DMS 217: Intro to Virtual Reality (Spring 2008)

HOW TO SET UP YOUR ACCOUNT
BASIC LINUX COMMANDS
RUNNING ON BIG SCREEN OR HMD
ONLINE DOCUMENTATION file:///home/dms/jranstey/PROJECTS/TRAIL/version4_S07/yg_0.4.1/doc/index.html

INSTRUCTOR: Josephine Anstey
LOCATION: 265/6 CFA
TIME: 3:00 – 4:50 PM, Mondays and Wednesdays
OFFICE HOURS: Friday 11AM-1PM

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This class introduces students to the skills and mind set needed for creating 3D interactive Virtual Worlds. We will work with Media Study's projection-based and head mounted VR systems. Immersive VR puts the user inside the virtual world with the virtual objects rather than outside, viewing the world on a monitor and manipulating an avatar of herself. A tracking system and "wand," with joystick and programmable buttons, create the interface between the user and the virtual environment.

COURSE WEBSITE: http://www.josephineanstey.com/Teaching/IntroToVirtualReality

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:

  • First Hand in: Character Sketches (draw, collage, photshop) of one of Ubu characters, Pa Ubu, Ma Ubu or McNure
  • Second Hand in: Animated Character
  • Third Hand in: Smart Set First Draft
  • Fourth Hand in: Smart Sets Implemented
  • Fifth Hand in: Plan for Integration of Set and Character(s)
  • Sixth Hand in: Completed Project

COURSE SCHEDULE:

i.) M 1/14 – Course Introduction

VR Principles, Techniques Examples

1.) W 1/16 – Intro to Projected VR
2.) M 1/21 – NO CLASS (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
3.) W 1/23 - Intro to Head Mounted VR
4.) M 1/28 - Example:Osmose by Char Davies
Introduction to VR authoring system 1
5.) W 1/30 - Examples: Placeholder by Brenda Laurel et. al; Desert Rain by Blast Theory (http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/);
Brenda Laurel, "Placeholder: Landscape and Narrative in Virtual Environments" (http://www.tauzero.com/Brenda_Laurel/Placeholder/CGQ_Placeholder.html);
Introduction to VR authoring system 2

Computer Characters and Animation

1.) M 2/04 - Read Ubu Roi (handout)
Graphic examples of character
Introduction to hierachical movement
7.) W 2/06 – FIRST HAND-IN DUE - students finish work for first hand-in
put character into VR
8.) M 2/11 – hierachical movement
9.) W 02/13 – Visitor Agueda Simo
hierachical movement
10.) M 02/18 - simple procedural animation with timers
11.) W 02/20 - putting character into VR
12.) M 02/25 – Wand/User Trigger, Switch, Documentation, .caverc
13.) W 02/27 – SECOND HAND-IN DUE - students finish work on second hand in -> Motion capture

Smart Sets

14.) M 03/03 – Designing set elements
Bring in graphics that you are influenced by
Review
15.) W 03/05 – Planning and Building set elements
Intro of model set, discussion & experimentation with interactive sets
16.) M 03/10 – NO CLASS (Spring Break)
17.) W 03/12 – NO CLASS (Spring Break)
18.) M 03/17 – Planning and Building set elements
Choose scene from Ubu and plan a set which must include
  • doors that open
  • multiple levels
  • stairs or ramps
  • moving elements (ramps, drawbridges, traps)
  • places that you can fall from
  • surprises
19.) W 03/19 - user - teleport, speed etc etc. water
20.) M 03/24 – THIRD HAND-IN DUE - draft one of interactive set
21.) W 03/26 – Adding interactivity to sets
22.) M 03/31 – Adding interactivity to sets
23.) W 04/02 – FOURTH HAND-IN DUE - finish work on fourth hand in

Putting it all together

24.) M 04/07 – thinking about integration of sets and characters
25.) W 04/09 - sets and characters
26.) M 04/14 - Sets and Sequences of Behavior
27.) W 04/16 - Navigation
28.) M 04/21 – Sound
29.) W 04/23 – sound - student show forms
30.) M 04/28 – SIXTH HAND-IN DUE

STUDENTS SHOW WORK - The class will discuss possible options for an end-of-semester show.

UNIVERSITY STATEMENTS:

DISABILITIES: If you have a disability (physical, learning or psychological) which may make it difficult for you to carry out the course work as outlined, and/or requires accomodations such as recruiting note takers, readers, or extended time on exams and assignments, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 25 Capen Hall, 645 2608, and also your instructor during the first two weeks of class. ODS will provide you with information and will review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accomodations.

PLAGARISM is literary theft and a betrayal of trust. The term is derived from the Latin word for kidnapper and refers to the act of signing one's own name to words, phrases, or ideas which are the literary property of another. Plagiarism comes in many forms, all to be avoided: outright copying, or paraphrase, or a mosaic or disguised use of words and phrases from an unacknowledged source. ?To avoid plagiarism, make it your habit to put quotation marks around words or phrases, or to isolate and indent longer passages, that you are using from someone else's writing. And be sure to cite the source, in a footnote or endnote, or within parentheses in the text. The penalties for plagiarism can be severe: from an F for the particular assignment, to an F for the course, to referral of the case to the Dean of Undegraduate Education for administrative judgement. If you are unsure about how to use and document sources, please consult your instructor.

WEAPONS AS PROPS: If you are planning a student production which involves using any prop which could be interpreted to be a weapon [toy gun, BB gun, knife, etc.] And you are planning to shoot on the UB campus or any other public place, you must obtain written permission from Campus Security or the equivalent authority before you shoot. If you do not you will face serious problems including possible expulsion from the university.