The Project

My project idea is to create an interactive virtual reality tech demo where the player character can interact with various physics objects in their environment. The setting is in a wizard’s hut filled with strange plants, viles, books, and a cauldron. The focus of this experience is to mix potions in the cauldron in the middle of the room. They would do this by selecting object and pouring/placing them in the cauldron to make various potions with increasing difficulty and powerful effects. There will be a large potion book the player can flip through to see the various potions they’ve made and how they made them.

Last semester in my animation class my final project was a wizard’s room stylized to look like a low poly game similar to late 90s and early 2000s 3D games. While the model in the final project were serviceable, over the course of the past couple of months my skills in 3D modeling and texture work have advanced. Because of this I wanted to revisit that old project in a new light. I really love 3D environmental design and focusing my thesis around it seemed like the obvious choice. This project will also give me a great portfolio piece once it’s complete because I hope to pursue 3D environmental design and texturing as a career.

Why My Project?

There are a lot of VR games and experiences already out there, but I feel very few take advantage of their medium. The goal of my project is to create an immersive environment the player and walk through and interact with in an engaging way. I’ll be focusing on VR headsets that include handheld controllers to help with this immersion. The player will need to physically reach out and grab the objects they want to interact with and maneuver. The experience will be a calming one the players can easily jump in and out of, it’s not meant to have a lot of mechanics. It’s something they’d play to unwind.

I’ve seen a lot of different VR games, from ports of popular console titles to game specifically made for the console. What I feel will separate mine is its overall tone. It’s meant to relieve stress and help the player relax similar to something like Abzu (a game where you gently move through a colorful and scenic ocean) but with the interactivity and VR capabilities of a game like I Expect You To Die (a spy games that has you go through various missions but has time limits and different elements to increase the difficulty of each stage and induce stress).

Style

My project takes a lot of aesthetic influence from 3D games that came out in the late 90s and early 00s. These games had a more cartoonish styles (whether intentional or not) due to the limitations of the hardware at the time. This resulted in characters and environment with sharper edges and clear geometric shapes in their designs. My project won’t actually be low poly like their inspiration, but rather a more modern version of that style. My models will be more details and have cleaner models, but retain that geometric focus and cartoon aesthetic.

From Concept to Prototype

Taking this project from concept to prototype will be a bit of a challenge, but one I’m confident I can complete. My first step would be modeling the different environmental set pieces that will be in the scene using various programs (Maya, Zbrush, Substance Designer) then arranging them into a game engine. I’ll be using Unity for this project because of it’s VR capabilities. Once in Unity I can begin to assemble the scene and fiddle with the physics of the engine. From there I will write and edit code to make it into a proper interactive experience.

My final idea for the game is the concept of making a personality quiz, but as a game. The player will have a small area to look around in and talk to people, and the people will ask you simple but very deep questions. Your responses will change how the world appears and changes. The options you perceive as true will be reflected in the world. There are five simple questions that have huge philosophical impacts. There is no right or wrong answers, but things can change for better or worse.

The world will only have two city blocks and a small park. They change as you answer the five or more questions. They world At the end, your results will be tallied, and you get a special message depending on the results, and which questions you chose which answers for. More positive choices will receive more realistic responses, showing some things in the world are not so perfect. Not to downplay or harm a person’s positivity, but maybe they do not see problems that the world faces from their thinking. If the results are more negative, they will receive positive messages about the world, showing their negativity may be misplaced.

Résumé: The Ride

My idea is to create an exciting and innovative way to display my résumé using projection mapping to project animations, photos, and videos onto a model that also incorporates other special effects and moving parts to tell my professional and educational story. I am inspired by this project and the potential it has because I feel as though this is something I can truly pour myself into over the course of the next 7 months, and I also feel that I can continue to build upon it and improve it until the day of the show. I get very invested in things that I enjoy, and simply thinking about this project has me very excited. Although this project will be a great deal of fun for me, I feel that it can also help my future significantly, being that I will be presenting my passion for working in theme parks in an innovative way and shows that I want to continue down this path.

Although it is clear why I am extremely excited by this project, I feel that others will enjoy it too, because who doesn’t love theme parks? My project will be exciting to watch and aesthetically pleasing. With music, narration, moving parts, practical effects, and projection mapping, the presentation will be a little bit over the top, but I feel that that is the best way to go with something like this. As far as my research has shown me at this point, nobody has done something exactly like this just yet. With projections mapped onto a tabletop model with moving parts and different effects, my project will likely be the first of its kind and will let the viewer feel as though they are visiting a miniature theme park.

I plan on using the makerspace to fabricate a model that would be suitable for my project. The model will be created using wood, metal, and plastic, with motors, lights, and a few other systems that will be used to create effects during the “show”. The model will likely be a combination of a few things, such as a castle, a mountain, a roller coaster, or others. I will likely need at least two projectors for my project, depending on the design of the model. If time permits, I would ideally add a few small pyrotechnic and water effects into the show to highlight different parts of my career. By the end of this semester, I hope to have a solid plan for the model, with construction possibly beginning, and I would like to have a full draft of my “show” written up with a rough cut of the video/audio being put together. If I can achieve these things, I feel that I will be on the right track to completing this project, and I will know where I need to focus more of my time, being that I will be attempting to begin several parts of this project. I also will begin to study projection mapping and start to play around with it so I will be comfortable with the software I choose.

Finalized Concept

The project that I will committing to is the idea of an interactive short film. This film will be unique in many different ways. The ways that this project will differ from other projects is by incorporating a variety of movie genres. With each choice being in the hands of the viewer. The goal is to embed videos into one another this way there will be a seamless transition from one video clip to the next. The inspiration behind this project is my passion for film-making. I have only created small one minute clips, but I have never done an actual short film. There’s a commercial on television that has the two main character going through a scene, but it constantly changes genres right on the spot and it creates this excitement and unpredictability. This commercial inspired my idea to include multiple genres into my film.

This project represents my personal values and interest by including my loves for film and movies. I have always dreamed of creating a film and this is something that would be an incredible starting point for me. Being able to dream up a story and then making come to life really excites. Being an IMM major we are often forced to be creative and think outside the box and being allowed to let my creativity run wild is exactly what I love to do. While being an IMM major I tend to lean toward the side of media and video editing and film-making. This project will help my future endeavors because after graduating I will aim to work in social media. The ideal role for me is to create content for the social media and creating videos clips will be on the top of list of content. Creating such an innovative and creative film will add to my portfolio and force me to gain more skills in this area.

I believe there will be a lot of interest in my film because film and video is such a huge part of media. When watching television and when going to the movies you will rarely see any still image promotionals. People love video. The reason why my project will gain even more interest is because of the interactive aspect that I will be presenting to the audience. Once potential consumers see the ability to be in control of the storyline it will immediately attract them to see the film and take control. I imagine the viewers will sit at my film and try and go through each and every possible ending and twist.

When implementing this project technically it will take more research on my behalf. I imagine that I would need some sort of coding to embed the clips into one another. One of my peers spoke about a Youtuber doing something similar to this idea, but he just created a video and the transitions were chopping and obvious. The goal is to make transition seamless as if your sitting at your local movie theater. I will likely be editing my clips in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. When filming I will go to the cage and find the best camera suited for my project along with lighting pieces to make sure the quality remains high, crisp, and clean. What’s great about this film is that I am able to give it multiple styles. When making it a romance it will be a lot of close up with and a bright scene with romantic music and a quiet and serene scene. Then when it changes to horror it will grow dark and the music fades into something suspenseful and creepy. There will be a variety of styles.

When prototyping this project I will be working a lot of different recording techniques and learning how different films are executed. I will share my storyboard with friends and peers and see if my story is entertaining and engaging. Also I plan on practicing embedding videos over one another by creating little clips with my phone and practicing how I would execute when I get my actual clips.  This will be one of the most challenging parts so I will be sure to spend a lot of time of learning and mastering this technique.

My project is a recorded game of Dungeons and Dragons turned into a video format. My goal is creating something people would watch as well as listen to, that also wouldn’t require more than a handful of people should I pursue this further.

This project is a merger of my interests I’ve developed in college, drawing and D&D. This would also serve as a way for me to expand my artistic abilities. This project would be different than other D&D related projects because no one has added visual elements to the entire podcast without animating it. It extents knowledge by allow me to experiment with mixing visual art with the audio story.

I am going to use Audacity to edit the audio and Photoshop to create the artwork. I won’t have prototypes, but I will have reference sheets for before the recording. I’m also going to get music and sound effects to add in post. For the actual game itself, I’m going to use Dungeon World to cut down on the gameplay Jargon as much as possible. I’ll go into how Dungeon World is different in detail in a later post, but for now imagine the rules of typical D&D like cooking with a cook book and Dungeon World like making a sandwich. 

Research

I’m going watch a ton of art and audacity tutorials. Also, I’m going to get good microphones from the cage. Finally, I’m going to read up on how to speak as clearly as possible.

Finalized Concept

Competitive Gaming Module

I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I believe my very first video game was Super Mario on the Super Nintendo and I think I was so young at the time I had no idea how to play the game properly, let alone win at it. And when you play a game by no means do you play to lose, I mean you might play to have fun -but the very idea is to accomplish a particular objective as cleanly and efficiently as possible. Winning becomes the central goal or idea for the player but how effectively one wins is just as important to ponder as the achievement in and of itself. An idea I wish to tackle in my current endeavor as I seek to create an interactive medium in which to improve the average players capacity in not only how they execute their play-style but how they think and analyze situations.

As I grew up gaming evolved not just graphically but conceptually and competitively in ways a 16-bit plumber could never even imagine. No longer was I jumping over platforms or saving the princess in another castle but fighting back the terrifying Locust swarm in Gears of War and the tenacious Covenant in Halo 3 . Hallmark titles with modern on-going sequels to this very day.  At the time there was a popular website in the gaming scene called Gamebattles that was affiliated with the renowned esports organization Major League Gaming (aka. MLG for short) and I participated in several seasonal online ladders on their website. With my close school mates as my team we accomplished little to nothing, with a constant loss streak with one to two minor victories here and there. And as we continued on we lost more and more matches and my hopes at fame, fun, and fortune in my all time favorite hobby were considerably dashed.

As I reflect years later on my ambitions to achieve a modicum of success in a competitive gaming circuit much of what I know now in comparison to what knew prior made me realize my hopes were always built on a false premise to begin with. Nothing in competition is achieved just by simply playing and winning but analyzing and correcting the mistakes you and your teammates make. It is almost a necessity to question every move you make, what weapons you use, what characters you pick, what map you play on, and etc. to the point of greasing yourself into a well oiled machine of efficiency. Contextualization and discipline is key. Having an answer to give when most questions arise in a match, and not getting cold feet when the other team gets too creative.

For my thesis project I wish to develop an interactive esports module centered around a popular title that teaches people how to think differently about their game-play actions in an online setting. A module that will entail recorded video simulations with point values that provide insight into how to act and react. Slides with highlight markers detailing important numerical statistics. And clips of the most competitive tournament matches explaining how and why professionals players utilize certain techniques and methodologies. Competitive development has always been a slight interest of mine as probing what makes other players more lethal that than their competition was like observing a game of Pokemon. Saying things like “this player fundamentally plays like a water type -they go with the flow,” or “that player plays like a fire type -constantly on the offensive and aggressive”. I personally think much of why I want to do this is to identify and harness the potential people have inside them in the hobby I am most passionate about. Because somewhere deep down inside I firmly do believe everyone has potential to be a winner. They just need the secret cheat codes to unlock it.

Feedback wise, it’s been about half-and-half: half said I should go through with my interactive storybook, the other half said I should go through with my interactive stitcher.

After contemplating for some time, I decided to go through with the idea of the interactive stitcher. I think it is something that will be able to be executed within the next 7 months and it excites me because I’ve never seen anything like my idea and I want to learn a new program to create this.

Being involved in the knitting/crocheting club here at TCNJ, I can ask my fellow club members about crocheting techniques and patterns to help me with this project. I feel that’s already a good start.

My finalized concept is using holographic technology (aka a bunch of iPads and plexiglass) to depict a narrative that describes the issues surrounding deforestation. I plan to use several iPads that would each feature a holographic video of part of a forest. Put together, these videos would form an overarching, connected narrative that would immerse the viewer in a digital forest or data visualization.  I’d like to add motion sensors that trigger different videos to play, or at the very least turn on the holograms. I may even have a larger projection on the wall (just a regular flat 2D video), but that would depend on the time frame of the project.

The company  Rainforest Connection is the main source of inspiration for this idea. Founded by Topher White, it utilizes Tensorflow, a machine learning framework created  by Google, and old cell phones to detect the sounds of chainsaws and alerts the locals of illegal deforestation activities. I stumbled across this site:  https://www.google.com/about/stories/rainforest/
The display of the site intrigued me, and while it’s not data visualization, I liked the way they used interactivity and presentation to draw attention to their mission. What’s great is that they even have a contact that people can reach out to for project help and contributions.

I love hiking and I love nature, so I would personally be invested in a project that promotes that. I’ve also always been a storyteller and artist first since I was young, and since coming to college I’ve mostly been focusing on the technology aspect over the artistic despite being an IMM major. I’d like to be able to return to my roots (pun as an afterthought) with this project, as well as practice some 3D modeling/environmental design. It may not be directly impactful, but I think I can make it work.

My initial prototype I’d like to complete by the end of the semester is at least one holographic video complete with a preliminary model. If I can get my hands on a sensor and get it hooked up to the hologram, that would be bonus points. I’d probably do several mockups of the hologram to decide which set up I like best, as well as what style I’d like the video narrative to be in.

With that being said, I’m excited to jump in!

My senior thesis is a combination of two things I am passionate about: cooking and technological innovation. I plan to make an interactive spice rack that allows cooks of all levels to explore the art of blending spices. I thought of this idea while, unsurprisingly, cooking! As a college student off the meal plan for the first time, I am finally learning the fundamentals. This has presented me with a number of challenges, including being able to layer spices correctly. I had no clue there were so many flavor profiles and ways to intermingle them. One fruit tart recipe I followed called for cardamom, a spice whose name I’ve heard, but always thought was a flowering plant found at a nursery (I was confusing carnation + mum). I was reluctant to add this to the mixture because to me, adding a spice in a sweet dessert that wasn’t cinnamon or nutmeg sounded catastrophic. Eventually, I mustered up the courage and funds to purchase cardamom and use it in the tart. It had a pleasantly warm and floral smell that married well with the flavor of sugared berries. This find led me to research other kinds of spices and their flavor profiles. Sweet, nutty, piney, bitter, herbal, spicy, woody. The list goes on and on. Spice is the heart of a meal; it can either make or break the taste, as well as shape its flavor style. Why leave spice layering to professional chefs? It’s time for a creation that will bring this life skill to the home kitchen and spice up every cook’s life.

Two of the biggest challenges I faced while cooking were timing and multitasking. Organization is key when it comes to speed. No one wants to spend valuable time scouring the cabinet for the correct spices. Chances are, I am racing the clock to leave on time or hurrying before my family gets home and finds other snacks to eat instead. I also found it hard to remember ingredients and steps listed in a recipe. I was constantly running back to my book or phone to reread a section. For these reasons, I want to create an interactive spice rack that utilizes visual cues that immediately direct my eyes to where I should be looking. If I want something hot and spicy, every spice on the rack with a matching flavor profile will light up. This way, I will have an easier time finding what I need. This feature also allows an exploratory experience, allowing the chef to truly relish in the thought process of cooking instead of rushing to get it done.

Cooking a delicious meal through exploration and discovery is one of the most satisfying experiences as an amateur cook. Recently, I purchased some riced cauliflower for the first time and decided to make a loose version of pork fried rice with ginger. The second time I made riced cauliflower, I added cilantro and lime instead for a Chipotle-inspired meal. One or two ingredients can make all the difference and drastically change the style of it. That is why I would also like to implement a sort by geographical region in my spice rack. This way, cooks can easily find the spices that are common in cultural recipes from around the world and use it as inspiration for their dishes. Along the way, if I discover a spice I like or a combination of spices that pair well with a dish, I want to have the capability to save them in the system so I have access to them for later use.

In summary, the coded interface should primarily sort spices and herbs by flavor and geographical region. It should also save user-favorited spices and groups of spices for future reference. Secondary features include making flavor blend suggestions (sweet pairs well with spicy) and spice pairing suggestions (cumin and turmeric are usually paired together). A tertiary feature I am considering is providing possible spice blend recipe combinations like Chinese 5 spice, chili powder, curry powder, apple pie spice, and baharat. This requires including less used spices on the spice rack and I am not sure yet if there will be enough space.

Next, I plan to outline hardware requirements for the interactive spice rack. Obviously, I will need to present my project with some spices. I am currently considering building a 4×3 wooden rack that will hold 12 of the most common spices and herbs I’ve come across in my research: basil, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, rosemary, and thyme. This list is subject to change or expand throughout the course of my research. I will build the LED lights into the spice rack and hook them up to the coded interface that will decide whether the lights will turn on or off beneath each spice. I do not know how this will work yet, so I am still considering my options. I have begun working in Autodesk Tinkercad to learn electronics and circuits. I also need to look into Arduino hardware and see if that could be implemented in my project. As for the user interface itself, I am planning to have a screen that the user can interact with to sort the spices. Thinking about how this will function in the kitchen made me consider a possible hands free option instead. Hands free appliances from electric mixers to Amazon’s Alexa have significantly optimized cooking, so finding a way to make spices light up through voice recognition would take this project to the next level.

I definitely plan to work on the software side of this project first to make sure the sorts work. A complete baseline project would be a simple application that performs the basic flavor profile and geographical region sorts of the spices. I will later hook the code up to the lights, then hook the lights up to the spice rack. And from there, hopefully, BOOM! The good kind, not the blowing up kind.