3D Character Modeling in Virtual Reality

The paper presents a virtual reality modeling system based on interactive web technologies. The system's goal is to provide a user-friendly virtual environment for the development of 3D characters with an articulated structure. The interface allows the modeling of both the character's joint structure (the hierarchy) and its segment geometry (the skin). The novelty of the system consists of (1) the combination of web technologies used (VRML, Java and EAI) which provides the possibility of online modeling, (2) rules and constraints based operations and thus interface elements, (3) vertices and sets of vertices used as graphics primitives and (4) the possibility to handle and extend hierarchies based on the H-anim structure elements

The Algebraic View of Computation

We argue that computation is an abstract algebraic concept, and a computer is a result of a morphism (a structure preserving map) from a finite universal semigroup.Comment: 13 pages, final version will be published elsewher

‘Translating Narrative into Code’ – Thoughts on a Technology-Centric Model of Digital Games as Programmable Media

The current surge of game studies literature demands a scrutinizing look at the solidifying positions within the German and international discourse and the opportunities of finding a common vocabulary and adequate set of analytical tools. In order to arrive at an integrative model of analysis, the intricate interplay of narrative and game mechanics (narratology vs. ludology) is considered from a comparative perspective and thus demystified. Consequently, a new model based on programming theory (object-oriented narrative) is proposed which takes into account elements of psychology, narratological concepts derived from film- and literature studies and cultural studies approaches leading to a ‘close reading’ of games. The article is based on the assumption that computer- and videogames recode the act of ‘reading’ games as texts into a mode of ‘text-processing’ and thereby fundamentally modify the parameters of our cultural appropriation and media literacy. The model proposed herein shall then be tentatively applied to the complex re-staging and re-examination of ‘the real’ in a wide range games from Wonderland to Enter the Matrix

Hypermedia = hypercommunication

New hardware and software technology gave application designers the freedom to use new realism in human computer interaction. High-quality images, motion video, stereo sound and music, speech, touch, gesture provide richer data channels between the person and the machine. Ultimately, this will lead to richer communication between people with the computer as an intermediary. The whole point of hyper-books, hyper-newspapers, virtual worlds, is to transfer the concept and relationships, the 'data structure', from the mind of creator to that of user. Some of the characteristics of this rich information channel are discussed, and some examples are presented

Mathematical interactive content: what, why and how

The real challenge of e-Learning is to produce content that brings a general improvement in the way students learn and teachers teach. For that, “intelligent” interactivity is the single most important feature that such content should have. But the design and production of content with this kind of interactivity has turned out to be harder than expected, the main reason being that it requires the convergence of many kinds of experts in parallel to the convergence of the several technologies involved. In the case of mathematics, the least amount of expertise asks for the presence of professional mathematicians, software engineers, publishers, and perhaps learning theorists, that can productively talk to each other. In this paper we want to examine afresh, with a view to the future, what is (or can be) meant by interactivity; the reasons why interactivity should play a role in optimizing general mathematical learning and in making possible, and viable, that mathematics teachers at large embrace a role that is congruent with their present day mission. Finally we propose a check list for desirable features that advanced mathematical learning systems should have, state some guiding principles for their design, and describe what is involved in their production

USDLA: An Instructional Media Selection Guide For Distance Learning

Purpose and Use of the Media Selection Guide Increasingly, educators and trainers are challenged within their respective organizations to provide for the efficient distribution of instructional con-tent using instructional media. The appropriate selection of instructional media to support distance learning is not intuitive and does not occur as a matter of personal preference. On the contrary, instructional media selec-tion is a systematic sequence of qualitative processes based on sound in-structional design principles. Although media selection is often mentioned when studying the discipline of instructional technology or Instructional Systems Design (ISD), it is sometimes overlooked when applying the se-lection process in a distance-learning environment. It is our intent, there-fore, for this guide to highlight the essentials of good media selection. We hope to present an instructionally sound and systematic approach to se-lecting the most appropriate media for the delivery of content at a dis-tance

Digital Radio Strategies in the United States: A Tale of Two Systems

This essay analyzes how, despite early interest in the Digital Audio Broadcasting standard (DAB) in the United States, an alternative in-band system (HD Radio) was developed as the approved digital radio standard