Download PDF By mid-March, our daily trips to Des Moines had become a familiar routine. We would need to leave the house by 9 AM at the latest, which would give me just enough time to get the kids to school in the morning, return home, gather medical supplies and pillows, and then help Yvonne…Read more Puddleglum’s Pain
German VR Game: Project Update (10/10/19)
Digging deeper into the design of tutorial room for the German VR game at last week's team meeting, we came to the realization that we need to align the training objectives of this room more closely with the activities that a player would ultimately need to perform in the game. These actions include: (1) teleporting…Read more German VR Game: Project Update (10/10/19)
German VR Game: Project Update (10/3/2019)
It's been a while since I posted anything on my research blog. Since I'll be working this year with some Grinnell College students on a project that continues work developing a German language VR experience (see: YouTube video and GitHub repo), I thought I would use this opportunity to blog our project development. I hope…Read more German VR Game: Project Update (10/3/2019)
Innovation Fund progress report
It's been a while since I have posted anything in my blog. Moving forward, I would like to be more open with the work I am doing in developing VR experiences for the digital liberal arts. What better way to get back into the blogging saddle than to post my Innovation Fund Progress Report (End…Read more Innovation Fund progress report
Innovation Fund 2017
Last year I received a $10,000 pilot project funding from the Grinnell College Innovation Fund to explore the use of 3D/VR/AR technology to teach liberal arts topics. The grant has up to this point proven to be very successful, and I was encouraged to submit another proposal for continued funding and to broaden the scope…Read more Innovation Fund 2017
Instructional goal and supporting contexts
Cross posted: https://unclesam.sites.grinnell.edu/uncategorized/instructional-goal-and-supporting-contexts After carefully thinking about what we would like to do with the Uncle Sam Plantation simulation, the types of open educational resources that we would like to develop, and the manner in which these resources could potentially be used in a class, the dev team has come up with the following instructional goal…Read more Instructional goal and supporting contexts
Defining instructional goals in virtual reality
Cross posted: http://unclesam.sites.grinnell.edu/uncategorized/defining-instructional-goals-in-virtual-reality The Uncle Sam plantation project is beginning to gear up and, with the return of Sam Nakahira from archival research in the Louisiana State University special collections, we are presented with a mountain of archival material that needs to be assembled into a virtual reality experience. What does a receipt for $12 issued…Read more Defining instructional goals in virtual reality
Summer Faculty Workshop Report: Stories for the Eye and Mind
Executive Summary The summer faculty workshop, Stories for the Eye and Mind: Immersive Environments for Teaching and Learning, was held in the Digital Liberal Arts Lab (DLAB) on Grinnell College 26-29 June 2017. Workshop participants included David Neville (GCIEL project lead and workshop facilitator), Damian Kelty-Stephen (Assistant Professor of Psychology and workshop co-facilitator), Charles Cunningham…Read more Summer Faculty Workshop Report: Stories for the Eye and Mind
The spatial humanities, proper scale, and making reference images in 3ds Max
In preparing for my upcoming faculty summer workshop on immersive environments, I have become more interested in ways that technology enhances the examination of how space – understood to be a certain point situated at the intersection of the physical world (geography) and time (history) – is constructed. Specifically, how technology can reveal sociopolitical forces…Read more The spatial humanities, proper scale, and making reference images in 3ds Max
GCIEL activity, community, and HASTAC 2017
Since October I have been working hard to establish an immersive environments lab at Grinnell College and have been making some significant headway toward getting this project off the ground. With the launch last week of the Grinnell College Immersive Experiences Lab (GCIEL) website and the delivery of some VR-capable desktops and associated hardware, it…Read more GCIEL activity, community, and HASTAC 2017
Stories for the eye and mind: Immersive environments for teaching, learning, and research
Summer 2016 Faculty Workshop Title Stories for the Eye and Mind: Immersive Environments for Teaching, Learning, and Research Time 26-29 June, 9 AM to 12 PM; Optional lab 2 to 5 PM Description The liberal arts have rich stories to tell and immersive environments can be a powerful way of transmitting and experiencing these stories. In…Read more Stories for the eye and mind: Immersive environments for teaching, learning, and research
Innovation Fund proposal for an immersive environments lab
The Grinnell College Innovation Fund is an internal grant program for fostering and supporting innovative approaches to teaching and research at the institution. Given the growing interest around virtual reality and yet unrealized opportunities provided by other immersive technologies (e.g., 3D digital game-based learning and visualizations), I thought an immersive environments lab would be an especially…Read more Innovation Fund proposal for an immersive environments lab
Opening remarks: Immersive Environments Colloquium at Vanderbilt University (9-10 December 2016)
Below are my opening remarks and charge for the Immersive Environments Colloquium at Vanderbilt University. Although the remarks include comments that I have already made on this blog, I thought it would still be useful to publish them here since, I think, they succinctly summarize how video games and digital game-based learning can benefit the humanities, specifically…Read more Opening remarks: Immersive Environments Colloquium at Vanderbilt University (9-10 December 2016)
The long arc back into 3D digital game-based learning
While I was enrolled in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Program at Utah State University (2004-2007), I became very interested in the use of digital game-based learning, immersive virtual environments, and instructional simulations as a way to teach humanities topics. At the time this interest fortuitously aligned with the emergence of the “digital humanities”…Read more The long arc back into 3D digital game-based learning
Machine clustering and “The Flowing Light of the Godhead”
In Chapter 11 of Text Analysis with R for Students of Literature, Matthew Jockers introduces machine clustering through an authorship attribution problem. That is, by comparing different usages of high frequency words in an ingested corpus and calculating the Euclidean metric between them, the distance between different books in the corpus can be determined. Books closer…Read more Machine clustering and “The Flowing Light of the Godhead”
Promoting information and digital literacy
A few months ago I had the opportunity to interview for an educational technology director position at a highly selective liberal arts college in the Southeast. The position was unusual for me at the time in that it would be housed completely in the library and would be in charge of library staff, in addition to…Read more Promoting information and digital literacy
Using R to analyze “The Flowing Light of the Godhead”
A few weeks ago I started learning the R programming language for use in quantitative and computational approaches to textual analysis. Although my areas of expertise are in 3D visualization and simulation, it seemed to me that a lot of work in the digital humanities is in textual analysis (e.g., text mining and topic modeling)…Read more Using R to analyze “The Flowing Light of the Godhead”
Unity C# Quest Scripts
Introduction The C# Unity scripts I wrote for the Uncle Sam Plantation project create a basic quest structure that guides players through a 3D game or simulation. My research into 3D digital game-based language learning environments show that goal-directed player activity in these environments provide learners of a second language and culture with a more…Read more Unity C# Quest Scripts
Why the digital humanities could benefit from digital game-based learning
My presentation at the NEH Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI) on 3D modeling of cultural heritage sites detailed the work I have been doing on a digital recreation of the Uncle Sam Plantation. During the presentation I also made a case for using the 3D models I have developed as the basis for an instructional…Read more Why the digital humanities could benefit from digital game-based learning
3D modeling of cultural heritage: Where are the Americans?
On 20-23 June 2016 I attended a NEH Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI) exploring the theory and practice of 3D modeling of cultural heritage sites. Held this year at UCLA, the institute was a follow-up to one held the year prior at the University of Massachusetts -Amherst. I found the institute…Read more 3D modeling of cultural heritage: Where are the Americans?
Toward a pedagogy of presence: Research summaries and new project workflow
It's been a while since I last posted and a lot has happened between then and now. Most important is a new work assignment that will be exploring the use of virtual reality environments for instructional purposes at the university- and college-level. I have my own personal project that aligns with this assignment, which I will be blogging…Read more Toward a pedagogy of presence: Research summaries and new project workflow
German language and culture skills: One way to stand out as a job candidate
When I was an associate professor of German, one area of program growth I was keenly interested in was language for specific purposes (LSP), otherwise known as a “Business German” or “German For Your Career” track. By making tangible connections between what students learned in the German program and internship or employment opportunities after graduation,…Read more German language and culture skills: One way to stand out as a job candidate
Educating the world with open educational resources
It has been a while since I last posted on my research blog. Since then I have moved across five states and two time zones to accept a new position as Digital Liberal Arts Specialist in the Digital Liberal Arts Collective (DLAC) at Grinnell College. Our mission, as is explained on our website, is to "help the…Read more Educating the world with open educational resources
First steps on a new 3D project
I have always liked projects as a way of organizing and directing activity. They allow me to set personal goals, to measure progress towards this goal, to learn new technology skills along the way, and to create new knowledge through experimentation and analysis of the product. So, after a few years of not having any long-term…Read more First steps on a new 3D project
Virtual embodiment, deep learning, and the humanities
Although the topic of digital game-based learning and gamification did not make this year's New Horizon Report (it was mentioned in the 2014 report), I was happy to discover an interview with EDUCAUSE President and CEO, Diana Oblinger, in which these instructional approaches were mentioned first on a list of three trends that will impact…Read more Virtual embodiment, deep learning, and the humanities
A return to digital Helfta?
I found out just the other day that I have been accepted to participate in a Digital Humanities Summer Institute on Advanced Challenges in Theory and Practice in 3D Modeling of Cultural Heritage Sites at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in June 2015. The institute coincides with a project that I have been meaning to get back to…Read more A return to digital Helfta?
MOOCs, outreach, and program growth
I read an interesting article today on NPREd about free online courses (MOOCs) and what was learned when the data generated by 1.7 million online students in EdX. Although I read the report earlier and was already familiar with the findings, I was particularly struck by what some people wrote in the comments: In many ways, these…Read more MOOCs, outreach, and program growth
5-Minute German Grammar
I have been teaching the same introductory German sequence for, oh, 8 years now and yesterday I finally came to the conclusion that I need a change. Really bad. I want to spend more time in class actually working on important skills - speaking, writing, discussing cultural artifacts - and less time on covering grammar. I…Read more 5-Minute German Grammar
New Workflow with Alt-D
I have been making progress on the medieval city wall that will surround the fictional town of Bad Oberdinkelheim, which will help to keep player-learners in a controlled space while simultaneously granting them an unfettered sense of agency. While creating the wall I have stumbled across another type of workflow. Whereas before I created the…Read more New Workflow with Alt-D
Bad Oberdinkelheim Gets a Wall
The last game I created was done under time pressure: It took me roughly 1.5 years to learn 3D modeling and texturing in Blender, game programming in Unity, and get the instructional materials created in time to teach the the topic of German waste management and recycling systems within the context of two-way prepositions. Oh,…Read more Bad Oberdinkelheim Gets a Wall
Article Published in ReCALL
It's been a long haul, but finally -- after several years of design, development, assessment, and evaluation -- the experiment results have been published in the ReCALL Journal: If you are interested and want to read more, you can download a PDF of the paper. Basically, as described in the abstract, the article reports on…Read more Article Published in ReCALL
Away For Much Too Long
It's been several months since posting my last entry and it's time to get back down to business. Reason for my absence has been partly professional, and partly pure digital distraction. Let's start with the last point first. After having played Battlefield 2142 for, oh, a *really* long time, I decided to step up to…Read more Away For Much Too Long
Gone Home: A Model for SLA Games?
A few months ago I became interested in Gone Home, a first-person story exploration video game, on the Game Profiles page at Unity. The idea of a game that does not involve shooting and killing intrigued me. There's not even any non-player characters (NPCs) to interact with. Rather, the game only involves careful investigation of…Read more Gone Home: A Model for SLA Games?
3 AM Game Ideas
What do you do at 3 AM when you have a bad case of insomnia and can't sleep? Well, what I usually do is think about things that need getting done, how to move projects forward, and ideas for articles. Sometimes I will think about aikido. This morning, however, it was the video game. Here's…Read more 3 AM Game Ideas
The Essential Experience
The experiment I ran on the last game prototype demonstrated that some type of substantial learning did take place through the experiences that students had while playing the game. Developing the game, however, also revealed some problems in the workflow. As I am currently a one-person show, getting a firm grasp on the modeling and…Read more The Essential Experience
Fun with Error Messages
I have a few projects on the plate this summer: (1) getting my tenure portfolio together, which needs to be submitted on 15 September; (2) creating more grammar videos for the Elon German Studies YouTube channel, which now how 304 subscribers and has been viewed over 15,000 times in about 5 months; (3) work with…Read more Fun with Error Messages
Summer Plans: Getting Back to Basics
Spring break is upon us, which means that the semester will be coming to an end rather quickly. It also means that I will need to think of something to do during the summer. I will be working with an undergraduate student on her SURE project, but I also need to think of something for…Read more Summer Plans: Getting Back to Basics
Going Medieval, Minding the Store
Part of the joy of working at a smaller liberal arts college is the constant variation of tasks that one must do to move a program forward. The variety ensures that one does not bore quickly. On the other hand, part of the frustration of working at a smaller liberal arts college is the constant variation…Read more Going Medieval, Minding the Store
Game world, real world, classroom
After wrestling with the experiment data and the whole writing process, I finally was able to get an article out the door to ReCALL Journal. I will hear back from them in March (or before then) with reviewer comments. In the meanwhile, I'm trying to think of next steps for how to grow the project.…Read more Game world, real world, classroom
Activity Systems and Cognitive Maps
I have been working on a write-up of the data yielded by the research study at the end of Spring Semester 2012. Although I am not sure if this blog really gets the kind of traffic that I was originally hoping it would, I thought I would just throw some of the data out there…Read more Activity Systems and Cognitive Maps
Presentation at CALICO 2012
I have been working in the office this morning, getting travel itineraries and other things ready for my upcoming trip to CALICO 2012, where I will be presenting a paper there on the results of my experiment using the 3D game I developed to teach German. In any case, it should be a lot of fun…Read more Presentation at CALICO 2012
Transfer from Games to Narratives
The end of the semester and beginning of the summer is always busy: Thousands of things to catch up on, odds jobs that need doing, and countless receptions and ceremonies to attend. I finally had a chance to look at some of the data generated by the experiment I ran in my beginning German class…Read more Transfer from Games to Narratives
Back in the Saddle
It's been a long while since I have been active with game development and blogging. Time to get back into the swing, I think. My absence for this past year has been on account of responsibilities to the German program at Elon University, and getting a business German program off the ground. Central to this…Read more Back in the Saddle
Download Game Prototype
The Digital Bahnhof (DigiBahn) Project is an interdisciplinary software development initiative seeking to program a 3D digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) environment for teaching German language, vocabulary, and culture to advanced high school and beginning university students. The current basic prototype addresses the topics of recycling and waste management in Germany and has been developed to…Read more Download Game Prototype
Creating Instructional Materials
Now that the game prototype is finished, I have been spending time getting the instructional materials ready. First to be created was the story, which the students will read before doing the related exercises and playing the game: I was able to find several websites dealing with recycling in Germany and Austria (Berlin sammelt and…Read more Creating Instructional Materials
Walk-Through for DigiBahn Game Level
A few days ago I made a video highlighting the finished game, essentially a walk-through of the environment. After capturing the video with FRAPS, I put the computer on standby and went off to teach. Once I came back to the office a few hours later I found, to my horror, that the computer would…Read more Walk-Through for DigiBahn Game Level
Score Screen Finally Finished
I've been busy with teaching and other sundry university service responsibilities, which has taken me away from game development these last few weeks. Thank goodness that I was able to get the majority of development done during Winter Term when I didn't have a teaching load. The final problem I faced was getting the player performance data…Read more Score Screen Finally Finished
Beer Bottles (Nearly) Imported
The new semester has finally started and, as anticipated, I've been busy with teaching and course preparations. I'm glad that I had time over Winter Term to code the game, get the functionality figured out, and polish the game interface. I'm going to test the game prototype in about two months and, as it currently…Read more Beer Bottles (Nearly) Imported
Start, Info and About Screens Finished
Took a break from doing modeling in Blender, where I still need to make game resources (bottles, cans, trash), and spent a few days getting the game start, about and information screens setup. With Unity, this was a snap to do and only required minimal scripting in C# and light image creation skills in GIMP.…Read more Start, Info and About Screens Finished
Game Finally Coded
I have been working feverishly these last few days, hoping to get get my game coded before the semester begins. Once the semester begins, I'll have my hands full with grading, teaching, and the what-have-yous of being a university professor. And although I won't be testing the game until the end of the semester, experience…Read more Game Finally Coded
Polishing Interface and Writing Code
I have been working these last few days on tweaking the game interface and writing the code the will provide game functionality. I'm happy to report that the code for managing the points and health in the game are all finished, as seen in this screenshot:Every minute, the code will deduct one health point and…Read more Polishing Interface and Writing Code
The Verisimilitude of Real Spaces
Playing Half-Life 2 Lost Coast a few weeks ago, I was struck by the sense of "place" that the game provides and the story that the spaces tell in a visual manner. Not only were the images beautifully rendered, but the spaces themselves seemed to emit a sense of real history, especially inside of the…Read more The Verisimilitude of Real Spaces
Reflecting and Refracting with the Fountain
More than halfway with reimporting developed game models, which entails opening the models up in Blender, removing the object scale (Alt-S) and rotation (Alt-R), and redoing the rotation and scaling in Edit Mode. For fun, I decided to throw in a model of a fountain into the museum square instead of a tree. I also…Read more Reflecting and Refracting with the Fountain
Reimporting Blender Models
Have been busy these last few days putting the finishing touches on the new and improved city museum for the game and have begun reimporting already-developed models. I will be using the opportunity to change the format of the textures from .png to .jpg as the latter seems to be much smaller in size and…Read more Reimporting Blender Models
Blue Window Frames and FRAPS Test
Finally got the second floor of the museum finished, including all textures and the final changes to the meshes. Although I will be adding several more models for the prototype test (e.g., medieval tower and some traffic signs one would normally find in a pedestrian zone in Germany), I wanted to do a quick test…Read more Blue Window Frames and FRAPS Test
Fachwerk Imported and Pontification on the State of Second Language Studies
After making some minor tweaks to the museum model inside of Blender, I was finally able to texture- and bump-map the exposed timber work meshes and import them into Unity. Once I got the workflow down, the whole process went very quickly. Main points to remember: (1) make modifications to meshes in Edit Mode, not…Read more Fachwerk Imported and Pontification on the State of Second Language Studies
Vertical Beams Completed
Just finished getting all the vertical beams inserted into the mesh, which I have highlighted in this screen capture in white:All the beams were based on one root mesh object, to which I applied both a color and bump map channel. Once this was done, I made a copy of the mesh inside Edit Mode…Read more Vertical Beams Completed
CATL Scholar Award and Bump-Mapped Beams
Now that the semester is almost officially over (one more final to give, to the regret of my students), I have had more time to catch up on small project minutiae and make some substantial progress on my project. One thing I forgot to mention in prior posts is the Center for the Advancement of…Read more CATL Scholar Award and Bump-Mapped Beams
Textured Beams On the Way!
Seems to be either feast or famine when it comes to blog postings with me. Now that the semester is officially over (besides the final I still have to administer), I have a lot more time to do game development. Wish I would just be able to spend more time on doing background research on the use…Read more Textured Beams On the Way!
Full Museum Model Finished
Well, I should add that the full museum model is almost finished - I still have to add the door handles to both doors. Otherwise, how will people be able to get in and out of the building? Although I still need to get a handle on how to light a scene most effectively in…Read more Full Museum Model Finished
Exposed Timber Work (Fachwerk)
Since I started redesigning the city museum model, I thought I would add a few extra features that were not in the original. If you check my earlier posts (see below), you will notice in the screen shots that the exposed timber work (Fachwerk) on the second floor of the museum is simply painted on…Read more Exposed Timber Work (Fachwerk)
Burning Down the House
These last few weeks I have been banging my head against the proverbial digital wall, trying to get my computer game -- or 3D digital game-based learning environment, which sounds more sophisticated -- to work just the way I would like. The primary problems were: (1) the door animations in the game just didn't open…Read more Burning Down the House
First Blender Animation Imported into Unity
I have had my nose to the proverbial grindstone these last few days, working hard to get a Blender animation to play inside of Unity. After two solid days of coding, debugging, and scouring the Web for clues, I finally got it to work:To summarize my findings: Unity doesn't automatically import mesh animations from Blender.…Read more First Blender Animation Imported into Unity
Jacked-Up .blend Files
For some reason or another, it has been a busy start of the semester, even though I have one course reduction and also minimal preps since I'm teaching a course I've already taught in the past. Getting the NEH Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant team together, the proposal written, and submitted took some time, in addition…Read more Jacked-Up .blend Files
NEH Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant Proposal Submitted
It's been a long while since I last posted an entry on this blog. The start of any semester is always difficult, and this last was no exception. Between course preparation, grant submissions, and other sundry tasks needing completion, I've been rather busy. To get back in the swing of things, I've decided to post…Read more NEH Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant Proposal Submitted
So, Like, Where is Bad Oberdinkelheim?
Earlier plans for the game I am developing included creating an exact mock-up of a real-world German space, specifically Stuttgart Central train station, as the game environment. My thinking at the time was that the game should expose a player to virtual spaces that were as authentic as possible so that the learning that takes…Read more So, Like, Where is Bad Oberdinkelheim?
3D Resources for Game Prototype Finished
Fall semester will be starting in a few weeks, so I have been working like mad to get as much finished on the game as possible. Experience has taught me that, despite best intentions and wishing otherwise, the start of every semester brings with it the inevitable distractions and game development generally tends to suffer…Read more 3D Resources for Game Prototype Finished
Signs Inserted
Spent the morning and early afternoon working on a display box for the museum signs. Had some difficulties getting the stainless steel texture "just right" for the sign, so I opted to go with a scratched metal texture from DeviantArt. I wish I could spend more time getting the 3D objects to look more authentic, but since…Read more Signs Inserted
The Romans in Bad Oberdinkelheim
I've been trying to make the historical background to Bad Oberdinkelheim seem as authentic as possible. While looking at the map of the surrounding area, it occurred to me that, perhaps, the Roman presence was felt this far north. After looking at a few historical maps, specifically one that detailed Roman history in the state…Read more The Romans in Bad Oberdinkelheim
Special Exhibit in Bad Oberdinkelheim
While designing the square in from of the city museum, it occurred to me that perhaps the museum should have a special exhibit. A few moments on the Web for gathering inspiration and a few moments with GIMP resulted in the following poster:Very nice that the exhibit has generous support from the Goethe-Institut, Sparda-Bank, and…Read more Special Exhibit in Bad Oberdinkelheim
First DigiBahn Walkthrough in Unity
For the last week, I have been working on getting my Blender models imported into Unity, installing a skybox, and putting some of the first person interactivity in place. Fortunately, with Unity much of this is simply a questions of dragging and dropping the appropriate pre-constructed assets into the game project. Here's a screenshot of what I have developed so…Read more First DigiBahn Walkthrough in Unity
And Thus It Begins
After conducting some initials test of importing Blender models into Unity, I decided that it was time to begin development of the game in earnest. I fired up Unity, started a new project, imported a Blender model, and saved the scene. Here's what I got so far:A modest start, but at least I'm moving forward. In…Read more And Thus It Begins
Stadtplan von Bad Oberdinkelheim
Keeping with the idea that the city museum will also be a tourist office of sorts in the game, I decided that a map of the city and its immediate area should be located in front of the museum. Simply modifying the meshes for work I have done already on the pedestrian zone sign, I…Read more Stadtplan von Bad Oberdinkelheim
Museum Signs and Integrating Information Channels
Spent the later morning and early afternoon getting signs made for the city museum. Here is a quick render of what I have so far:I think that in the coming days I just may add a sign indicating hours of operation. Once that is completed, I will add a few other things that can typically…Read more Museum Signs and Integrating Information Channels
Learning Objects and Unity Import Test
Since writing my conceptual analysis on how to structure narrative in 3D digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) environments in support of second language acquisition, which is scheduled to appear in the upcoming issue of The Foreign Language Annals, I've been thinking a lot about how to make my design recommendations an instructional reality. In the analysis,…Read more Learning Objects and Unity Import Test
Video of Finished Tower and Explanation
I just finished putting the final touches on the 3D tower model in Blender. I decided to document some of my backend work on the model with FRAPS and show of the tower with an turnaround render. This is what I got after merging the two videos in Camtasia:From here on out, I need to…Read more Video of Finished Tower and Explanation
Windows and Clock Finished
Just finished remodeling the tower, which entailed adding recessed windows for the upper tower structure, a recessed clock face, a recessed door-like entrance on the side of the tower, and a hoist. Here's the most recent render (w/o a bump map or much thought given to the lighting):I suppose if I had more time, I…Read more Windows and Clock Finished
Tower Hoist Addded
While getting the tower model ready for importing into Unity, it occurred to me that I should perhaps also add some type of hoist mechanism above the elevated window/door. After all, the denizens of the medieval town needed someway to get their mead up into the tower, right? Here's a quick render (w/o bumpmaps or…Read more Tower Hoist Addded
Summer Workflow and Theory at 30,000 Feet
It has been a while since I sat down and updated my research blog. With the birth of our new son, the dramatic and total failure of my computer's video card, and my attendance at the recent Humanities Gaming Institute I have been extremely busy and distracted. Now that things are settling into a routine…Read more Summer Workflow and Theory at 30,000 Feet
The Dell from Hell
Now that the semester is finally over, I thought that I would be able to get some quality development time in. My Dell XPS M1730, however, had other ideas. I've been having nothing but problems with it for the last, oh, four or five months. For a while, the Battlefield 2142 would come up with…Read more The Dell from Hell
FRAPS Test and Musings on Second Language Acquisition
Finally got the full license for FRAPS yesterday and I decided to take it for a spin around the Battlefield 2142 neighborhood to see what it would do. All in all, I'm very impressed with the software and consider it $37 well spent. It will be especially useful when I begin to document gameplay for…Read more FRAPS Test and Musings on Second Language Acquisition
Test Render for Foreign Language Annals
This past week I have been polishing my 3D digital game-based learning article for The Foreign Language Annals, getting ready to get the final submission out the door. Now that the text has been corrected and improved, I thought that I would look at the images that I would include in the essay. I have…Read more Test Render for Foreign Language Annals
Hitting Two-For-Two
Good news on the DigiBahn front! Briefly stated, the paper I submitted to The Foreign Lannguage Annals (FLAnnals) was accepted with minor revisions and my application to the Humanities Gaming Institute was also accepted. Wow, hitting two-for-two. I was particulalry surprised (and flattered) about what the three reviewers for the FLAnnals had to say about…Read more Hitting Two-For-Two
Leave a Light On
I am getting closer to finishing work on Building A, after which I will make a movie using most of the models I have developed so for for the game. Because I couldn't wait to see what it would all look like in the end, I inserted my lamp model last night and did a…Read more Leave a Light On
Layering the Bumpmap
Since I started using Blender, I have been using GIMP to make my bumpmaps. Usually I just took the colormap and did the following to it:Desaturate the layerInvert the colorsAdjust the brightness (to 15) and the contrast (to 90)Then I would import it into Blender in its own texture channel, map it to the rendered…Read more Layering the Bumpmap
The German Town is Taking Shape, Nein?
It has been a long while since I made a video detailing work on the 3D models for the German town I am currently developing, so what better time than the present to correct this oversight? Here's a brief 44-second video of what I got so far (with a voice narration as an added bonus):Although…Read more The German Town is Taking Shape, Nein?
Fachwerk and "Jacob’s Ladder"
Spent a nice spring day, when I should have been outside, instead in front of the computer working on 3D models. I was able to get a substantial amount of work done on the second floor of Building A, which entailed fiddling with Blender settings to unfold the mesh a bit cleaner, looking at photos…Read more Fachwerk and "Jacob’s Ladder"
Grant Awarded, Game Progress, and Application for Summer Gaming Institute
Some good news to report: The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) at Elon University has awarded me with a substantial grant to foster the development of the DigiBahn Project. The grant will be used to upgrade the game engine from the free Unity3D Indie to Unity3D Pro (license comparison here), which…Read more Grant Awarded, Game Progress, and Application for Summer Gaming Institute
Making UV maps and 3D model textures get along
I've been having some fun recently getting the textures for my game models look just right, which has resulted in a change in my workflow. In the past, I would create a UV map by first making seams in the 3D meshes where I think the least amount of distortion would occur, unwrap the mesh,…Read more Making UV maps and 3D model textures get along
Heroic Narratives?
I have been wanting to get some development on the project done these last few weeks, but I have been distracted by the day-to-day responsibilities of a college professor that have been nickel-and-diming my time. An interesting product of these distractions, however, has been a new general studies course examining the role of the hero…Read more Heroic Narratives?
German Town Taking Shape
I have been busy with various university responsibilities this last week, so I have had time neither for modeling in Blender nor posting my progress here. I have a few extra hours today, so I was able to quickly knock down a few buildings for the game level. Here's a quick wireframe of the scene:In…Read more German Town Taking Shape
Animated Render and Turnaround of Tower
I had a few hours free last night to make an animated render of the latest model, the tower at the end of the pedestrian zone where the player will be inserted into the game level. Add a snowstorm this morning that makes the streets somewhat impassable, and you get a weekend with Blender, GIMP,…Read more Animated Render and Turnaround of Tower
Tower Finished!
After nearly two weeks of working on the pedestrian zone tower in my spare time, I am happy to say that I finally got it finished. And here is the final product:Not bad, considering that I have no 3D art experience at all and am pretty much self-taught on Blender and GIMP, the two open…Read more Tower Finished!
Fun With Blender Texture Channels
Had an interesting problem a few days ago with Blender's texture channels. I had developed two models separately, a sign for the pedestrian zone and the tower, and wanted to bring them together (a) to see how they looked and (b) to get my workflow ironed out a bit. I am planning to develop the…Read more Fun With Blender Texture Channels
FRAPS Test of Blender Interface
As I mentioned in my previous post, I just found the FRAPS shareware online and downloaded it for doing screen captures to support my book project. I also noted that the software supports games using OpenGL technology, which meant that - perhaps - it would also support Blender video captures as Blender is OpenGL API-based…Read more FRAPS Test of Blender Interface
FRAPS and Feedback from The Modern Language Journal
On account of the recent holidays and an unfortunate problem with my computer's motherboard, I haven't been blogging as much as I would have liked. Now that the computer problem is resolved and the powers that be have turned the heat back on in my office, I am once again in full production mode. A…Read more FRAPS and Feedback from The Modern Language Journal
Real-Life US Army Simulation
Just found an extremely facinating video on the CNN website detailing how American soldiers prepare for deployment in Iraq. Apprently, the US Army has developed a National Training Center at Ft. Irwin in the Mojave Desert which realistically simulates all of the stresses a soldier will face on deployment in Iraq. There is even a…Read more Real-Life US Army Simulation
Fußgängerzone Sign Turnaround
Finally got the turnaround for the pedestrian zone sign finished and posted on YouTube:For the pole and brackets holding the sign I applied a galvanized metal texture to the meshes and created a bump map on the same texture to give them a more authentic feel. The signs themselves just have specularity and reflectivity maps…Read more Fußgängerzone Sign Turnaround
Pedestrian Zone (Fußgängerzone) Sign
Just finished putting the bump and specularity maps on the sign for the pedestrian zone and did a quick render:Looks pretty good, nein? I was thinking of doing a quick turnaround render before I went home, but will probably do this tomorrow once I come back to the office. Anyway, I'd still like to add…Read more Pedestrian Zone (Fußgängerzone) Sign
Streetlamp Created
Finally got a streetlamp object made for the level where the player will be inserted into the game. Here is a quick turnaround of the mesh, complete with a bump map applied to the glass panels of the lantern itself (and some additional tweaking done to the raytracing for mirror reflection and transparent refraction rendering):I…Read more Streetlamp Created