematics, statistics and physics to name but a few. Enrolment numbers in mathematics courses across Australian Universities are in decline, however we have found that students who have enrolled in our new degree, Bachelor of Computer Science (Games Technology), are not just tolerant, but are enthusiastic about the mathematics component of the degree. In this paper we describe the mathematical demands of games technology along with the development of the mathematical sub-component of the degree. Our program, being a full strength computer science degree demands some standard mathematical components: discrete mathematics, linear algebra, numerical analysis, statistics and ordinary differential equations. The strong emphasis on computer graphics programming needs a firm foundation in aspects of linear algebra; the virtual world of the game scene development is underpinned by the physics of movement. A subtle shift in the shape of a probability distribution can help to maintain game balance and player interest by giving the underdog an unseen helping hand. Logic, computational complexity and numerical analysis speak for themselves. Mathematics educators have always known that relevance is a strong motivator of mathematics. This has again been ably demonstrated by our first cohort of games technology students who want more mathematics.