Erika Mesh Headshot

Erika Mesh

Lecturer

School of Interactive Games and Media
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Office Hours
Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays: 10-10:45am open office hours via Zoom Tuesdays & Thursdays: 11am-2pm via appointment for MS GDD graduate students, 2:00-3:00pm ET (appts via Starfish only)
Office Mailing Address
GOL-2573

Erika Mesh

Lecturer

School of Interactive Games and Media
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Bio

Erika S. Mesh is a Lecturer in the School of Interactive Games and Media (IGM) at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her primary interests involve teaching foundational computing and object-oriented design practices and supporting software engineering process improvement (SPI) decisions for project teams in specialized domains.

Within IGM, she teaches the introductory programming sequence and works with game design and development MS students on learning to evaluate and improve their game development processes.

Currently Teaching

IGME-105
4 Credits
This course introduces students within the domain of game design and development to the fundamentals of computing through problem solving, abstraction, and algorithmic design. Students will learn the basic elements of game software development, including problem decomposition, the design and implementation of game applications, and the testing/debugging of their designs.
IGME-106
4 Credits
This course furthers the exploration of problem solving, abstraction, and algorithmic design. Students apply the object-oriented paradigm of software development, with emphasis upon fundamental concepts of encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism. In addition, object structures and class relationships comprise a key portion of the analytical process including the exploration of problem structure and refactoring. Intermediate concepts in software design including GUIs, threads, events, networking, and advanced APIs are also explored. Students are also introduced to data structures, algorithms, exception handling and design patterns that are relevant to the construction of game systems.
IGME-202
3 Credits
In this course, students will learn to create visually rich interactive experiences. It is a course in programming graphics and media, but it is also a course on the relationship between ideas and code. Students will explore topics in math and physics by building programs that simulate and visualize processes in the natural world. Assignments will include major programming projects, such as building a virtual world inhabited by digital creatures that display observable behaviors.
IGME-386
3 Credits
This course is targeted to students with a serious interest in geographical problem solving via underlying spatial algorithms. Students will learn how to compare and contrast different specific spatial algorithms for solving specific geographic problems and develop proficiency with encoding and implementing spatial algorithms in computer programs. Students taking this course will gain a broad interdisciplinary skill set in how to think spatially and computationally through critical engagement of geographical problem solving.
IGME-599
1 - 6 Credits
The student will work independently under the supervision of a faculty advisor on a topic not covered in other courses.
IGME-601
3 Credits
This course examines the individual and group roles of the development process model within the game design and development industry. Students will transform design document specifications into software and hardware needs for developers, testers, and end users. Students will examine team dynamics and processes for technical development, content development, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Students will explore the design process through the deconstruction of the game industry's software lifecycle model.
IGME-680
3 Credits
This course will allow students to work as domain specialists on teams completing one or more large projects over the course of the semester. The projects will be relevant to experiences of the interactive games and media programs, but they will require expertise in a variety of sub-domains, including web design and development, social computing, computer game development, multi-user media, human-computer interaction and streaming media. Students will learn to apply concepts of project management and scheduling, production roles and responsibilities, and their domain skill sets to multidisciplinary projects. Students will complete design documents, progress reports and final assessments of themselves and their teammates in addition to completing their assigned responsibilities on the main projects.
IGME-788
3 Credits
This course allows students within the game design and development program to develop a capstone proposal and design document. The capstone design document specifies the scope and depth of the capstone project. In addition, it defines the group and individual responsibilities for the cohort capstone project experience.
IGME-789
3 Credits
This course provides master of science in game design and development students with capstone project experiences. Students are expected to work in cohorts towards the implementation of a game system that properly illustrates proficiency in the application of theory and practice towards a large-scale project. For each student, individual responsibilities for the group project will be defined in consultation with both the group and the faculty. Students must successfully complete the Capstone Design course and present a satisfactory capstone project proposal to the faculty before enrolling in this course.

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