Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Computer gaming and animation studies'

A number of references in the Human-Computer Interaction literature make the common-sense suggestion that the animated zooming effect accompanying the opening or closing of a folder in the Apple Macintosh graphical user interface aids in a user's perception of which window corresponds to which folder. We examine this claim empirically using two controlled experiments. Although we did not find a statistically significant overall difference resulting from the presence or absence of the zooming effect, a post hoc analysis revealed a highly significant interaction between the experience of users with the Macintosh user interface and the zooming effect. This individual difference suggests that users become attuned to the informational content of the zooming effect with experience.

Nonbinary game characters are often designed based on harmful stereotypes such asfollowing a strict androgynous aesthetic or as not being human. This thesis studies both howthese stereotypes are perceived by the represented gaming audience, and also if analternative method can be successful in nonbinary character design. Two sets of fournonbinary characters were created in which two characters were based on existingstereotypes, and two were inspired by nonbinary celebrities and members of a nonbinaryforum. The artefacts were included in a survey in which the participants chose the most andleast successful design, motivated their answers, and also discussed trends and stereotypesthey had noticed in nonbinary characters. Based on the performed research and the surveyresults, the suggested solution is to create more nonbinary characters, especially visiblyhuman ones.

Digital games and simulations are receiving considerable notice within the Library and Information Science (LIS) community. This study adds to the depth of knowledge in this area by providing research on the likelihood a hypothetical digital game delivery method for library instruction achieves sufficient adoption to justify its development. Furthermore, this knowledge will assist decision making processes for individuals debating the current or potential role of digital gaming at their institutions. In this mixed methods study, over 300 undergraduates were surveyed about their technology preferences, including digital gaming, for delivery of two forms of academic library instruction. The two forms of library instruction were (a) providing users with spatial information on physical library layout, and (b) educating users on information literacy topics and skills. Observational data was collected during the survey sessions, occurring at face-to-face library instruction sessions. Self-selected survey participants were also interviewed to further probe their survey responses. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations was the theoretical foundation to this research. The primary innovation of study was the digital game delivery method. Detailed analysis of the survey-based data set included three nonparametric scaling methods: 1) rank-sum scaling; 2) circular triad analysis; and 3) multidimensional preference mapping. Content analysis of the observations and semi-structured interviews also occurred. Major outcomes were 1) the digital game delivery method achieved mediocre preference across both questions; 2) the audiovisual delivery method received the highest overall preference ranking; and 3) overall preference for the audio-only delivery method was remarkably low. The most important theme across the observational data was the participants' waning attention during the face-to-face library instruction sessions. The most important outcome from the semi-structured interviews was interviewees' stated appreciation for useful technologies. Over 95% of participants were so-called digital natives, that is, born post-1980. Rogers' assertion that age plays a minor role in predicting technology adoption appears warranted, since the more innovative digital game delivery method achieved mediocre overall preference.

The methods used to create visual effects for feature film production are quickly evolving. Cutting edge techniques are constantly being improved upon, and the capability to solve unique problems is paramount in real world production. I present a creative project which utilizes novel applications of common techniques, such as projection mapping, multi-tile UV workflows, procedural texture generation, normal mapping, and image based lighting.

The rise of the mobile Internet enables the creation of applications that provide new and easier ways for people to organise themselves, raise issues, take action and interact with their city. However, a lack of motivation or knowledge often prevents many citizens from regularly contributing to the common good. Therefore, this thesis presents DoGood, a smartphone app, that aims at motivating citizens to carry out civic activities. The thesis asks what kinds of activities citizens consider to be civic and to what extent gamification can motivate users in this context. The DoGood app uses gamified elements to encourage citizens to submit and promote their civic activities as well as to join the activities of others. Gamification is sometimes criticized for simply adding a limited number of game elements, such as leaderboards, on top of an existing experience. However, in the case of the DoGood app, the process of game design was an integral part of the development, and the gamified elements target the user’s intrinsic motivations instead of providing them with an external reward. DoGood was implemented as hybrid mobile app and deployed to citizens of Brisbane in a five weeks long user study. The app successfully motivated most of its users to do more civic activities and its gamified elements were well received. Based on the results of the user study, civic activities can be defined as activities that give citizens the opportunity to become involved and improve life in their local community.

The topic of this dissertation is the anatomical, psychological, and cultural examination of a human face in order to effectively construct an anatomy-driven 3D virtual face customization and action model. In order to gain a broad perspective of all aspects of a face, theories and methodology from the fields of art, engineering, anatomy, psychology, and cultural studies have been analyzed and implemented. The computer generated facial customization and action model were designed based on the collected data. Using this customization system, culturally-specific attractive face in Korean popular culture, “kot-mi-nam (flower-like beautiful guy),” was modeled and analyzed as a case study. The “kot-mi-nam” phenomenon is overviewed in textual, visual, and contextual aspects, which reveals the gender- and sexuality-fluidity of its masculinity. The analysis and the actual development of the model organically co-construct each other requiring an interwoven process. Chapter 1 introduces anatomical studies of a human face, psychological theories of face recognition and an attractive face, and state-of-the-art face construction projects in the various fields. Chapter 2 and 3 present the Bezier curve-based 3D facial customization (BCFC) and Multi-layered Facial Action Model (MFAF) based on the analysis of human anatomy, to achieve a cost-effective yet realistic quality of facial animation without using 3D scanned data. In the experiments, results for the facial customization for gender, race, fat, and age showed that BCFC achieved enhanced performance of 25.20% compared to existing program Facegen , and 44.12% compared to Facial Studio. The experimental results also proved the realistic quality and effectiveness of MFAM compared with blend shape technique by enhancing 2.87% and 0.03% of facial area for happiness and anger expressions per second, respectively. In Chapter 4, according to the analysis based on BCFC, the 3D face of an average kot-mi-nam is close to gender neutral (male: 50.38%, female: 49.62%), and Caucasian (66.42-66.40%). Culturally-specific images can be misinterpreted in different cultures, due to their different languages, histories, and contexts. This research demonstrates that facial images can be affected by the cultural tastes of the makers and can also be interpreted differently by viewers in different cultures.

This essay covers computer gaming as seen from a perspective of gender theory. The main purpose of the essay is to examine women’s relationship to computer games, and more specifically women’s attitudes to the games they play. The theoretical basis for this essay is sprung from a hermeneutic perspective. The empirical basis for analysis consists of two in depth interviews and game analysis of the two computer games Counter Strike and Final Fantasy XI. The theories and previous research we have taken in consideration discuss topics like computer usage, gender studies, identity, identification, cyborg theory, subculture, fanculture and narration. This essay has shown that the two computer games contain multiple gender related and theory relevant connotations. The aspects of the games the informants consider important in the identification process mainly consist of game related communion and the interaction with other players. Both informants have presented several views on what they find important in the process of identification and what they chose to discard.

This study examined the differences and similarities in how animated 3D characters were perceived by individuals from Sweden and China. The study also attempted to examine how cultural aspects influenced the participants’ perceptions. Parts of the study were conducted through collaboration with the Chinese game company, Focus Games. A literature study focusing on body language and culture was conducted, as well as a game animation analysis featuring games from both western and East Asian developers. Based on the game analysis, 6 animations were created with movement qualities inspired by each of the cultures. The study was conducted through an online questionnaire, as well as shorter semi-structured interviews. The results show that there were certain similarities and differences in how participants perceived the animations, however the reason as to how cultural aspects influenced the responses was partially unanswered due to lack of data.

Detta arbete undersöker hur animerat teckenspråk upplevs inom förstapersonsperspektiv i spel för svenska teckenspråksanvändare. Studien är inspirerad av en liknande undersökning av Kerstin Liliedahl (2017). Bakgrunden redogör om teckenspråkets nuvarande representation inom digital media, de tekniker samt avatarer som används och dess användning i digitala spel. Hur det svenska teckenspråket är uppbyggt samt hur det används. Frågeställningen till denna studie har försökt undersöka om förstapersonsperspektiv till spelmiljöer, är ett lämpligt perspektiv för användandet av digitalt teckenspråk för svenska teckenspråkstalare. Artefakten består av två 3D-animerade spelsimulationer i videoform, där deltagarna till studien fick rangordna samt resonera om hur användandet av digitalt teckenspråk fungerade till perspektivet. Urvalsgruppen bestod utav svenska tekenspråksanvändare. Varav 22 testpersoner deltog i enkäten. 14 svarade med att de var hörlsenedsatt eller döv. Tre hade närstående som var hörselnedsatt, och övriga var intresseanvändare. Framtida studier kan vidarutveklas för att förbättra och undersöka nya inkluderingar i speldesign för att öppna nya vägar till inkluderandet av teckenspråk i spelmarknaden idag.

Author: Ellen Hedin   Tutor: Ingegerd Rydin   Title: Computer Games as Culture – A qualitative study of the institutionalizing, cultivating, and socially constructing elements of computer game usage Subject: Media and Communication Studies Year: 2009 Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore the creation of identities related to the interaction mediated through the use of computer games. By perceiving computer game playing as a form of social interaction, searching for the relations between actors and their function, I hope to find that the social features of computer game playing can nurture a self-confident, healthy identity as well as enchancing the players’ quality of life. Method: The methods used are interview, narrative interview and observation. Conclusions: The study concludes that there is a visible culture surrounding computer games that enrich the players’ quality of life as well as enriching their personas through institutionalizing, cultivating and socializing processes. Keywords: Computer, computer game, usage, online culture, communication, gaming, play, dota, gamer, popular culture, reception, young adults, new medium, modern technology, every-day-life.

The video game industry has in three decades gone from a garage hobby to a global multi-billion euro media industry that challenges the significantly older and established cultural industries. After decades of explosive growth the industry surprisingly finds itself in a crisis – in terms of sales, future trajectories and creative paradigms. The global gaming culture receives substantial attention from society, media and academia – but the industry itself appears in comparison as an enigmatic terra incognita with astonishingly little dedicated research. This thesis aims to amend this situation by presenting a study at the cross-section of the video game industry, game studies, literary theory, cultural industries and business studies. It deals with the following question: how does the global game industry relate to its own product, in terms of communication and media dimensions, and what are the (business) consequences, in terms of production, strategy and commercial/creative innovation, of this relationship? This study’s departure point is constituted by a comprehensive description of the industry’s structure, dynamics and processes, based on extensive interviews with industry professionals. It is followed by an examination and comparison of the game industry with other media/cultural industries in relation to their economy and business dynamics. With inconclusive answers regarding the medium-industry relation, this study proceeds by exploring literary theories from the field of game studies, in order to gain insights into the dynamics of medium and industry. Literary theories from ludology and narratology provide rewarding perspectives on this inquiry, since it is found that the ontological dichotomy of simulation vs. respresentation present in the interpretational realm of the game medium is also reflected in the industry and its dynamics. This has pivotal consequences for the analysis of the game industry. This study concludes by positing the current critical condition of the industry as an extremely decisive moment in its history: will it become a truly universal mass-medium, or will it continue down its subcultural path? Subcultural “interactive cinema” meets mass-cultural media of simulation – how will the industry evolve?
QC20100708

Fantasy creatures are an essential part of many games, but while there are several studies focusing on body language and how expressive gaming companions may enhance the player’s experience, creatures and animals are rarely the focal points. Personality is closely related to believability, which is what most game developers work towards hence believability may improve the gaming experience. The purpose of this paper was to explore how the personality of a fantasy creature would be perceived by the observer when using different animal motion references. A 3D-model was created and animated in three different styles using motion references from a cat and lizard. A survey with Likert-scales was then formed with the intention to evaluate the animations. The participants in the survey were assigned one of the three animations to rate statements regarding personality and believability. Rather than a certain type of animal being associated with a certain type of personality, the result suggests that it was mainly certain motion cues and postures that affected the participants’ ratings. The study was deemed to be insufficient for a reliable result. In the discussion part, there are ideas on how the study could be improved with the aim of continuing the research to gain a clearer insight into the subject of personality and creatures.

Die seit 2001 stattfindende Konferenz Mensch & Computer geht in diesem Jahr in ihre elfte Runde. Thema ist: überMEDIEN|ÜBERmorgen. Die Mensch & Computer lebt von den vielfältigen und spannenden Beiträgen, welche während der Veranstaltung präsentiert und diskutiert werden. Seit Beginn machen die durch die Community organisierten Workshops einen wesentlichen Teil der Konferenz aus. Dieser Workshopband enthält die Beiträge zu acht Workshops der Mensch & Computer sowie zu einem Workshop des Thementracks Entertainment Interfaces sowie Kurzbeschreibungen zweier weiterer Workshops der Mensch & Computer. Begreifbare Interaktion in gemischten Wirklichkeiten Interaktive Displays in der Kooperation – Herausforderung an Gestaltung und Praxis Motivation und kulturelle Barrieren bei der Wissensteilung im Enterprise 2.0 (MKBE 2011) Mousetracking – Analyse und Interpretation von Interaktionsdaten Menschen, Medien, Auto-Mobilität mi.begreifbar – Medieninformatik begreifbar machen Partizipative Modelle des mediengestützten Lernens – Erfahrungen und Visionen Innovative Computerbasierte Musikinterfaces (ICMI) Senioren. Medien. Übermorgen. Designdenken in Deutschland Game Development in der Hochschulinformatik
First initiated in 2001, the conference series Mensch & Comuter has evolved as the leading event in the area of human-computer interaction in German speaking countrires hosting extremely vivid and exciting contributions with an audience that is keen to debate. Taking place the 11th time under the topical theme überMEDIEN|ÜBERmorgen, key topics of the conference are media themselves and their opportunities, risks, uses, influence on our lives and our influence on them, today and tomorrow. From the beginning, the workshops being organized by the community constitute a major part of the conference. These proceedings cover the contributions of eight workshops and two brief descriptions from Mensch & Computer as well as one workshop from Entertainment Interface track. Begreifbare Interaktion in gemischten Wirklichkeiten Interaktive Displays in der Kooperation – Herausforderung an Gestaltung und Praxis Motivation und kulturelle Barrieren bei der Wissensteilung im Enterprise 2.0 (MKBE 2011) Mousetracking – Analyse und Interpretation von Interaktionsdaten Menschen, Medien, Auto-Mobilität mi.begreifbar – Medieninformatik begreifbar machen Partizipative Modelle des mediengestützten Lernens – Erfahrungen und Visionen Innovative Computerbasierte Musikinterfaces (ICMI) Senioren. Medien. Übermorgen. Designdenken in Deutschland Game Development in der Hochschulinformatik

Les émotions et leurs expressions par des agents virtuels sont deux enjeux importants pour les interfaces homme-machine affectives à venir. En effet, les évolutions récentes des travaux en psychologie des émotions, ainsi que la progression des techniques de l’informatique graphique, permettent aujourd’hui d’animer des personnages virtuels réalistes et capables d’exprimer leurs émotions via de nombreuses modalités. Si plusieurs systèmes d’agents virtuels existent, ils restent encore limités par la diversité des modèles d’émotions utilisés, par leur niveau de réalisme, et par leurs capacités d’interaction temps réel. Dans nos recherches, nous nous intéressons aux agents virtuels capables d’exprimer des émotions via leurs expressions faciales en situation d’interaction avec l’utilisateur. Nos travaux posent de nombreuses questions scientifiques et ouvrent sur les problématiques suivantes : Comment modéliser les émotions en informatique en se basant sur les différentes approches des émotions en psychologie ? Quel niveau de réalisme visuel de l’agent est nécessaire pour permettre une bonne expressivité émotionnelle ? Comment permettre l’interaction temps réel avec un agent virtuel ? Comment évaluer l’impact des émotions exprimées par l’agent virtuel sur l’utilisateur ? A partir de ces problématiques, nous avons axé nos travaux sur la modélisation informatique des émotions et sur leurs expressions faciales par un personnage virtuel réaliste. En effet, les expressions faciales sont une modalité privilégiée de la communication émotionnelle. Notre objectif principal est de contribuer l’amélioration de l’interaction entre l’utilisateur et un agent virtuel expressif. Nos études ont donc pour objectif de mettre en lumière les avantages et les inconvénients des différentes approches des émotions ainsi que des méthodes graphiques étudiées. Nous avons travaillé selon deux axes de recherches complémentaires. D’une part, nous avons exploré différentes approches des émotions (catégorielle, dimensionnelle, cognitive, et sociale). Pour chacune de ces approches, nous proposons un modèle informatique et une méthode d’animation faciale temps réel associée. Notre second axe de recherche porte sur l’apport du réalisme visuel et du niveau de détail graphique à l’expressivité de l’agent. Cet axe est complémentaire au premier, car un plus grand niveau de détail visuel pourrait permettre de mieux refléter la complexité du modèle émotionnel informatique utilisé. Les travaux que nous avons effectués selon ces deux axes ont été évalués par des études perceptives menées sur des utilisateurs.La combinaison de ces deux axes de recherche est rare dans les systèmes d’agents virtuels expressifs existants. Ainsi, nos travaux ouvrent des perspectives pour l’amélioration de la conception d’agents virtuels expressifs et de la qualité de l’interaction homme machine basée sur les agents virtuels expressifs interactifs. L’ensemble des logiciels que nous avons conçus forme notre plateforme d’agents virtuels MARC (Multimodal Affective and Reactive Characters). MARC a été utilisée dans des applications de natures diverses : jeu, intelligence ambiante, réalité virtuelle, applications thérapeutiques, performances artistiques, etc
Emotions and their expressions by virtual characters are two important issues for future affective human-machine interfaces. Recent advances in psychology of emotions as well as recent progress in computer graphics allow us to animate virtual characters that are capable of expressing emotions in a realistic way through various modalities. Existing virtual agent systems are often limited in terms of underlying emotional models, visual realism, and real-time interaction capabilities. In our research, we focus on virtual agents capable of expressing emotions through facial expressions while interacting with the user. Our work raises several issues: How can we design computational models of emotions inspired by the different approaches to emotion in Psychology? What is the level of visual realism required for the agent to express emotions? How can we enable real-time interaction with a virtual agent? How can we evaluate the impact on the user of the emotions expressed by the virtual agent? Our work focuses on computational modeling of emotions inspired by psychological theories of emotion and emotional facial expressions by a realistic virtual character. Facial expressions are known to be a privileged emotional communication modality. Our main goal is to contribute to the improvement of the interaction between a user and an expressive virtual agent. For this purpose, our research highlights the pros and cons of different approaches to emotions and different computer graphics techniques. We worked in two complementary directions. First, we explored different approaches to emotions (categorical, dimensional, cognitive, and social). For each of these approaches, a computational model has been designed together with a method for real-time facial animation. Our second line of research focuses on the contribution of visual realism and the level of graphic detail of the expressiveness of the agent. This axis is complementary to the first one, because a greater level of visual detail could contribute to a better expression of the complexity of the underlying computational model of emotion. Our work along these two lines was evaluated by several user-based perceptual studies. The combination of these two lines of research is seldom in existing expressive virtual agents systems. Our work opens future directions for improving human-computer interaction based on expressive and interactive virtual agents. The software modules that we have designed are integrated into our platform MARC (Multimodal Affective and Reactive Characters). MARC has been used in various kinds of applications: games, ubiquitous intelligence, virtual reality, therapeutic applications, performance art, etc

This thesis is concerned with creating and evaluating interactive art systems that facilitate emergent participant experiences. For the purposes of this research, interactive art is the computer based arts involving physical participation from the audience, while emergence is when a new form or concept appears that was not directly implied by the context from which it arose. This emergent ‘whole’ is more than a simple sum of its parts. The research aims to develop understanding of the nature of emergent experiences that might arise during participant interaction with interactive art systems. It also aims to understand the design issues surrounding the creation of these systems. The approach used is Practice-based, integrating practice, evaluation and theoretical research. Practice used methods from Reflection-in-action and Iterative design to create two interactive art systems: Glass Pond and +-now. Creation of +-now resulted in a novel method for instantiating emergent shapes. Both art works were also evaluated in exploratory studies. In addition, a main study with 30 participants was conducted on participant interaction with +-now. These sessions were video recorded and participants were interviewed about their experience. Recordings were transcribed and analysed using Grounded theory methods. Emergent participant experiences were identified and classified using a taxonomy of emergence in interactive art. This taxonomy draws on theoretical research. The outcomes of this Practice-based research are summarised as follows. Two interactive art systems, where the second work clearly facilitates emergent interaction, were created. Their creation involved the development of a novel method for instantiating emergent shapes and it informed aesthetic and design issues surrounding interactive art systems for emergence. A taxonomy of emergence in interactive art was also created. Other outcomes are the evaluation findings about participant experiences, including different types of emergence experienced and the coding schemes produced during data analysis.

External representations (ERs) used in science education are multimodal ensembles consisting of design elements to convey educational meanings to the audience. As an example of a dynamic ER, an animation presenting its content features (i.e., scientific concepts) via varying the feature’s depiction over time. A production team invited the dissertation author to inspect their creation of a biochemistry animation about the role of the actin cytoskeleton in cell motility and the animation’s implication on learning. To address this, the author developed a four-step methodology entitled the Multimodal Variation Analysis of Dynamic External Representations (MVADER) that deconstructs the animation’s content and design to inspect how each content feature is conveyed via the animation’s design elements.

This dissertation research investigated the actin animation’s educational value and the MVADER’s utility in animation evaluation. The research design was guided by descriptive case study methodology and an integrated framework consisting of the variation theory, multimodal analysis, and visual analytics. As stated above, the animation was analyzed using MVADER. The development of the actin animation and the content features the production team members intended to convey via the animation were studied by analyzing the communication records between the members, observing the team meetings, and interviewing the members individually. Furthermore, students’ learning experiences from watching the animation were examined via semi-structured interviews coupled with post- storyboarding. Moreover, the instructions of MVADER and its applications in studying the actin animation were reviewed to determine the MVADER’s usefulness as an animation evaluation tool.

Findings of this research indicate that the three educators in the production team intended the actin animation to convey forty-three content features to the undergraduate biology students. At least 50% of the student who participated in this thesis learned thirty-five of these forty-three (> 80%) features. Evidence suggests that the animation’s effectiveness to convey its features was associated with the features’ depiction time, the number of identified design elements applied to depict the features, and the features’ variation of depiction over time.

Additionally, one-third of the student participants made similar mistakes regarding two content features after watching the actin animation: the F-actin elongation and the F-actin crosslink structure in lamellipodia. The analysis reveals the animation’s potential design flaws that might have contributed to these common misconceptions. Furthermore, two disruptors to the creation process and the educational value of the actin animation were identified: the vagueness of the learning goals and the designer’s placement of the animation’s beauty over its reach to the learning goals. The vagueness of the learning goals hampered the narration scripting process. On the other hand, the designer’s prioritization of the animation’s aesthetic led to the inclusion of a “beauty shot” in the animation that caused students’ confusion.

MVADER was used to examine the content, design, and their relationships in the actin animation at multiple aspects and granularities. The result of MVADER was compared with the students’ learning outcomes from watching the animation to identify the characteristics of content’s depiction that were constructive and disruptive to learning. These findings led to several practical recommendations to teach using the actin animation and create educational ERs.

To conclude, this dissertation discloses the connections between the creation process, the content and design, and the educational implication of a biochemistry animation. It also introduces MVADER as a novel ER analysis tool to the education research and visualization communities. MVADER can be applied in various formats of static and dynamic ERs and beyond the disciplines of biology and chemistry.

Previous research has shown that student-teacher interaction is very important in motivating students to learn a second language. However, it is unclear whether facial expression, which is one of the most important portions of interaction, affects in-game language learning motivation or not. The purpose of this study is to find out the evidence demonstrating the facial expressions of the other party, in this case, virtual characters in game, will or will not influence the learning motivation of Japanese L2 students. The researchers of this study developed four versions of a 3D animated Japanese role-playing game. Each version of the game represents one facial expression that is neutral, happy, sad or angry. The entire research consists of two experiments: a validation study and a motivation study. After validating all the facial expressions of five main characters in the game, eighty-four college students from 200/300 level Japanese courses joined in the motivation study voluntarily. They played a version of the game assigned randomly to them and then did a post-questionnaire. Conclusions were drawn based on the survey results. The findings of this research suggested that virtual characters’ facial expressions in game had no significant effect on participants’ learning motivation. However, significance was found in years of learning Japanese and gender. Meanwhile, it was found facial expression and years of learning Japanese had an interactive effect on the variable immersion into game.

碩士
國立臺灣藝術大學
多媒體動畫藝術研究所
93
Although computer animation becomes a newly rising visual transmit media of digital art just in past few years, this technology has ubiquitous and prominent influence in many application areas. In the beginning of this new century, many motion pictures have been made completely by using computer 3D animation, including special effects in movies, TV advertisements, computer games, TV sitcoms, even the movie “ Toy Story.” Due to these successful applications, computer animation technology has not only established new milestone in animation art but has also shown great potential for a number of extensive applications in the future. As a new visual transmit media of digital art, computer animation technology keeps evolving constantly. Among components of animation, light always has been playing an important role. In animation world, a story can be told by changing lights only. For both simple and complicated scenarios, the emotion of audience can be manipulated effectively by appropriate control of lights. The audience will accept the plots easily in this way. In natural world, lights keep changing and have countless variations. How to use the easily controllable property of lights provided by most animation software in order to create natural lights which are different from real lights yet meet aesthetic standards accepted by most people is the major theme of this research. This research focuses mainly on the studies of lights in animation. A short film entitled “ The Knife” has been produced as a case study. During the making process of this film, this research concludes the usages of lighting and analyses subtle difference of effects generated by various kinds of light sources to verify the relevant theory. Several suggestions then have been proposed to show that by precise control of lighting in an environment of computer animation, personal style can be demonstrated impressively even by telling an ordinary story.

With the interactivity and immersion of players into video games, rising development costs, and heightened expectations from AAA developers video games need to make sure they hit their target market more than ever. This is something that is less extreme in the educational game development space; but ultimately true with limited grant funding, limited development time within a student developer’s schedule, and how rapidly a recently leased student content creator will need to learn the space and needs of the client. When a student is brought on late into a development cycle, it can become troublesome when they are required to meet new developing features on a changing project. This paper looks over how one team approached this issue, with a focus on meeting the needs of a group of American high school teachers. Within this paper, the focus is how they tackled the issue, and how the teachers reacted to the end prototype, with some insight into the older prototypes of the project. Throughout it they had reinforced the ideas that communication, data validity, and set contract goals are important identifiers for project success. Teachers looking at video games care more about the data being valid and clearly communicated more than if a game is fun or laden with features and mini-games.

Achieving a state of balance is essential when developing a video game (Schell, 2019, “Game Mechanics Must Be in Balance,” para. 1). Despite this, game balancing is frequently overlooked in game development curricula (Schreiber, 2016, 00:30). This research describes the development and pilot study of a framework that junior game designers can utilize to gain valuable skills in the area of game balance. The framework produced by this research provides users with the ability to tune weapon parameters and see the effects these changes have on a first-person shooter deathmatch game in real time. Participants in the study utilized the framework to achieve three pacing and balance goals. Data regarding the weapon parameters selected by participants and information about the participants’ usage of the framework is described in detail. This study serves as the groundwork for future research focused on finding a method for teaching junior game designers about game balance.

Terrain generation is a convoluted and a popular topic in the VFX industry. Whether you are part of the film/TV or gaming industry, a terrain, is a highly nuanced feature that is usually present. Regardless of walking on a desert like terrain in the film, Blade Runner 2049 or fighting on different planets like in Avatar, 3D terrains is a major part of any digital media. The purpose of this thesis is about developing a workflow for large-scale terrains using complex data sets and utilizing this workflow to maintain a balance between the procedural content and the artistic input made especially for smaller companies which cannot afford an enhanced pipeline to deal with major technical complications. The workflow consists of two major elements, development of the tool used to optimize the workflow and the recording and maintaining of the efficiency in comparison to the older workflow.

My research findings indicate that despite the increase in overall computational abilities, one of the many issues that are still present is generating a highly advanced terrain with the added benefits of the artists and users’ creative variations. Reducing the overall time to simulate and compute a highly realistic and detailed terrain is the main goal, thus this thesis will present a method to overcome the speed deficiency while keeping the details of the terrain present.

碩士
國立臺南藝術大學
音像動畫研究所
96
This research tries to find a solution to produce high quality computer animation at personal computer. Computer technology improved so fast these y e a r s , p e r s o n a l c o m p u t e r s c a t c h u p t h e i n d u s t r i a o n e s i n j u s t f e w y e a r s . However, there is always a gap between the personal and industrial computers. F o r a u d i e n c e w h o i s u s e d t o s e e t h e s e m o v i e s w o u l d t e n d t o a s k f o r b e t t e r quality. This research tries to use proxy files to reduce the computer load, to simulate global illumination, and to refine the picture in compositing software, finally achieve the balance between speed and quality.

Die seit 2001 stattfindende Konferenz Mensch & Computer geht in diesem Jahr in ihre elfte Runde. Thema ist: überMEDIEN|ÜBERmorgen. Die Mensch & Computer lebt von den vielfältigen und spannenden Beiträgen, welche während der Veranstaltung präsentiert und diskutiert werden. Seit Beginn machen die durch die Community organisierten Workshops einen wesentlichen Teil der Konferenz aus. Dieser Workshopband enthält die Beiträge zu acht Workshops der Mensch & Computer sowie zu einem Workshop des Thementracks Entertainment Interfaces sowie Kurzbeschreibungen zweier weiterer Workshops der Mensch & Computer. Begreifbare Interaktion in gemischten Wirklichkeiten Interaktive Displays in der Kooperation – Herausforderung an Gestaltung und Praxis Motivation und kulturelle Barrieren bei der Wissensteilung im Enterprise 2.0 (MKBE 2011) Mousetracking – Analyse und Interpretation von Interaktionsdaten Menschen, Medien, Auto-Mobilität mi.begreifbar – Medieninformatik begreifbar machen Partizipative Modelle des mediengestützten Lernens – Erfahrungen und Visionen Innovative Computerbasierte Musikinterfaces (ICMI) Senioren. Medien. Übermorgen. Designdenken in Deutschland Game Development in der Hochschulinformatik
First initiated in 2001, the conference series Mensch & Comuter has evolved as the leading event in the area of human-computer interaction in German speaking countrires hosting extremely vivid and exciting contributions with an audience that is keen to debate. Taking place the 11th time under the topical theme überMEDIEN|ÜBERmorgen, key topics of the conference are media themselves and their opportunities, risks, uses, influence on our lives and our influence on them, today and tomorrow. From the beginning, the workshops being organized by the community constitute a major part of the conference. These proceedings cover the contributions of eight workshops and two brief descriptions from Mensch & Computer as well as one workshop from Entertainment Interface track. Begreifbare Interaktion in gemischten Wirklichkeiten Interaktive Displays in der Kooperation – Herausforderung an Gestaltung und Praxis Motivation und kulturelle Barrieren bei der Wissensteilung im Enterprise 2.0 (MKBE 2011) Mousetracking – Analyse und Interpretation von Interaktionsdaten Menschen, Medien, Auto-Mobilität mi.begreifbar – Medieninformatik begreifbar machen Partizipative Modelle des mediengestützten Lernens – Erfahrungen und Visionen Innovative Computerbasierte Musikinterfaces (ICMI) Senioren. Medien. Übermorgen. Designdenken in Deutschland Game Development in der Hochschulinformatik

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of using animated computer 3-D figures illustration (ACTDFI) in the learning of polyhedron in geometry. By random sampling, intact group of four grade 9 classes in four different schools from a cluster of four educational district schools of Limpopo province in South Africa were selected. The study involved quasi-experimental and inquiry research approaches, the quasi-experimental approach involved pre and posttest design while the inquiry research approach involve classroom observation. There were three experimental groups and a control group with a total of 174 study participants. ACTDFI was used as an intervention for two weeks in the three experimental groups while in the control group, chalk-talk traditional teaching approach was used. Pre-test and post-test was used to collect quantitative data while classroom observation was used to collect qualitative data. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of using animated computer 3-D figures illustration (ACTDFI) in the learning of polyhedron in geometry. By random sampling, intact group of four grade 9 classes in four different schools from a cluster of four educational district schools of Limpopo province in South Africa were selected. The study involved quasi-experimental and inquiry research approaches, the quasi-experimental approach involved pre and posttest design while the inquiry research approach involve classroom observation. There were three experimental groups and a control group with a total of 174 study participants. ACTDFI was used as an intervention for two weeks in the three experimental groups while in the control group, chalk-talk traditional teaching approach was used. Pre-test and post-test was used to collect quantitative data while classroom observation was used to collect qualitative data. The findings from the quantitative Classroom observations were carried out to collect relevant data on how the study participants were taught stationary points in differential calculus, especially with the use of the constructivist pedagogical approach. A suitable observation checklist was developed for this purpose (Appendix 6 refers). Classroom observation checklist is a list of factors to be considered while observing a class. It gives a structure and framework for the observation. suggested that the use of ACTDFI might have improved academic achievement in learning of polyhedron during the intervention, while the qualitative data analysis indicated that the use of ACTDFI in the experimental groups might have facilitated the learning of the concepts of polyhedron. It is therefore recommended that further research is necessary on the application of ACTDFI in the teaching of 3-dimensional shapes at the primary schools
Mathematics Education
M. Sc. (Mathematics Education)