Moving our Camera: 
We are now ready to move our camera through the 3D space (our room).
The most important thing to do, is to make sure you have your camera pass over all the other animations going on around your room.  First thing you should do, is write down where all your individual animations start. Secondly, when moving your camera through your room, mark down key frames in a limited manner;
let Cinema 4D fill in the gaps, as this allows for smoother camera movement; the more key frames you have the faster and jerkier your camera movements will be.  Third, focus on telling a story with the camera; fly around the room and spend time looking at every object with the camera.

Call me over when your done and we will render your movie out.

Game Of The Day:
http://www.vivalagames.com/play/idiottest/


Questions:
- Describe your experience playing the game. Was it challenging?
- What were some of the things this game was designed to test?
- Describe some of the ways the game tries to 'trick' you.


Today we will take a break from our rooms and focus on special effects. I gave you a bit of a lecture on "PARTICLE EFFECTS" and their purpose in 3D cinema. Cinema 4d offers us the power of using "Particle Effects" without having to go to another application like After Effects. The first things we need are "Emitters", these can be reduced in size and made to flow at any angle. Emitters are essentially ready to go, but first you need to parent an object to them before you can actually see the emitters working. You can even parent lights to these emitters for explosion or fairy dust type effects, just don't forget to add a lens to the light by looking in its lighting attributes. Effecters are contained in the same menu as the emitters, and they help direct emitter particles in specific ways.

Last thing we did today was create text by going to the spline menu and grabbing the text tool. Everything for the text can be controlled from the attributes menu (font change, size etc). Just make sure you parent the text to an extrude nurb after that, to give it 3D depth.

Game of the Day: 

http://www.2flashgames.com/fullscreen.php?id=2290

Questions:

- Describe your experience playing the game. Did you find it difficult to figure out what to do?

- What were the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the game?

- What type of game would you classify this as (what genre[s]), and Why?

All the rooms are looking good and we can finally start animating the objects in our room. We need to make sure we give ourselves room at the beginning of the time line so we can have enough time to run the camera up to all of the objects. Most of you will have about 300 frames of animation; please make sure you have enough space in your time line for all your frames. If you need to add frames,

type the number you desire in the bottom-left hand corner of the time line.  Also, make sure you only animate one object at a time; if you have multiple animations going off at one time, the camera will not be able to pick up all of the moving objects.

Game Of The Day:
http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/kerixep

Questions: 
- Describe your expirience playing the game. Was it challenging?
- Did you use a certain strategy to pass the harder levels? If so, please describe it.
- What other puzzle games may this game have been inspired by? Please elaborate.

No Game For Today.

I'm seeing great things from all of you; I'm excited about how these rooms are coming together.There is one last Nurb that I want to teach you that might help with some of the assets in your room. I'm seeing a lot of you add curtains and various other fabrics to your space; using Bezier Nurbs will help you really create geometry that will look and act like cloth. First, we must put down a bezier nurb; unlike all the other Nurbs, Bezier Nurbs doesn't require us to parent them to anything, all we do is drop down the bezier nurb and get to work. First you want to make the Bezir contain enough segments appropriate for your specific needs. Then you need to select rows/columns of points to simulate wrinkles in your fabric. After that, all you need to do is pull the points on their axis and you will see the wrinkles form before you. Right click and get the brush tool for fine-tuning a more realistic, controlled look.

Game of the Day:
http://www.nekogames.jp/mt/2008/01/cursor10.html


Questions:
- Describe your experience playing the game. Was it difficult to figure out?
- Have you played any other games similar to this one before? If so, describe them.
- If you could, how would you improve this game?


Our rooms are looking good. Some of them are starting to really come together and it shows how much you all have learned about 3D; and soon, we will be on our way to implementing this geometry into our games. I want to start out by making sure we use our lights to add dimension and shadows to our scenery. Make sure that when you add light, you turn on "shadows" under the light's attributes in order to create realistic lighting effects. Also, I am seeing a lot of unorganized files; please makes sure you connect all your geometry and label it properly, and keep all items parented to the main object.Lets continue making assets and realize our future in 3D.

Artwork by Rosie Byers, Kristine Nodalo and Anais Garcia:

No Game For Today... We're going straight into asset making.

Last class, we started out by learning a few more ways to build assets in Cinema 4D.

The first thing we learned is Extrude Nurbs; We are all very familiar with the extrude tool by now, but extrude nurbs take it to another level by allowing us to extrude any shape we desire. First we use a spline to create the shape we want to use, but we must also make sure that the shape we create has no open ends. After that, all we need to do is drop the spline on the extrude nurbs and we have our shape as a 3d object. Then, we also learned about:

Grouping objects: We learned a couple different ways to do this based on how your object is set up. If we have a boole, we need to do "current state to object" (under "functions" in the menu ), otherwise, we just select everything and go to "object" in the object menu and select "group object" in general for our 3d models.

Selecting objects: Using the lasso tool allows us to select objects in a specific way; always be aware of the "select visible element only" option under the attributes menu of the lasso. Pay attention as to whether this should be checked or not (depending on what you want to select).

Loft Nurbs: This is the last of the Nurbs; for this one, all we need to do is create some splines and loft nurbs will simply connect them together.

Room Size: Moving forward on our 10 year room project, we need to make a 800x500x800 room and start placing our assets inside it. Make sure that you have a sky, a floor and windows, but remember that we are only ever going to see the inside of the house, so don't focus on the exterior too much.

Games Of The Day:
1) www.playauditorium.com
2) http://www.teagames.com/games/blueprint/play.php

Questions:
-How are the interfaces of these games similar? How are they different?
-What are some social metaphors that could be associated with these games?
-Was there a level on either one of these games where you got completely stuck on? If so, describe the level, and why it was that you were stuck.

There is one thing I need to mention before we move on, and that is "lighting."

Remember: Cinema 4D will offer a basic lighting if you don't add lights, however, if you want to make things more realistic, then you are going to need to add a lot of your own lights to make your scene look how you want. Also, remember that you can always add a "lens" to your lights in order to offer a more realistic look based on your situation.

NEXT: Our first project--"THE TEN YEAR ROOM"

You have all written your statements regarding what you want to be in ten years; I know this wasn't an easy task, but I think it's important to start this dialog in your mind. I have talked to everyone individually and I think everyone has a great career and is ready to move forward on creating assets for their room. I am also extending the project to include other rooms as well. We will continue to learn more Cinema 4D tools while you are creating this first project.

DUE DATE: November 19Th

Game of the Day:

http://www.addictinggames.com/ngame.html

Questions:

- Compare this game to other games of the same genre (platforming; i.e. mario, sonic, etc); in what ways is it similar/different better/worse?

- Do you think games like these work better in 2D, or 3D (a'la Mario Galaxy, Sonic Unleashed, etc), why or why not?

- If you could, how would you improve this game?



Last week we continued elaborating on textures. We are now able to create bump-mapped surfaces and add transparency to our textures by using the attributes in the "attributes menu". 

We also learned how to use Sweep nurbs and Hyper nurbs (remember to change "segments" to get a less round object), and now we just learned Lathe nurbs; this helped us create our lamp and lamp shade. Then we added light to our new lamp; something which we now are able to control more by using it's attributes and adding lenses to create a more realistic effect. 

Last but not least, we learned how to Boole. This helped us create windows in one piece of geometry (remember: Parent the window to Boole then the house to Boole), if you want more Booles, just keep dumping them on your first booled window, and also make sure your window geometry is sticking out on both sides.

Games of the Day:
http://www.gamegum.com/game/663/pong/
http://www.2flashgames.com/f/f-579.htm


Questions:
- Pretend that you have never played a video game before ever in your life; what are your impressions of the first game? Why do you think it became so popular back when it first came out?
-  Compare the first game to the second one, in what ways do you feel the second one improved/worsened the basic concept of the first one? How so?
- Describe how you would make a third iteration of this same basic game; in what ways would it be different/similar to the first two?


Today you're going to start working on your '10-Year Room' project.  Create a new Google Doc and write a detailed paragraph (60 words minimum) describing how you see your life being like in 10 years; what job will you have? where will you be living? will you be living alone, or with someone else?
Next, take that life you saw yourself having in 10 years, and make a list of all the possible (unique) objects you can associate with that life (i.e. a musical instrument if you want to be a musician, a camera if you want to be a filmmaker, etc.).
When you're done, just let me know and then you could start making 3d replicas of those objects you listed (for your room).

Game Of The Day:
http://www.hiddenninjagames.com/flash-arcade-game.php?gameid=250&gamename=Music%20Catch%202


Questions:
- Describe your experience playing the game. Was it boring/addicting/soothing/enjoyable?
- This game is meant to be more of a relaxing experience than a tactical/strategic one. What are some of the traits of the game that make it this way?
- If you could, how would you improve this game?

The first thing we learned last class was how to create more textures by using the "content browser" under "windows" in the top menu. Inside the content browser, we went under "presets" and "cinema4d" to find all our materials. I encourage you to explore and experiment with other things inside the content browser. 

Next, we continued to experiment with multiple animations with textures applied. After that, we leaned how to create a spline with the Bezier and Freehand tools, and add a radius to them (using the Circle or other spline tool) so that we could then use sweep nurbs to convert our splines into 3D objects, such as pipes and any geometry that might need to be long and tube-like. Then, we also experimented with hyper nurbs; we created a simple box, then put it through the process of hyper nurbs to see the difference and how we can create a more complex models by using this option. 

Last but not least, we learned how to cut out geometry using the Knife tool. We must make sure we have our geometry editable and are set to select points, so that when we right click we can knife the object, which offers us the option to add more complexity to a simple piece of geometry.



Definitions:
Sweep Nurbs
Hyper Nurbs
Knife Tool
Spline
Radius 
Bazier 

Game of the Day:

Play both of these:

http://games.sticky.tv/cyrkam_airtos/

http://www.widro.com/throwpaper.html

Questions:

- What do these 2 games have in common (besides the concept), and how do they differ?

- Comment on, and compare the gameplay mechanics of both games.

- Which one did you think was better? Why?

Link for todays class!

cgtextures.com

Last class we learned a little about Cinema 4D's interface and how to create primitives. Once we knew how to create a primitive, we then learned how to Extrude and Inner Extrude our primitives. We also learned how to manipulate primitives via their Faces, Points and Lines.

First assignment: Our objective was to learn how to animate objects using other work views and parenting. We created a rectangular cube primitive, then created four spheres (by copying and pasting from 1 original sphere). Next, we parented those spheres to the rectangle, and using alternative views, we were able to move the spheres under the rectangle to simulate a car. Once we finished modeling our car, we learned about animation and framing, by moving the car around within 90 frames of animations using key frames.

Game of the Day:
http://www.vectorpark.com/levers/


Questions:
- What do you think is unique about this game? What kind of game would you classify it as?
- Describe in your own words, what the goal of the game is. What is it trying to get you to do?
- If you could, how would you improve/change this game?




Definitions:
key frame - an instance of time in an anmiation.
extrude - to press or push out.
texture - a graphic placed on the surface of a 3D model
radius - half the diameter (total width) of a circle

Day 2 - 3D Basics

GAME OF THE DAY:

http://www.eyezmaze.com/grow/cube/

QUESTIONS:

- What is the Social Metaphor of the game?

- Describe your experience playing the game.

- If you could, what would you change or add to this game?

For Today:

First off, lets recognize the basics of 3D:

The X-Y-Z coordinate plane:

X - is always on a horizontal plane

Y - is always on a vertical plane

Z - always represents depth (space)

Cinema 4D interface:

Primitives: 

Basic Geometric figures to get you started in building assets (Located in the "command palette")

Basic modeling tools:

Vertices/Points: where two points meet at an angle or a corner of a polygon. In Cinema 4D, you can push and pull these to manipulate your primitives.

Edges/lines: the line between two vertices

Faces/Polygons: What is created when you connect lines/edges and vertices.

Basic Movement tools:

Move: Moves your geometry on the X-Y-Z plane

Scale: Scales your geometry (i.e. makes it proportionally larger/smaller)

Rotate: Rotates your geometry

Material Managers:

Manages the textures that you can use to place on your models.

You can go to "Shader" and get a full menu of proprietary textures from the hard drive,

or go to "new material" and import your own textures from outside sources (i.e. web images)

After we get up to speed on all of this, lets try a quick 360 animation:

- Check out the Animation pallet; Notice that we are currently set up for 90 frames of animation.

- Place a new ball primitive on your canvas, and create a keyframe on frame 0 on your animation timeline, by hitting the "key" icon.

- Next, with your ball still selected, scrub to frame 90 and go to the attributes manager, then to r.b., and change the value from 0 to 360; now stamp a keyframe down by hitting the red outlined circle.

Welcome to Digital Pathways 3D Animation and Gaming class

Welcome to our first day of class together!
Every day you will need to check out this blog for current lectures and assignments.

Class Objectives:

Our goal is to learn how to create basic 3-D assets in

Cinema 4D and implement them into our 3D gaming engine Unity.

Class rules:

1. I need everyone to focus on assignments and other required work.

2. No one will be allowed to use Facebook, Myspace, text or personal email etc. during class time.

3.You all must maintain mature behavior at all times; this is a shared space with other students in other programs along with employees outside our class room that work in the building.

4. No bad language or verbal threats to other students

5. Everyone must respect the equipment, no drink or food allowed near the computers and please clean up after your self.

6. No drug use and no smoking inside the class or outside the building

7. Last but not least: you must be on time for class. Your attendance will be monitored and will have an effect on your final stipend at the end of the program.

We will be learning two very complicated programs with very similar interfaces. We will be learning them simultaneously so be prepared to come to class with major focus and a creative mind. You all have the potential to carve out your niche in the future of games, so let's go!

For Today:

You need to create a brand new Gmail account. We will be using this account to contact you, and send you files via Google Docs. The naming scheme we're using is:

[first initial][last name].bavc@gmail.com

example: snorris.bavc@gmail.com

Next, go to http://docs.google.com/ and log in using your new account. Now go to 'New', and select 'Document'. Even if you haven't used Google Docs before, you may still find the interface familiar, as it works quite similarly to Microsoft Word. Save the file, and title it 'Game Journal'.
please email me after you are done: cartoonliteralism@gmail.com




Then fill out this on-line survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=AGRH_2fopztZnt2aaEwb6gnA_3d_3d

Game Of The Day:

Every class we will have a game featured here on the blog, which you will play and write about in your game journal. Today's game: http://questfortherest.com/

Questions: (answer in your game journal document)

- What did you think of it? Describe your experience playing the game.

- Was it challenging? How did you figure out what to do in the game?

- What were some themes or messages you thought the game conveyed?


Definitions for the day:
Producer: Manages a single game project and ensures the project delivers within the given budget. The producer is also in charge of quality control, and has final say on everything in the game.


Associate producer: Supports the producer and documents the development process (by creating milestones); also organizes activities such as play testing and marketing.


Lead game designer: The 'visionary' - This is the game's creator - this person must be technically savvy and be able to communicate and present ideas; Usually tests the balance and parameters of the game.


Programmer: The person who writes the computer software (code) that makes the game run. 
One of the most popular programming languages for game development is c++.


Art director: The person responsible for the look of the game, and is in charge of all the production artists.


Publisher: Like EA or Ubisoft, this is the company that finances, markets and sells the game to retailers and the public.