I was asked at the OAPT conference at Western University about working in Algodoo versus Physion and each engine's ability to capture data. Here's what I can tell you... Algodoo: Right click on the object for which you want to gather data. Then select show plot and decide which options you would like to include. Physion: drag and drop the plot icon onto the object for which you want data. It will gather data when you run the constructed simulation. Both gather simulation data as the simulation runs that can be used afterwards. |
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Lots and lots of learning. I think I am finally ready to learn how to use Unity.
Over the last nine months I have taken five courses in the Coursera "Game design and development" specialization, designed by Michigan State University. The specialization covered basics of Unity2D and Unity3D, how to build games, the business flow of making games, documentation associated with game design and development, and a final project. With very old programming skills (I taught Pascal when I first began teaching, and even took a course on Pascal through Waterloo University), when it cam to scripting in C# it was very challenging to keep up. Unity also uses many different Assets, and figuring out how all the scripts communicate with one another is still a steep learning curve. Other learning - and please take this to heart if you are going to go on the same kind of adventure - any technology one is going to use needs to be fully loaded. Winzip, Firefox, Internet connections, broadband speed... don't let these things be obstacles. Also, keep in mind that others will *also* leave projects to the last minute. This may make uploading assignments take extra long (certainly my experience). With all that said, here is the demo of "VIta: Saving Sutom". I ended up posting to gamejolt (memory for upload is 1 GB) rather than the limitations for Kongregate (150 MB). I do hope to get back to the game to work on the bugs - be warned, there are many. I do like the idea and in the fullness of time, I will help Vita move on to save Sutom and all the others. Constructing this game has been challenge after challenge. What conceptually is very simple - like keeping track of objects picked up and later dropped - takes so much longer to execute (if at all) in the program. I've been tinkering with Unity3D since August, and I think I'm finally at a point where I'm ready to begin learning how to use the software. I purchased Gaia and made the above landscape using terrain, changing heights, and placing trees and other details with the various paint brushes. The buildings that come with the Gaia package help give the game a sense of something more. Of course, this doesn't make up for jerky movements, or the seemingly random bugs I keep unearthing through testing. For what ever it's worth, there is a start, middle, and end to the story, and it appears to give the player an opportunity to learn some practical physics along the way. I'm still working on getting player health to coordinate with Guul attacks. Timelines are tight and I need to get this game off the ground, so to speak. Nothing like a deadline to force some forward motion.
I have been working on the Game Design and Development specialization offered by Michigan State University through Coursera since August 2017. To date, I have completed four of five courses, and I am currently working on the fifth and final course, which is a Capstone project.
It's been tough to balance work and home, with my PhD program. The reason I enrolled in the GD course, was not to necessarily introduce more for me to do in my spare time, but that I wanted to make my own game for my participants to use. By taking this specialization, I had hoped I would be both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to keep moving the project forward. To this end, the Capstone course is forcing me to rethink what I want to do with what I am able to do. I've been learning - slowly - Unity. Here is the introductory video I made using Adobe Spark about what I hope the game will do as part of my first assignment for the course. spark.adobe.com/video/P44WCTHORmH95 |
AuthorScience educator/education-researcher| BSc (Biophys), B.Ed., M.A. Physics Ed., PhD| equity, identity, technology, STEM+, gaming, sharks, lifeguarding Archives
May 2019
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