Ambient occlusion and shadows for molecular graphics

Computer based visualisations of molecules have been produced as early as the 1950s to aid researchers in their understanding of biomolecular structures. An important consideration for Molecular Graphics software is the ability to visualise the 3D structure of the molecule in a clear manner. Recent advancements in computer graphics have led to improved rendering capabilities of the visualisation tools. The capabilities of current shading languages allow the inclusion of advanced graphic effects such as ambient occlusion and shadows that greatly improve the comprehension of the 3D shapes of the molecules. This thesis focuses on finding improved solutions to the real time rendering of Molecular Graphics on modern day computers. The methods of calculating ambient occlusion and both hard and soft shadows are examined and implemented to give the user a more complete experience when navigating large molecular structures

BlockChain Technology and the Future of Video Games, Is Presence still Relevant?

BlockChain technology has grown exponentially over the last several decades. Early on, cryptocurrency presented a substitute for hard currency as a way to purchase goods and services. Recently, cryptocurrency has entered the video game world. How cryptocurrency, which has value outside of a video game, may impact the virtual reality world, is an open question. Presence, or the state of being in an environment, will be affected by the ability to escape within video games as cryptocurrencies are used. As video games often provide a place to escape the real world, bringing the real world into the game may have negative impacts. On the other hand, cryptocurrency brings with it another dimension. Video games are more and more realistic and including currency that has value in and outside of the game increases the realistic nature of the game. The way in which the inclusion of cryptocurrencies is marketed will have an important effect on the trajectory it takes. The blurred lines between reality and virtual will only continue to grow, and the effect on video games remain unclear

Enhancing Perception of Complex Sculptural Forms using Interactive Real-time Ray tracing

This paper looks at experiments into using real-time ray tracing to significantly enhance shape perception of complex three-dimensional digitally created structures. The author is a computational artist whose artistic practice explores the creation of intricate organic three-dimensional forms using simulation of morphogenesis. The generated forms are often extremely detailed, comprising tens of millions of cellular primitives. This often makes depth perception of the resulting structures difficult. His practice has explored various techniques to create presentable artefacts from the data, including high resolution prints, animated videos, stereoscopic installations, 3D printing and virtual reality. The author uses ray tracing techniques to turn the 3D data created from his morphogenetic simulations into visible artefacts. This is typically a time-consuming process, taking from seconds to minutes to create a single frame. The latest generation of graphics processing units offer dedicated hardware to accelerate ray tracing calculations. This potentially allows the generation of ray traced images, including self-shadowed complex structures and multiple levels of transparency, from new viewpoints at frame rates capable of real-time interaction. The author presents the results of his experiments using this technology with the aim of providing significantly enhanced perception of his generated three-dimensional structures by allowing user-initiated interaction to generate novel views, and utilizing depth cues such as stereopsis, depth from motion and defocus blurring. The intention is for these techniques to be usable to present new exhibitable works in a gallery context