Study on procedural and dynamic meshes for faster game iteration

In the gaming business, procedural generation is a fascinating topic that has many applications. However, because it is not very common in various game genres, this form of generation is not usually employed during game production. We shall learn the reasons why this technology isn't usually employed throughout the research phase. We will also learn about its real applications and how they may be implemented to make it more available to various genres and individual creators. A program will be created with a custom rendering engine using C++ and OpenGL for the prototype phase. It will be used to show a live dynamic model of a bridge and demonstrate how a regeneration method may be used to change the mesh in real-time. There have been efforts made to make this study and software open-source. Anyone who wishes to carry out more studies or utilize the prototype to improve and use the algorithm and mesh can do so for free. The project is composed of three parts, pre-production, production, and post-production. These phases will define the work done in the first one the engine will be created, in the second phase the algorithm and procedural generation research will be completed and in the third phase, the prototype process will be documented and expanded to have some environmental effects. My thesis on procedural generation has proven to be difficult, and the research has given me access to brand-new knowledge. Although there is plenty of space for growth and improvement with more time, the project generally finished on schedule and met all of its original objectives, such as completing and documenting the prototype software and researching different implementations and algorithms

Aeternum: a trading card game with augmented reality

This Bachelor’s Thesis explores the fusion of traditional Trading Card Games with Augmented Reality technology, primarily focusing on the Aeternum TCG. The project’s aim is to improve the learning experience of new players by using a companion AR app. The project draws inspiration from renowned TCGs like Magic: The Gathering, Force of Will or Yu-Gi-Oh! To gain insights into game mechanics, card design and accessibility and design a deck that is simple to use but has depth. The deck and the app that have been developed have been refined in play testing sessions to create a fun and complex game that can be easily understood by all kinds of players. This project is a glimpse into the potential of merging traditional tabletop games with new technologies to improve the experience of the users

Analysing the connection between the strength of emotional reaction invoked within a video game player and the presence of virtual reality technology

This thesis examines the potential connection between emotional responses in video games and the presence of virtual reality technology. This connection could establish whether video games can better affect their players’ emotions via the use of the technology. A short video game prototype was designed and developed to invoke feelings of fear and anxiety in players which could be used both with and without virtual reality technology. A trial was then created to measure participants’ emotional responses as they played both prototypes and the results were then compared and contrasted via one-way ANOVA tests. Alongside this, information about the participants’ experience with video games, virtual reality and horror-based content was recorded to establish any potential connection between this experience and their reaction to virtual reality technology. The results of the trials would suggest that virtual reality can cause greater emotional reactions in video games and that certain groups of players are more susceptible to the technology than others, but these reactions are not always consistent and are not always statistically significant

Visualization and interaction in a simulation system for flood emergencies

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia InformáticaThis thesis presents an interaction and visualization system for a river flood emergency simulation. It will also present a detailed study about forms of visual representation of critical elements in emergencies. All these elements are currently assembled in an application based on geographic information systems and agent simulation. Many of the goals in this thesis are interconnected with project Life-Saver. This project has the goal to develop an emergency response simulator, which needs a visualization and interaction system. The main goals of this thesis are, to create a visualization system for an emergency, to design an intuitive multimedia interface and to implement new forms of human-computer interaction. At the application level there is a representation of the simulation scenario with the multiple agent and their actions. Several studies were made to create an intuitive interface. New forms of multimedia interaction are studied and used such as interactive touch sensible boards and multi-touch panels. It is possible to load and retrieve geographic information on the scenario. The resulting architecture is used to visualize a simulation of an emergency flooding situation in a scenario where the Alqueva dam in Guadiana river fails

Visualization of scientific data in multi-user augmented reality

Humanity has always strived to learn more about the origins of our neighboring celestial bodies. With the help of modern rover systems, unknown areas are explored through scientific measurements. With increasingly better sensors, this data becomes more extensive and complex, creating an evident need for new and improved tools. These tools should support the scientists in the collaborative analysis of the recorded measurements. Scientists from different disciplinary backgrounds work together on this analysis. Exploring the data can be made more efficient with the help of intuitive visualization, interaction, and collaborative tools. At the same time, misunderstandings among the experts can be minimized. This thesis investigates how modern augmented reality approaches can support the process of collaborative rover data analysis. Three main aspects are considered: the threedimensional visualization of high-resolution terrain data, the visualization and interaction with rover data, and the integration of multi-user collaboration tools for the collaborative discussion. A mobile augmented reality device, the Microsft HoloLens 2, is used to input, output, and process the data. In order to evaluate the implemented visualization and interaction concepts, an expert interview and several experiments for a user study are prepared in this work. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, both interview and user study could not be conducted. Based on promising informal preliminary user tests, potential improvements of the presented concepts are discussed

Anonymous Panda: preserving anonymity and expressiveness in online mental health platforms

Digital solutions that allow people to seek treatment, such as online psychological interventions and other technology-mediated therapies, have been developed to assist individuals with mental health disorders. Such approaches may raise privacy concerns about the use of people’s data and the safety of their mental health information. This work uses cutting-edge computer graphics technology to develop a novel system capable of increasing anonymity while maintaining expressiveness in computer-mediated mental health interventions. According to our preliminary findings, we were able to customize a realistic avatar using Live Link, Metahumans, and Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) with the same emotional depth as a real person. Furthermore, these findings showed that the virtual avatars’ inability to express themselves through hand motion gave the impression that they were acting in an unnatural way. By including the hand tracking feature using the Leap Motion Controller, we were able to improve our comprehension of the prospective use of ultra-realistic virtual human avatars in video conferencing therapy, i.e., both studies helped us understand how vital facial and body expressions are and how problematic their absence is in communicating with others.Soluções digitais que permitem às pessoas procurar tratamento, tais como terapias psicológicas online e outras terapias com recurso à tecnologia, foram desenvolvidas para ajudar indivíduos com distúrbios de saúde mental. Tais abordagens podem suscitar preocupações sobre a privacidade na utilização dos dados das pessoas e a segurança da informação sobre a sua saúde mental. Este trabalho utiliza tecnologia de ponta em computação gráfica para desenvolver um sistema inovador capaz de aumentar o anonimato, mantendo simultaneamente a expressividade nas inter venções de saúde mental mediadas por computador. Segundo os nossos resultados preliminares, conseguimos personalizar um avatar realista usando Live Link, Metahumans, e Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) com a mesma profundidade emocional que uma pessoa real. Além disso, os resultados mostraram que a incapacidade dos avatares virtuais de se expressarem através do movimento das mãos deu a impressão de que estavam a agir de uma forma pouco natural. Ao incluir a função de rastreio das mãos utilizando o Leap Motion Controller, conseguimos melhorar a nossa compreensão do uso prospetivo de avatares humanos virtuais e ultrarrealistas na terapia de videoconferência, ou seja, os estudos realizados ajudaram-nos a compreender como as expressões faciais e corporais são vitais e como a sua ausência é problemática na comunicação com os outros

Navigation in VR for visual analytics using the latest consumer-grade hardware

The Virtual Reality (VR) hardware market has been evolving rapidly since 2016. Consumer-level VR headsets or HMDs (head-mounted display), such as HTC Vive, have become more affordable and accessible during the last few years. As the hardware specifications improve, a greater level of immersion will be able to be achieved. This trend is paving the way for exciting new opportunities in the software market for exploiting the new possibilities afforded by these interactive display systems. One new avenue of design research in this space is immersive analytics, which refers to data visualization using immersive technologies. Many design challenges remain in such VR-based platforms such as user navigation and interface design. My research re-examines the validity of existing navigation techniques and VR interface design by building and testing an immersive data visualization environment using the latest VR hardware and software packages

Creating a computer game in Unreal Engine 4

U ovom dijelu se prikazuje rad aplikacije QP_Tabletop, ukratko se opisuje Game Engine korišten za njenu kreaciju, odabran po određenim parametrima, te se postepeno opisuje proces kreiranja društvene igre u njoj. Također se detaljno prikazuju osnovne klase, njihove inicijalizacije te međusobne interakcije između tih klasa. Zatim se prikazuje rad unaprijed kreiranih Blueprint klasa, koje se koriste kao komponente druge klase koja predstavlja pravila željene igre. Tada se dio funkcionalnosti premješta u posebnu klasu, kako bi ju korisnik mogao koristiti u budućim društvenim igrama, neovisno o trenutnoj demo igri.This paper shows how QP_Tabletop application works, shortly describes the Game Engine used in its creation, why it was chosen, and presents a step-by-step process of creating a tabletop game. It also describes all the base classes in detail, their initialization, and interactions with each other. Then the pre-made Blueprint classes are described. These pre-made classes act as components for another class that represents the rules of the game. After that, part of the functionality is moved to another special class, which allows the user to use it again in the future

Re-playing Maimonides’ Codes: Designing Games to Teach Religious Legal Systems

Lost & Found is a game series, created at the Initiative for Religion, Culture, and Policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology MAGIC Center.1 The series teaches medieval religious legal systems. This article uses the first two games of the series as a case study to explore a particular set of processes to conceive, design, and develop games for learning. It includes the background leading to the author\u27s work in games and teaching religion, and the specific context for the Lost & Found series. It discusses the rationale behind working to teach religious legal systems more broadly, then discuss the hermeneutics influencing the approach to understanding the legal systems being modeled, and closes with a discussion of the kind of teaching and learning involved in the design of the games and early stage data on the public play of the games