Sophomores in this past fall’s “Intro to Java Language” class had a viable excuse for obsessing over a game: research.
Provided with only the basic game graphics and a few weeks of instruction, the students were charged with building a fully functional computer version of the Monopoly board game.
“Java was fundamentally a new language for all of 
them,” says computer science and networking chair Tom Goulding.
The project was meant to replicate a potential real-world scenario.
“It was as if their boss came in and said, ‘We need you to build a commercially viable game in 14 weeks—now get at it.’”
To build a working version, students had to program all of the intricacies of the game rules—trading properties, paying the dreaded “luxury tax,” and even jailing players for rolling doubles three consecutive times. After conquering the programming, students added graphic interfaces to improve the game experience. One team, made up of Andrew Bancroft and Mike Nguyen, even added a fist that rolled the die, accompanied by sound effects.
“We were a few hours of code away from background music,” Bancroft said.
—Dan Morrell
