Immersive Education at Boston College

These are my assignments from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College. The course is called Video Games and Virtual Reality. To learn more visit the Immersive Education BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc

I worked on a number of these assignments with my fellow classmates. This semester I took this course with:

AJ Prince - http://ajprince15.blogspot.com
Amanda Yerke - http://virtual35801.blogspot.com
Andrew Langone - http://langonemt35801.blogspot.com

Diana Cheung - http://dcmt358.blogspot.com/
Gregory Dunn -  http://virtualgregd.blogspot.com
Michael Rodriguez - http://michaellrodriguez.blogspot.com
Noah Benjamin-Pollak - http://anonymousinsider.blogspot.com
Ryan O'Hara - http://chroniclero.blogspot.com
Sam Bellar - http://617music.blogspot.com
Suzanne Veiga - http://svmt35801.blogspot.com

Class 14 - WoW Machinima

Class 14 - Immersive Library Machinima

Class 14 - Machinima

    
Machinima History


     Machinima is a type of filmmaking using video games and virtual reality technology. the name Machinima is derived from the words machine and cinema, and even though it is technically misspelled the name stuck. This type of filmmaker is called a machinimists or machinimators. This art really started in the early 90's when gamers used video games to create these original films and has expanded with the enhancements of modern day technology. More specifically, these movies were developed from a sub-genre called "Quake movies" which included in-game "speedruns" and "frag movies." 
     In 2000 Hugh Hancock launched the website machinima.com. The creation of the website shocked the community, because the name seemed misspelled. However, the name stuck because it also references anime. The first film was then make using Quake 3 arena which was a huge file size which also shocked the machinima community who were used to smaller file types. After the creation of the website, machinima gained more mainstream success with and even Steven Spielberg used Unreal Tournament while filming his 2001 movie Artificial Intelligence: AI.

What is it used for?

     The idea of Machinima is to utilize the power of video games and technology to tell a story. The benefit of Machinima is that it is an excellent way of filmmaking that costs significantly less to make than the standard computer generated film. There are no physics and movements to create, and no actors to pay. The video game serves as the medium to which a user can manipulate to create these short films. 
     The video game usually serves as the backdrop for this type of filmmaking and the complexity of such films range from in-game shots of someone racing through a level to full fledged feature films with plot twists. When you first take a look at Machinima, they seem like regular computer generated movies. In computer generated films a user must physically create these objects and make them move to suit the film. In Machinima, the video game programmers have done the work for you, all the user has to do is utilize the technology to create a worthwhile film.

References: http://www.howstuffworks.com/machinima.htm
                       http://www.zeitbrand.de/machiniBlog/WhatIsMachinima.html

My favorite Machinima examples:

Class 14 - test video

Here's my test video!

Class 14 - IMMERSIVE EDUCATION: THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP

A summary of  the IBM Report: Leadership in a distributed world - Lessons from

online gaming and IBM Gaming Report: Virtual Worlds, Real Leaders.


     In our course we did not play video games in vain because there are definitely parallels between online game playing and the business world in which the two IBM reports indicate. These reports were both interesting and eye opening especially when discussing the facts and the research that is being conducted to prove this. Both business and online gaming share the fact that people gather people from all walks of life in complex environments, and both require an advanced level of collaboration in order to become successful. 
     Business is becoming more and more of a global community and the world of online gaming, specifically MMORPG, mimics this and also enhances a leaders ability in handling real world challenges. Personally, before taking this course and reading these reports I felt that a discussion utilizing video games in the workplace was laughable. Not only do the reports dive into the strategies of emerging new leaders, it perhaps more importantly provides a unique look into how companies could be learning from this type of environment. The reports provided information companies could use to improve efficiency and being comfortable in taking risks, coming to terms that it is an important factor in business.
     The two IBM reports provided a interesting perspective on how the likes of video games can improve ones ability in leading. Many people believe that leaders are born and not made, however, the reports show that this may not be the case. Leadership can be a product of the environment and it could happen quickly and suddenly, often from individuals who considers themselves to be reserved. Leadership roles in video games are often shared between members, paying close attention to a members skills and attributes to accomplish specific project oriented tasks. Companies should be paying closer attention to this. 
     Just as with emerging business tools that can help people become better leaders such as business intelligence software and communication tools, MMORPG's utilize this and can help users feel more comfortable about taking leadership roles. This tools range from online forums, voice-chat capabilities, Skype, and more. This makes delegation and mediation an easier task, and also aids in completing various tasks. It also puts the leader in a position where he has to decide which tool is best for a given situation which breeds confidence not only for the leader but for the people around him/her that the job can be done.
     Companies could use these reports as a way to improve business and the way business gets done. For example, an important piece that I took from these reports was that leadership can be something that is assumed for a specific task and not a permanent identity that sticks with someone. It should not be assumed that a leader is qualified to tackle every task, so a rotating leadership policy could prove effective. The reports also mention that it is not to say that permanent leaders should not emerge from this environment. Through a rotation, long term leaders can emerge with clear visions and goals for the company.
     A crucial aspect of online gaming worlds is the fact that risk taking is necessary for big rewards. This is one area where many times companies are scared to take chances because of the fear associated with it. There are often times where the modern leader is faced with a situation where a company could lose millions of dollars. It is easy to say especially when the world of online games do not involve multi million dollars and lives at risk. However, with that being said, risk is a crucial element and often encouraged in video games. This could help companies in becoming less stagnant and could ultimately make them more successful. 

References: IBM Report: Leadership in a distributed world - Lessons from online gaming
                      IBM Gaming Report: Virtual Worlds, Real Leaders



To learn more about immersive education check out this link - ImmersiveEducation.org

Class 13: World of Warcraft Group Play

I got together with Diana through Skype and we played some World of Warcraft as humans in the alliance using the Garrosh server.

Diana is helping slay some Blackrock Spies

I'm going to cast a spell on this guy

Diana as Irianie and I chatting with Priestess Anetta












Exploring the Forest

Diana is reviving one of our fallen comrades

and he's alive!

we're about to sneak up on these bad guys

reaching level 4!

Cool shot of Diana and I on a bridge heading toward a new land

we're both ready to cast spells in this forsaken land

Diana using the text chat in-game to call it a night!

Class 13: Meshmoon Optimization

Using the Meshmoon profiler I used the FPS tracker to see that I was averaging in the low twenties in FPS. I already had water turned off but after tweeking image sizes and Meshmoon's graphics I managed to average in the 30's and ticked 40 in one spot.



36 fps in a heavy media zone wasn't bad

36 here after tinkering with the images section

turning the rendering to "low"

I noticed that some of my videos were deleted which is frustrating...

graphics settings...

custom....

I actually found that making my images smaller made for a more consistent FPS rate

I hit 40 FPS!