First Things First This is 4003-590-09 / 4005-769-09 Welcome to - PDF document

First Things First  This is 4003-590-09 / 4005-769-09 Welcome to Applications in VR  (Applications in Virtual Reality)  I am Joe Geigel…your host! Plan for this afternoon Logistics  Logistics  mycourses  Answer the questions  Announcements  What is this course about?  Dropboxes  How will the course will run  Grades  What exactly is Virtual Theatre…and why should I  Discussions care?  E-mail  How do I fit in  More logistics  Be sure that your e-mail is being forwarded  But first… correct.  attendance Logistics Logistics  Course Web Site:  Official Prerequisite – one of the following:  http://www.cs.rit.edu/~jmg/vr  Computer Graphics 1(CS 570/761)  Contact:  Foundations of 3D Graphics Programming (IT 502)  3D Graphics Programming (IT 735)  office hours: TR 10-noon or by appt.  However…  Office: 70 (GCCIS) Rm 3527  Need expertise in  e-mail: jmg@cs.rit.edu  Graphics Progamming  phone: 475-2051  Basic programming  Audio  Networking  Slides:  Logistics  Will be available (in B&W – PDF) on Web site.  … 1

More Logistics Textbooks  Computing Environment  ICL6 3D Game Programming All in One, 2nd Edition By Kenneth Finney  Windows Machines  TORQUE gaming engine  Need SAMBA account  Breakout Room 2 The Game Programmer's Guide to Torque  MoCap development By Edward F. Maurina III  Need access Other references Goals of the course  TORQUE developer pages  Introduce students to virtual reality hardware, software, and toolkits  http://www.garagegames.com/developer/t orque/tge  Apply to a given domain  Apply to a large scale problem.  Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork! Virtual Theatre VR and Theatre  Virtual Theatre  A distributed computer system whereby performers, stage crew, and audience can be in physically separate places yet share in the same live theatrical performance. 2

Logistics Logistics  This is a project based course  Collaboration  Teams will be assembled  Within teams  Each team will build a VT software component  Between teams  Components will be connected via a common networking infrastructure.  With artists in School of Design  Team Web site!  Grad students as team leaders!  Questions so far?  Collective goal:  To build the framework for a virtual theatre system  Test the framework out on short virtual performance.  Have the system fully documented for next time. How will the course be run? How will the course be run Schedule will be aggressive  Checkpoints  Weeks 1   Periodic Status checks Intro material  Team formation   Weeks 3,5,7,9 Week 2   At least 1 intermediate deliverable Define team implementation plan  Weeks 3 – 9  Demo  Group work   Checkpoint deliverables vary by team Lectures: status meetings / updates / working sessions  3 checkpoints   Will be discussed at start of CP cycle. Week 9 - 10  Integration  Finals Week  Demonstration  How will the course be run Important dates  Checkpoint 1: Implementation Plans  Status meetings  March 27 th  Announcements / new developments  Checkpoint 2  News from the artistic side  Demo: April 10 th  Updates  Checkpoint 3  Mini-deliverables  Demo: April 24 th  Checkpoint 4  TBD  Demo: May 8  Guaranteed team working time.  Final demo  Finals week 3

Assessment – Team Grade Grad Students  Team grade  In addition, Grad Students will be  Meeting checkpoint assessed:  Deliverable + demos  Leadership Role -- Leader evals  Working with final demo  Documentation -- Team documentation is  Individual Grades responsibility of leader.  Peer review  Evaluation of teams from those not in teams  Other deliverables -- as agreed upon with  Teammate Evaluation instructor.  Evaluation of students from teammates  Leader Evaluation  Evaluation of grad leaders from teammates Assessment Plan for today Graduate Undergrad  Answer the questions  What is this course about? Checkpoints 25% 35%  How will the course will run (Team)  What exactly is Virtual Theatre…why should I Final Demo 35% 40% care? (Team)  How do I fit in Peer Evals 20% 25% (Individual)  Any questions? Leadership / 20% Docs (GRAD) This year’s domain Virtual Theatre  Art and Technology Collaboration  Visuals  Technology  Lighting / Staging 4

Virtual Theatre Motivation Integration of distributed virtual  Machinima reality / gaming technologies into the a new form of filmmaking that uses theatrical storytelling process. computer games technology to shoot films in the virtual reality of a game  Our experiments in theatrical storytelling engine.  Live…action takes place in a distributed virtual space  Performers / crew control from a physical space  Active Audience Participation Anna (2003) -- Fountainhead Entertainment Spring 2004 - present Motivation Cinema vs. Theatre  Machinimation (Fountainhead Entertainment)  Cinema  Theatre  Recorded  Live  Editted  Real time  Passive Audience  Active Audience  POV of filmmaker  POV of audience http://www.fountainheadent.com Why Start From Scratch? Gaming Engines  Gaming Engines  API  Set of programming libraries used to create 3D games  Provide object oriented graphical abstraction  Implies use of low level language (C, C++, Java)  Performs real time rendering  Scripting Systems  Provides networking infrastructure  Extending of existing games (Mods)  Requirements for theatrical use  Game specific language  Adapt to use theatrical metaphor / language  Constrained by capabilities of game / script  Examples  Physical control of virtual characters and staging  Quake II  Theatrical components designed by artisans.  Unreal Tournament  Second Life 5

Eng VIRTUAL THEATRE LAYER ine ing Gam System Architecture Network Layout participant Virtual stage Graphics API Sound API Networking API Graphics Sound Network To display Hardware Hardware Hardware To network To speaker The Virtual Theatre Layer Local device control Local device control component  Components of a  Objects to be defined Local control object on virtual stage theatrical production  Actors  Action Shared control object  Stage Manager  Staging  Audience Member  Audience  Orchestra  Sound / Music Shared Virtual stage Actor Objects Actor Objects  Controls characters on stage  Example 1  Emiline ( Getting By -- Spring 2005)  Actors have associated avatar(s) on virtual stage. Device Control Emiline object  Specific control of avatar behavior defined by subclasses of Actor moCap signals setJoints() 6

Actor Objects Staging  Example 2  Set and Lighting Design  Flock of bees ( What’s the Buzz? Spring 2004)  Created by artistic team  Imported into Virtual Stage setLeadBee() Dataglove  Controllable Components gesture Device Control  Triggering of Cues Flock object  Continuous Events FOB signals setEmotion() Staging Staging  What’s the Buzz?  Getting By Stage Manager Object Stage Manager  Controls dynamic staging, lighting, and sound effects Lights  Triggering of predefined cues. Stage Mgr object Device Control  Stage manager object manages cues Props and allows for manual (or automatic) control triggering of these cues. Sound signals  Object in virtual space control() 7

Audience Playing Games with the audience  Each audience member is also an object  Interactivity ( What’s the Buzz?) in the virtual space  May (or may not) have a physical avatar  Human audience member connected via audience device control  Interactivity  Control of what the audience sees Playing Games with the audience Playing Games with the audience  Perspective ( What’s the Buzz?)  Special Effects Questions? Playing Games with the audience  Critters (Spring 2006)  Let’s take a break…  Rose colored glasses  Audience decides to see visions or not.  After break: Critters! 8

Announcement Spring Job Fair  Graduating seniors:  Fair:  Looking for a co-op in game development?  Wednesday, March 28, 11a.m. – 4 p.m. in  Grip Media (Rochester) looking for a full-time applicants (after the Gordon Field House. graduation)  Skills:  Inteviews  Hands-on development in Flash including ActionScript/Lingo  Strong background in OOP, HTML, PHP  Thursday, March 29  Ruby on Rails (would be a nice plus)  Strong background in relational databases. MySQL.  E-mal me for job info if interested.  More info to come… This year’s production Critters  Preliminary list of critters  CRITTERS  Critter in refrigerator  Critter cat on chair  Story  Synchronized swimming critters in soup pot  Audience Participation  ‘hand’ critter in flower pot  Bird critters with head lights outside LR window  Critter in living in TV?  Dancing broom critter Critters (Spring 2006/7) Critters  Models from Design Team (CIAS)  Modeled using Maya  Models  Skeletons  Skins  Predefined animations 9