This is a comprehensive course in both the theory and practice of Virtual Environments (VEs). Virtual Environments are simulations that engage the senses of users through real-time 3D graphics, audio and interaction to create an experience of presence within an artificial world. VEs are used in a variety of settings, including training, education, health, online collaboration, scientific visualization and entertainment. Their use is becoming more and more pervasive as hardware gets more capable of simulating reality in real-time (including graphics, physics and intelligent behavior). As part of the theoretical overview, the course will introduce the history of VEs, what kind of problems VEs have proven to be best at addressing, what are their shown limitations, what models of human-computer interaction apply to VEs and how these models are evolving and pushing the state-of-the-art in interactivity. The technical portion of the course will lead students through the construction and population of VEs in a very hands-on manner, covering topics such as world representation, real-time graphics and simulation issues, networked environments, avatars and interactive characters, event scripting and AI control, special real-time visual and aural effects and intuitive user interfaces.
On completion of the course students should:
For many of the theoretical Monday sessions, students need to come particularily well prepared. They will need to study certain materials and be ready to participate in exercises or small group discussions during the class. Student contribution to these classes will count towards the participation grade.
| Material | Description | Be prepared by |
|---|---|---|
| PREP1 | Exploration of several different 3D environments | Mon Jan 20 |
| PREP2 | What is “presence”, where do you experience it? | Mon Jan 27 |
| PREP3 | Characters and archetypes that you know (just in-class) | Mon Feb 10 |
| PREP4 | Being an Avatar Online | Mon Feb 18 |
| PREP5 | Procedural Rhetoric (just in-class) | Mon Feb 24 |
| PREP6 | Interactive Art and Information, beyond reality | Mon Mar 3 |
| PREP7 | The Future | Mon Mar 25 |
During the semester, students should complete two programming assignments and a final programming project. These are all group projects, but M.Sc. level students can at most be in 2 person groups. Students discuss final project ideas with instructor in week 05, present a proposal to the class in week 08, demonstrate the project in week 12 and turn in a report on the project in the last week. Everything that has to be turned in, should arrive no later than at 23:59 on the due date, or else incur 10% penalty for each additional day, including weekends and holidays.
| Assignment | Description | Material | Assigned | Due | Weight | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROG1 | First Programming Assignment | Weeks 1-4 | Tues Jan 22 | Sun Feb 9 | 10% | |
| PROG2 | Second Programming Assignment | Weeks 1-6 | Tues Feb 11 | Sun Mar 9 | 10% | |
| FP-PROP | Presentation of Final Project Proposal | All | - | Tue Mar 11 | 5% | |
| FP | Final Programming Project with Demo | All | - | Tue Apr 1 | 30% | |
| FP-REP | Written Final Project Report | FP | - | Sun Apr 6 | 5% | |
| Total 60% | ||||||
| Week | Prep | MON: Theoretical Topic | TUES: Practical Topic | WED: Lab Work | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 (JAN 13-19) | - Introduction - Illusion of Reality | - Introduction to Unity 3D | - Lab 1 Materials | ||
| 02 (JAN 20-26) | PREP1 | - History of VEs - Current Applications of VEs | - Basic Scene Construction and Lighting | - Lab 2 Materials | |
| 03 (JAN 27-02) | PREP2 | - Presence and Immersion | - Sky and Terrain | - Lab 3 Materials | |
| 04 (FEB 03-09) | - Action - Cinematography | - Unity Scripting in C# - VIEN-ScriptsDemo4.zip | - Lab 4 Materials | PROG1 (10%) | |
| 05 (FEB 10-16) | PREP3 | - Actors and interaction | - Basic Animation and AI | - Lab 5 Materials | |
| 06 (FEB 17-23) | PREP4 | - Avatars and levels of control | - Heads-Up Display, Input/Output Devices | - Lab 6 Materials | FP-IDEA |
| 07 (FEB 24-02) | PREP5 | - Persuasive and Serious Games | - Visual Effects | - Lab 7 Materials | |
| 08 (MAR 03-09) | PREP6 | - Abstract Environments | - PROG1 Review | - Students discuss project ideas | PROG2 (10%) |
| 09 (MAR 10-16) | - Character Animation | - FP-PROP Presentations | FP-PROP Presentations | FP-PROP (5%) | |
| 10 (MAR 17-23) | - Online Virtual Worlds | - PROG2 Review | - Final Project Status - Work on Labs / Final Project - Lab 8 Materials | ||
| 11 (MAR 24-30) | PREP7 | - Input / Output | - Work on Final Project | - Work on Final Project | |
| 12 (MAR 31-06) | - Review for Exam | - Students Present FP | FP(30%) FP-REP(5%) |
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Please note that there is a 70% attendance requirement for the theoretical topic / discussion classes on Mondays. You must pass this attendance limit in order to take the exam. Please inform the instructor if this is hard for you for some reason such as scheduling conflicts or sick leave.
| Part of Course | Total Weight |
|---|---|
| Programming Assignments (x2) | 20% |
| Final Project Proposal | 5% |
| Final Programming Project | 30% |
| Final Project Report | 5% |
| Discussion Prep and Lab Work | 10% |
| Final Written Exam | 30% |
| Total 100% | |
There is no single textbook for the course. Reading and support materials will be handed out in class or posted on MySchool. These will mostly be in the form of research papers, software and online resources. The course is also to some extent inspired by the following books: