tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439203626479970662024-03-14T08:24:52.330-07:00David Neville: The DigiBahn ProjectThe DigiBahn Project is an interdisciplinary software development initiative seeking to program a 3D digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) environment for the teaching of German language, vocabulary, and culture.David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-87072572069759388832014-03-31T09:00:00.001-07:002014-03-31T09:00:47.391-07:00Article Published in ReCALLIt's been a long haul, but finally -- after several years of design, development, assessment, and evaluation -- the experiment results have been published in the<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=REC" target="_blank"> ReCALL Journal</a>:<br />
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If you are interested and want to read more, you can <a href="http://facstaff.elon.edu/dneville/cv/images/neville_2014.pdf" target="_blank">download a PDF of the paper</a>. Basically, as described in the abstract, the article reports on a mixed-methods study evaluating the use of a three-dimensional digital game-based language learning (3D-DGBLL) environment to teach German two-way prepositions and specialized vocabulary within a simulated real-world context of German recycling and waste management systems. The study assumed that goal-directed player activity in this environment would configure digital narratives, which in turn would help study participants in the experimental group to co-configure story maps for ordering and making sense of the problem spaces encountered in the environment. The study further assumed that these participants would subsequently rely on the story maps to help them structure written L2 narratives describing an imagined personal experience closely resembling the gameplay of the 3D-DGBLL environment. The study found that immersion in the 3D-DGBLL environment influenced the manner in which the second language was invoked in these written narratives: Participants in the experimental group produced narratives containing more textual indicators describing the activity associated with the recycling and waste management systems and the spaces in which these systems are located. Increased usage of these indicators suggest that participants in the experimental group did indeed rely on story maps generated during 3D gameplay to structure their narratives, although stylistic and grammatical features of the narratives suggest, however, that changes could be made to the curricular implementation of the 3D-DGBLL environment. The study also puts forward ideas for instructional best practices based on research findings and suggests future areas of development and investigation.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-75703577604327443472014-02-15T13:20:00.004-08:002014-02-15T17:33:01.717-08:00Away For Much Too Long<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's been several months since posting my last entry and it's time to get back down to business. Reason for my absence has been partly professional, and partly pure digital distraction. Let's start with the last point first. After having played <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlefield_2142" target="_blank">Battlefield 2142</a> for, oh, a *really* long time, I decided to step up to something a bit newer and finally purchased <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlefield_3" target="_blank">Battlefield 3</a>. Only for research purposes, I kept telling myself. So, after playing for 71 hours and 39 minutes (not that I'm counting):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">and having advanced to the rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant, I thought that may I should rededicate myself (and, more importantly, my time) towards building an immersive 3D digital game-based language learning environment for introductory German courses. Getting bigger on the trigger in a virtual world is great, but I think that learning the coding and 3D modeling skills necessary for creating such an environment is also really cool and can be immensely satisfying. Plus they have real-world application. So, for now, perhaps gaming only on the weekends. Purely for research purposes, of course.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My other professional distraction has been a blended learning environment for business German. Specifically, doing an article write-up on how the environment was developed. The article has been fun to write as it required me to do a review of some basic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADDIE" target="_blank">ADDIE</a> instructional design models, including <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Design-Instruction-Walter-Dick/dp/0205585566" target="_blank">The Systematic Design of Instruction</a> by Dick and Carey, which was the first model I learned. In particular, it was fun to review the required steps involved in performing the goal and to analyze subordinate skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the article, I am focusing on the steps involved in preparing a German-style
résumé. </span>The steps for performing the goal include: (Step 1) access the <a href="http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/home" target="_blank">Europass</a> website; (Step 2) launch the Europass software; (Step 3) compose a German-style résumé; (Step 4) save the résumé; and (Step 5) exit the Europass website:<br />
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It was deemed unnecessary to design instruction for Steps 1-2 and 4-5 as they deal primarily with the simple navigation of a web-based software interface, which could be easily and quickly demonstrated for students during class. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Closer analysis of Step 3, however,
revealed the need to identify further substeps necessary to perform
the task of composing a German-style résumé. These substeps were
identified to be: (Step 3.1) set Europass language to German; (Step
3.2) choose a section of the résumé to complete; (Step 3.4) enter
personal information into section; and (Step 3.7) move on to next
section of the résumé. It is also important to note that, while
composing the résumé, a student will undoubtedly encounter
difficulties in language reception or production requiring a decision
to be made with regard to alternate goal-directed activities. These
decisions were identified to be: (Step 3.3) does the student
understand the written German instructions for a section of the
résumé?; (Step 3.5) does the student know genre-appropriate
vocabulary known to complete a section entry?; and (Step 3.6) can the
student produce the correct syntax to complete a section entry in a
genre-appropriate manner? Of course, the alternate decision paths
revealed further substeps for solving the problems described here.
For Step 3.3 only one step was identified: (Step 3.3.1) toggle
Europass language to English and/or consult a specialized dictionary.
More steps, however, were identified for Step 3.5: (Step 3.5.1)
consult a specialized dictionary and/or web-based <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation_memory" target="_blank">translation memory</a>
(TM) software (</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i>e.g</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">.,
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://www.linguee.com/">http://www.linguee.com</a></i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">)
to find translation for English business term; and (Step 3.5.2) enter
genre-appropriate German vocabulary. Finally, for Step 3.6, two
additional steps were identified: (Step 3.6.1) check formulation
against genre-appropriate syntax and/or consult with the instructor;
and (Step 3.6.2) make necessary modifications to the section entry.
Students performing the module goal would iterate between Step 3.3
and 3.7 until the résumé section is complete.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The analysis of subordinate skills took me a bit longer. hree
subordinate skills, consisting of psychomotor skills (PS),
intellectual skills (IS), and and verbal information (VI) were
identified as being essential for the completion of this step.
Students will need to know how to: (PS 1) use a specialized
dictionary; (PS 2) utilize the Europass web-based software interface;
and (IS 1) evaluate search results for feasibility. These subordinate
skills could be further broken down into constituent parts. The
ability to utilize the Europass software, for example, is dependent
on (PS 2.1) basic Web navigation skills, whereas the ability to
evaluate the feasibility of search results depends, among other
things, on a knowledge of German (IS 1.1) grammar and (IS 1.2) word
classes. Finally, the feasibility of the search results would
constantly be evaluated against (VI 1) a knowledge base of already
known genre-appropriate German vocabulary:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I'm making good progress on the article and hope to have it wrapped up in the coming weeks. Hopefully, once that is done, I will be relatively free of distractions and be able to get back into game design. I'm thinking that, to start off and get back in the swing of things, I will design some 3D models in <a href="http://www.blender.org/" target="_blank">Blender</a>.</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-18534352362666046672013-08-19T06:30:00.001-07:002013-08-19T06:33:07.382-07:00Gone Home: A Model for SLA Games?A few months ago I became interested in <a href="http://thefullbrightcompany.com/gonehome/" target="_blank">Gone Home</a>, a first-person story exploration video game, on the <a href="http://unity3d.com/gallery/made-with-unity/profiles/fullbright-company-gone-home" target="_blank">Game Profiles</a> page at <a href="http://unity3d.com/" target="_blank">Unity</a>. The idea of a game that does not involve shooting and killing intrigued me. There's not even any <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-player_character" target="_blank">non-player characters</a> (NPCs) to interact with. Rather, the game only involves careful investigation of (a rather small) game world and the unfolding of narrative embedded within this space:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="239" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sqSbYsUalMQ" width="425"></iframe>
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I think, in a way, games like Gone Home can serve as a model for 3D digital game-based language learning (3D-DGBLL) environments, which perhaps can also be seen as an archaeological investigation of a simulated real-world space. What could possibly be more exciting, challenging, and intriguing than discovering a different culture and language for the first time? What better platform than a well-designed first-person story exploration video game? Anyway, the game has received excellent reviews in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/arts/video-games/in-gone-home-a-family-mystery-unfolds.html?_r=2&" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/gone-home/reviews/gone-home-review-6413000/" target="_blank">GameSpot</a>. I'm looking forward to <a href="http://www.gonehomegame.com/" target="_blank">downloading</a> my own game soon, as soon as the start-of-the-semester crush has passed.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-62990227931864798032013-08-15T01:36:00.000-07:002013-08-15T01:36:01.170-07:003 AM Game IdeasWhat do you do at 3 AM when you have a bad case of insomnia and can't sleep? Well, what I usually do is think about things that need getting done, how to move projects forward, and ideas for articles. Sometimes I will think about <a href="http://youtu.be/aEE9hjk6kzQ" target="_blank">aikido</a>. This morning, however, it was the video game. Here's some ideas for the next game prototype that I have been throwing around in my head:<br />
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<b>Backstory</b><br />
Most video games have a persuasive and engaging <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backstory" target="_blank">backstory</a> that pushes the game narrative in a certain direction and gives the players a sense of what needs to be done in the game world. The idea that I think would perhaps be most feasible for a language-learning game is something that students see themselves potentially doing in the near future, such as spending a summer abroad to improve their<a href="http://www.goethe.de/ins/de/enindex.htm" target="_blank"> German at a language institute</a> and working a part-time job. The job could be at a grocery store managed by a Turkish person living in Germany, which would allow for running investigations of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turks_in_Germany" target="_blank">Turkish-German relations</a> and<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99189265" target="_blank"> minorities living in Germany</a>. The idea of the language institute could be worked into the game in the form of the homework that students would need to do for their real-world class. This idea could be leveraged to mask the disruption of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)" target="_blank">flow</a> that a player would experience when bouncing back and forth between the game world and the real world. As the player moves forward in the game, the story could be developed to reveal a deeper mystery that needs examining, or a personal drama (such as unrequited love) that needs to be resolved.<br />
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<b>Game Insertion</b><br />
Upon starting a video game, players generally have to undergo a brief training experience so that they become familiar with the game controls, moving in a simulated 3D space, and orientation in the game world. Players could be inserted into the <a href="http://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/home_en/Tourist-Office" target="_blank">information/tourist office</a> of the town where they are supposedly staying. In the office they would speak to the person working there, find out basic information about the town, pick up informational brochures, and find out where they will be working. The person working in the information office could be a persistent game resource that a player could use when stuck with a problem that cannot be solved. The use of the information office in this manner also synchronizes nicely with the real-world function of the information office.<br />
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<b>First Level</b><br />
Ideally, the game levels would correspond with chapters in the accompanying book. I think it would be best to design book around the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activity_theory" target="_blank">activity systems</a> of the game and not simply try to overlay the game on an existing textbook. As in the current version of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Deutsch-Introductory-German-Student-Edition/dp/0073386332/" target="_blank"><i>Deutsch Na Klar</i></a>, the first chapter and introduction deal with personal identity, characteristics, and addresses. The learning objectives of the game could possibly be built around these topics:<br />
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<ol>
<li>After becoming familiar with the city at the information office, the player reports to his boss at work. He informs the player that s/he must register at the <a href="http://www.bamf.de/EN/Willkommen/Aufenthalt/WichtigeInformationen/wichtigeinformationen-node.html" target="_blank">city immigration office</a>, where the player fills out a form requiring personal identity, characteristic, and address to be given. The use of the immigration office in this manner also synchronizes nicely with the real-world function of the immigration office and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_residence_permit" target="_blank">residency permit</a>. Upon returning to work, the boss informs the player that s/he needs to do homework for the language institute.</li>
<li>Upon rejoining the game, the player reports to work. The boss has a few deliveries, which the player has make using information provided. The player will have to navigate 3D space using provided visual cues (e.g., <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Germany" target="_blank">street signs</a>) and a cultural interface (e.g., ringing the <a href="http://www.transblawg.eu/uploads/MT_archives/klinga6w.jpg" target="_blank">doorbell of an apartment house</a> and listening to the instruction given over the speaker) to successfully deliver the groceries. After making the deliveries, the boss will remind the player to do the homework for the language institute.</li>
<li>Upon rejoining the game again, the boss will have a few more deliveries. This time, the player will find a wallet or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_identity_card" target="_blank">identity card</a>, which will provide information for the player to return the lost item to its owner. The player may have to perform some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_(video_gaming)" target="_blank">mini-quest</a> (similar to throwing the bottles away in the <a href="http://digibahn.blogspot.com/2011/04/download-game-prototype.html" target="_blank">game prototype</a> I have currently developed) to demonstrate integrity. Interaction with the owner will then reveal something of the underlying drama or deeper mystery that will move the player forward into the next game level.</li>
</ol>
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Anyway, just a brief sketch of something I have been working through in my mind at the moment. Basically, I'm trying to figure out a way to combine language instruction with a simulated 3D <a href="http://webpages.charter.net/schmolze1/vygotsky/johnsteiner.html" target="_blank">sociocultural environment</a> that is based on the real world in a manner that would be fun for the player and also challenging. Back to bed now...and hopefully some sleep.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-13956375187330980112013-07-06T05:30:00.001-07:002013-07-06T05:30:31.955-07:00The Essential ExperienceThe experiment I ran on the last game prototype demonstrated that some type of substantial learning did take place through the experiences that students had while playing the game. Developing the game, however, also revealed some problems in the workflow. As I am currently a one-person show, getting a firm grasp on the modeling and game development tools proved a bit of a challenge. Especially since I am self-taught on all of them (<a href="http://unity3d.com/" target="_blank">Unity</a>, <a href="http://www.blender.org/" target="_blank">Blender</a>, <a href="http://www.gimp.org/" target="_blank">GIMP</a>, <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">Audacity</a> and <a href="http://monodevelop.com/" target="_blank">MonoDevelop</a>). I am currently working through the <a href="http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/modules" target="_blank">Unity Tutorials</a> and the <a href="http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/projects/stealth" target="_blank">Unity Stealth Project</a> in order to get more familiar with Unity. Other tutorials in Unity and Blender will follow.<br />
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I also felt that I could read more about the process of designing a game, which brought me to <a href="http://artofgamedesign.com/" target="_blank">The Art of Game Design</a> and the <a href="http://artofgamedesign.com/cards/lenses.htm" target="_blank">100 Lenses</a> through which the process can be viewed. Since this is a research blog and a way for me to sketch rough ideas and document progress, I thought maybe it would be useful to revision the DigiBahn Project through these lenses. Should make for an interesting way to see the project in a new light.<br />
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<b>1: The Lens of Essential Experience</b></div>
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The experience I would like players of the next game prototype to have would replicate the type of confusion that one has when abroad for the first time in a foreign county and is forced to rely on an academic knowledge of the language and culture to solve real-world problems. Although stressful, this type of experience is critical as it requires the student to reflect on what he has learned and to experiment with it in order to apply it towards a solution of the current problem. Knowledge is therefore not just abstract and mental, but rather emerges from interaction with the environment, people in the environment, and site-specific language usage. It is more grounded in the real-world. I hope that allowing students to overcome these challenges in a game setting will equip them with the confidence and tools to handle them in a real-world setting. In sum, that they develop a mindset that allows them to play with complex systems and look for solutions to problems that arise from these systems.<br />
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Questions I should look at include:<br />
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1. What is most confusing for students when they are abroad for the first time?<br />
2. What sociocultural differences could be confusing?<br />
3. How could the physical experience be confusing?<br />
4. How can level-specific language be layered onto the game experiences?<br />
5. How can this confusion be scaffolded so as not to overwhelm the player?<br />
6. How can this confusion be scaffolded so as not to disrupt game flow?<br />
7. How can game tasks be developed based on these above points?<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-53784638574205441832013-06-24T05:18:00.001-07:002013-06-24T05:18:36.451-07:00Fun with Error MessagesI have a few projects on the plate this summer: (1) getting my tenure portfolio together, which needs to be submitted on 15 September; (2) creating more grammar videos for the Elon German Studies <a href="http://www.youtube.com/ElonGermanStudies" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>, which now how 304 subscribers and has been viewed over 15,000 times in about 5 months; (3) work with my <a href="http://www.elon.edu/e-web/administration/president/lumenprize/" target="_blank">Lumen Scholar</a> and get her ready for site visits in Germany this fall; and (4) get back into 3D game development.<br />
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I just finished the tenure portfolio this last week, or at least I got all the materials assembled and the narrative written. I will write the letter of consideration and print out the latest CV as the submission date draws nearer. And since I met with my Lumen Scholar twice a week on campus, when I will also start producing and uploading videos to YouTube, that leaves me only with my 3D game development and finding a time to do it. I decided I could work on it a few hours every evening before going to bed.<br />
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The last game prototype I developed was a good step in the right direction, and even generated some scholarship for me. There was so much else that I felt I could have done with the game, and a major limitation in game development was not being familiar with the Unity development environment. This time around, I thought, I will spend more time getting to know the environment by first completing some of the online tutorials, such as the <a href="http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/projects/stealth" target="_blank">Stealth game tutorial</a>.<br />
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I got a boatload of error messages last night, which <a href="http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/172759-Unity-4-0-1f2-and-avast-8-0-1482-quot-getThreadContextfailed-quot-error" target="_blank">community support on the Unity site</a> states is apparently caused by problems with a dynamic-linked library (.dll) file and its interactions with my virus protection:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvH51pfyIi0JFhgc6YLOlshT26yzB021vuVrCEuJXCQQt4b1pEe7o1sthNmmG-5Z6d72nJZwMLg056VYcc2k6E6L29dX4MsFBo4y8vUD288sGKSpuGjB1G_xAdqUGHIh8jArC9-5xyyOs/s1600/2013-06-23_2127.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvH51pfyIi0JFhgc6YLOlshT26yzB021vuVrCEuJXCQQt4b1pEe7o1sthNmmG-5Z6d72nJZwMLg056VYcc2k6E6L29dX4MsFBo4y8vUD288sGKSpuGjB1G_xAdqUGHIh8jArC9-5xyyOs/s320/2013-06-23_2127.png" width="313" /></a></div>
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I updated my mono.dll file and, so far, the problem is fixed. The bug should also be fixed in the new Unity 4.2 release, which is coming up soon. I've been away so long that I have forgotten the joy of having error messages.<br />
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Finally, to get inspiration for the new game, I've decided to look at a few others. The game "<a href="http://thefullbrightcompany.com/gonehome/" target="_blank">Gone Home</a>" looks particularly interesting to me in that its gameplay and topics could align very well with the gameplay that will most likely emerge in the new DigiBahn game. In any case, it will be interesting to see what the folks down at The Fullbright Company did with their game.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-81090968911908320202013-03-25T08:06:00.000-07:002013-03-25T08:06:16.800-07:00Summer Plans: Getting Back to BasicsSpring break is upon us, which means that the semester will be coming to an end rather quickly. It also means that I will need to think of something to do during the summer. I will be working with an undergraduate student on her <a href="http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/undergraduate_research/sure.xhtml" target="_blank">SURE</a> project, but I also need to think of something for my own projects as well. I'm thinking that perhaps its a good idea to revisit programming and modeling basics and build from there.<br />
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The <a href="http://digibahn.blogspot.com/2011/04/download-game-prototype.html" target="_blank">first game</a> I developed, as I needed to get research done and publications out the door, was built rather quick and dirty; I felt that there were a lot of things regarding modeling, programming, and game design that I wanted to explore in greater depth but just didn't have the time. I'm thinking that this summer I will need to spend more time with the tools and languages that I used for the project, in order to understand them better and to get up-to-speed on the many changes that have been introduced since creating the first game in 2011.<br />
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It has been a while since I programmed, so it is certainly time to get back into that. I picked up a book last night on <a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596527433.do" target="_blank">C# 3.0</a>, and was immediately drawn back into the topic. There is something very organized and methodical about programming that appeals to me, which is odd, I suppose, coming from a person who has been thoroughly immersed in the unstructured nature of humanities research since being an undergraduate in the 1990s. The new <a href="http://www.unity3d.com/learn" target="_blank">Unity tutorials</a> are exciting, and I am looking forward to taking these apart.<br />
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On the theoretical side, I need to think about more ways that 3D digital game-based language learning (3D-DGBLL) can be integrated in the second language acquisition classroom. It seems to me, and others seem to agree, that task-based language learning most closely resembles the type of learning that occurs in 3D-DGBLL environments. Our university library has<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Task-based-Language-Learning-Teaching-Linguistics/dp/0194421597" target="_blank"> the book by Rod Ellis</a> on the topic, so I will eventually need to get around to this reading this with an eye towards my game project.<br />
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Finally: This all needs to come back to research and publications, I suppose. I'm sure that I can get more article publications out of the research, but I'm wondering if a better strategy would be to bring the articles together as a book. Perhaps something in a series such as <a href="http://www.routledge.com/books/series/RASLS/" target="_blank">Routledge Advances in Second Language Studies</a>. Any ideas?<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-16102965916103414812013-03-16T20:25:00.001-07:002015-07-06T07:12:50.290-07:00Going Medieval, Minding the StorePart of the joy of working at a smaller liberal arts college is the constant variation of tasks that one must do to move a program forward. The variety ensures that one does not bore quickly. On the other hand, part of the frustration of working at a smaller liberal arts college is the constant variation of tasks that one must do to move a program forward. It seems that the ever-changing tasks may also prevent one from focusing in on a promising and interesting research topic.<br />
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I suppose the later is a good explanation for why I have not actively been posting to my research blog. I have been working with a bright undergraduate on a <a href="http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/undergraduate_research/sure.xhtml" target="_blank">SURE</a> project, which I am happy to report has been approved, and we now have our sights set on a <a href="http://www.elon.edu/e-web/administration/president/lumenprize/" target="_blank">Lumen Prize</a>, the deadline for which is this coming Wednesday. In a way, the distraction has been pleasant as it brings me back to my original research roots as a medievalist; frustrating in that I have put my 3D-DGBL development on hold. Here is a brief explanation of what we will be doing on our SURE project:</div>
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The research project applies theory derived from art history, gender studies, and medieval German studies towards the construction of an interpretive framework for analyzing bridal imagery and metaphor in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechthild_of_Magdeburg" target="_blank">Mechthild of Magdeburg</a>'s mystical treatise, <i><a href="http://anthroposophie.byu.edu/mystik/mechthild.pdf" target="_blank">Das fließende Licht der Gottheit</a></i> (“The Flowing Light of the Godhead”), the first autobiographical text written by a woman in a medieval German dialect. To situate this unique text within the broader social and cultural contexts of the German High Middle Ages, we will rely on theories of gender performativity as defined by Judith Butler to guide her reading of an influential medieval German lawbook, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachsenspiegel" target="_blank">Der Sachsenspiegel</a></i> (“The Mirror of the Saxons”). Looking specifically at passages in extant manuscripts of this text dealing with matrimony, inheritance, and property rights as they relate to brides and married women, we will read the stylized gestures and positioning of the illuminated figures that accompany these passages as cultural signs indicating how the gender identity of medieval German women was constructed through public performance. Finally, by comparing the results of this analysis to passages in <i>Das fließende Licht der Gottheit</i>, we hope to uncover the manner in which Mechthild of Magdeburg used the figure of the bride to question, subvert, co-opt, and selectively reinforce the prescriptive gender discourses of her day. By reading <i>Das fließende Licht der Gottheit</i> in light of a lawbook from roughly the same time and geographical region, we seek to arrive at a deeper understanding of the mystical treatise through analysis of the material culture that was part of its original social and cultural context.
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Should be a lot of fun and provide a nice change of scenery. I'm also hoping to be able to continue with some 3D model development in Blender during the time and maybe some programming in C#, just so that I don't get rusty. The truth be said, I originally wanted to create a 3D-DGBL learning environment for teaching the German Middle Ages and was in contact with the <a href="http://www.kloster-helfta.de/cms/front_content.php?idcat=3022&lang=21" target="_blank">Helfta convent</a> to get architectural plans for developing the environment. It just seemed, at the time, that software for second language acquisition would be a better place to start.<br />
Anyway, it's been a busy few months and I'm sorry to report that I haven't had the chance to make any progress in my research. I hope you will understand. Hopefully I will have the time to get back to doing some hard programming and 3D modeling this summer. Questions? Drop me a line; I'd love to hear from you.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-64243062372346457052012-12-31T17:45:00.003-08:002012-12-31T17:45:41.812-08:00Game world, real world, classroom<div style="text-align: justify;">
After wrestling with the experiment data and the whole writing process, I finally was able to get <a href="http://www.academia.edu/2344079/The_story_in_the_mind_Using_3D_games_for_second_language_and_culture_development" target="_blank">an article</a> out the door to <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=rec" target="_blank">ReCALL Journal</a>. I will hear back from them in March (or before then) with reviewer comments. In the meanwhile, I'm trying to think of next steps for how to grow the project. </div>
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One thing that I found interesting about the data (see posting from <a href="http://digibahn.blogspot.com/2012/08/activity-systems-and-cognitive-maps_14.html" target="_blank">14 August 2012</a>) was that study participants who were immersed in the 3D digital game-based language learning (3D-DGBLL) environment seemed to manifest a more fuller understanding of the activity associated with the recycling and waste management systems than those participants who had studied these systems in only in a text-based environment. The narratives written by the experiment group, however, were rougher and less polished than those written by the control group.</div>
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The question in my mind, I suppose, is: How to get the best of both worlds? How can learning gains in a 3D-DGBLL environment, which may not necessarily be linguistic in nature, be leveraged to promote learning gains (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) in a SLA classroom? As I like to show in my conference presentation slides, the type of activity that leads to learning in a game world:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdxhQEBPv5cQguc-BkdJaLpYsGCx4Pximc-HtAKPTXNeIwtQQn8OWSUDrTDRSzJUD7I6Go7rzyU0FnyOGIcV0HugzaC9_RVq0DJCU24NKWKXB1xzcltBieatQgumDNM_ntadPttuvlJI/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdxhQEBPv5cQguc-BkdJaLpYsGCx4Pximc-HtAKPTXNeIwtQQn8OWSUDrTDRSzJUD7I6Go7rzyU0FnyOGIcV0HugzaC9_RVq0DJCU24NKWKXB1xzcltBieatQgumDNM_ntadPttuvlJI/s320/1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Is very similar to the type of open-ended activity that L2 learners will encounter in the real world once they leave the classroom:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1YTzbmFmsc_b1397Zl-m84h6lGvOyZ1_f4FApTeFXGGNvY_5_Om1p9W1Rt222aIyYHTnvEbDSLPkW1psJNGiG3dK4k2ikeAv7M_600MEXq-8VczBZmt1evSifhHUnjvQgf86tjB7wfg/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1YTzbmFmsc_b1397Zl-m84h6lGvOyZ1_f4FApTeFXGGNvY_5_Om1p9W1Rt222aIyYHTnvEbDSLPkW1psJNGiG3dK4k2ikeAv7M_600MEXq-8VczBZmt1evSifhHUnjvQgf86tjB7wfg/s320/2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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What my recent experiment findings have led me to believe is that perhaps in-game activity develops a type of mental structure (I refer to them as "story maps" in the article, borrowing a term from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Video-Game-Spaces-Structure-Worlds/dp/0262141019" target="_blank">Nitsche</a>), which we can use to structure the development of a second language. The next question, I guess, is what's the best way to include a 3D-DGBLL environment in the classroom curriculum so that these structures are used most effectively. More on this topic to come later.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-55376024474278061582012-08-14T11:03:00.002-07:002012-08-14T11:04:58.946-07:00Activity Systems and Cognitive Maps<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have been working on a write-up of the data yielded by the research study at the end of Spring Semester 2012. Although I am not sure if this blog really gets the kind of traffic that I was originally hoping it would, I thought I would just throw some of the data out there just to see what type of feedback I get. At least people who stumble across the blog will know that I am still actively thinking about how 3D-DGBL environments can be used to teach a second language and culture. This is a part of what I discovered:</div>
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Analysis of the written narratives written by the study participants did reveal distinct patterns of how the 3D-DGBL environment encouraged participants in the experiment group to frame their narrative in the language of everyday bodily action and activity. The analysis was informed by the methodology described by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grounded_theory" target="_blank">grounded theory</a>, a qualitative approach to textual and discourse analysis that generates or discovers a theory through a systematic close reading of data (Corbin & Strauss, 1990; Strauss & Corbin, 1998; Charmaz, 2006; Birks & Mills, 2011). Low-level textual <i>indicators</i> describing the same phenomena are coded as representing the same <i>concept</i>, which Corbin & Strauss (1990) identify as the basic unit of organization and analysis: “Only by comparing incidents and naming the like phenomena with the same conceptual term can a theorist accumulate the basic units for a theory. These concepts in the grounded theory approach become more numerous and more abstract as the analysis continues” (p. 420). In turn, Corbin & Strauss (1990) continue, a concept can be developed into a <i>category</i> “in terms of its properties and dimensions, the conditions that give rise to it, the action/interaction by which it is expressed, and the consequences that result” (p. 420). Although comparison of categories over time gives rise to an overarching <i>theory</i>, the current study is in its initial phases and will focus primarily on low-level textual indicators and organizing concepts; further research into the narratives generated by 3D-DGBL environments may expand these concepts into categories and a theory that can be used to guide the development of language instruction in these environments.</div>
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A close reading of the short narratives generated by study participants revealed the emergence of three general concepts, each of which had several qualifying properties. The first concept (“Process”) described the procedure of correctly recycling or disposing of objects found in the problem space, and therefore could possibly be interpreted as the ability of the participants to see themselves as subjected to – as well as subjectified by – the rules, instruments, roles, and objectives that constituted the activity system of this space. The process concept was qualified by four properties: (1) “Locating,” which described the process of finding an object that needed to be recycled or discarded; (2) “Acquiring,” which described the process of moving the object from its location in the problem space to the ownership of the study participant; (3) “Movement,” which describe the process of transporting the object to a place where the participant could recycle or discard it; and (4) “Disposal,” which described the process of the participant recycling or discarding the object.</div>
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The narratives generated by the control group manifested slightly less instances of language to express locating an object for disposal (M= 0.95, SD= 0.91) than the narratives of the experiment group (M= 1.23, SD= 0.83); t(30)= -0.89, p= 0.38. A substantial difference between the narratives, however, emerges when they are read for language expressing the acquisition of an object. The narratives produced by the control group (M= 0.32, SD= 0.48) evidenced significantly less instances of language for acquiring an object than those produced by the experiment group (M= 1.15, SD= 1.07); t(30)= -3.02, p= 0.01, showing that this stage of the recycling and waste management process was a significant feature of the cognitive maps relied upon by participants in the experiment group to structure their narratives. Although language expressing movement was not frequently used in the narrative of either groups, again there was an emerging trend that the narrative produced by the control group (M= 0.11, SD= 0.32) had slightly less textual instances verbalizing movement than the experiment group (M= 0.15, SD= 0.38); t(30)= -0.4, p= 0.69. Only when the narratives were read for language expressing the disposal of an object did the control group (M= 3.32, SD= 2.08) outperform the experiment group (M= 2.54, SD= 1.76); t(30)= 1.10, p= 0.28, suggesting that this stage of the process was the most prominent feature of the cognitive maps used by the control group. A graphic representation comparing the narrative concepts generated by both groups to express the recycling and waste management activity system can be found here:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lT2VkMwNoef2u7Y9qPm-ssOY8r0Zy03ByLr0MYo-5ShmK54C-Ywk6I9DJeaprVJYZyWfcHfxCoWbn731huotUja4LPUypb8E0e-013zszPL-6lr6xDKJaVxilFsJ-IQDnFEWqkAQaPQ/s1600/narrative_process.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lT2VkMwNoef2u7Y9qPm-ssOY8r0Zy03ByLr0MYo-5ShmK54C-Ywk6I9DJeaprVJYZyWfcHfxCoWbn731huotUja4LPUypb8E0e-013zszPL-6lr6xDKJaVxilFsJ-IQDnFEWqkAQaPQ/s320/narrative_process.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The narratives generated by the control group, therefore, seemed to focus primarily on the end state of the activity system, with the disposal of the object in the appropriate recycling or waste management container, whereas the narratives generated by the experiment group tended to pay more attention to all stages of the activity system, with significant attention being paid to the acquisition stage of the system. Given that a core mechanic of the 3D-DGBL environment was locating and gathering objects for appropriate disposal, it is not surprising to find this mechanic predominantly displayed in the narratives of those who were immersed in the environment. A close reading and comparison of the narratives from both groups suggests, therefore, that participants in the control group may have relied on a partial cognitive map to structure their narratives, one that did not fully cover all stages of the activity system and that did not completely depict them as embodied actors in this system. Narratives from the control group tended to be very well-written, although they inclined toward being a static literary exercise. Participants in the experiment group, however, tended to be more physically present in their written narratives, and the increased attention they gave the locating, acquisition, and movement stages of the activity system suggests that the cognitive maps they relied on to structure their narratives were more complete. Although sometimes lacking in attention to grammatical detail, narratives from the experiment group generally gave the impression of relating a dynamic lived experience.</div>
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<b>Works Cited</b></div>
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Birks, M. & Mills, J. (2011). <i>Grounded theory: A practical guide</i>. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.<br />
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Charmaz, K. (2006). <i>Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis</i>. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.<br />
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Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons and evaluative criteria. <i>Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 19</i>(6), 418-427.<br />
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Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1998). <i>Basics of qualitative research techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory</i> (2nd ed.). Sage Publications: London.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-53655853162289604552012-06-12T10:10:00.002-07:002012-06-12T10:10:43.634-07:00Presentation at CALICO 2012I have been working in the office this morning, getting travel itineraries and other things ready for my upcoming trip to <a href="https://calico.org/page.php?id=456" target="_blank">CALICO 2012</a>, where I will be presenting a <a href="http://facstaff.elon.edu/dneville/etc/calico_2012/calico_2012.pdf" target="_blank">paper</a> there on the results of my experiment using the 3D game I developed to teach German. In any case, it should be a lot of fun and interesting. I will post more information about the conference and the paper's reception when I get back.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-91842434299581961692012-06-05T12:21:00.001-07:002012-06-05T12:21:31.471-07:00Transfer from Games to Narratives<div style="text-align: justify;">
The end of the semester and beginning of the summer is always busy: Thousands of things to catch up on, odds jobs that need doing, and countless receptions and ceremonies to attend. I finally had a chance to look at some of the data generated by the experiment I ran in my beginning German class a few months ago. </div>
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Basically the experiment was like this: We covered <a href="http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa052101a.htm" target="_blank">German two-way prepositions</a> and the <a href="http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/recycling.html" target="_blank">German recycling system</a> in class, did some in-class exercises, finished some take-home exercises, and then wrote a short story requiring students to apply what they learned towards a solving a problem in a real-world space (<i>i.e</i>., cleaning up the city center of a German town). Students in the experiment group played a custom built 3D video game in which, essentially, they could practice playing their story before writing it down.</div>
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With small populations sizes a lot of the data you get is statistically insignificant. You can see trends developing, but nothing that would indicate large impact. For some reason or another, I also had a lot of students in the experiment group drop, which always makes it difficult to find statistical significance, too. I was especially intrigued, therefore, when I got this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL_3_0AGQCjHEjvVFxA-tZxa719B5MEEnzhTYcO_58O8Y7AlALJZ-32qvJWb6lilllgfgw_18fzVoSv2Rf6s55K3OwZ3hhTSBdDozff_TKKNw61NsG19lQ2MgPi58hbHIexA1sjXgXr8/s1600/immersion_transfer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL_3_0AGQCjHEjvVFxA-tZxa719B5MEEnzhTYcO_58O8Y7AlALJZ-32qvJWb6lilllgfgw_18fzVoSv2Rf6s55K3OwZ3hhTSBdDozff_TKKNw61NsG19lQ2MgPi58hbHIexA1sjXgXr8/s320/immersion_transfer.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Basically, it seems that the students in the experiment group who played the game wrote narratives that adopted a first-person view of the game. These narratives showed, among other things, more instances of personal agency and embeddedness in a specific setting: "<i>I see a can on the ground. I walk over to the can. I pick it up and then walk over to the recycling container. I throw the can into the container</i>." Students in the control group had the tendency to write more narratives like this: "<i>I see the can on the ground and I throw it into the recycling container</i>." I'll play a bit more with these numbers and work my findings up into an article. But first, I will present my findings next week at <a href="https://calico.org/page.php?id=456" target="_blank">CALICO 2012</a> at Notre Dame University. In any case, more to come!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-31486901852287518832012-03-25T17:42:00.005-07:002012-03-26T09:49:56.264-07:00Back in the Saddle<div style="text-align: justify;">It's been a long while since I have been active with game development and blogging. Time to get back into the swing, I think. My absence for this past year has been on account of responsibilities to the German program at Elon University, and getting a <a href="http://www.elon.edu/businessgerman" target="_blank">business German program</a> off the ground. Central to this program is a Web-based blended learning environment that utilizes an open source learning management system (<a href="http://moodle.org/" target="_blank">Moodle</a>) to layer content-specific language instruction over existing lower-division German language courses (German 121-122).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uKMTser5WnobYlBNT2Gur7GGgaBmn-0B57_bCfFL6CROq-hmdlPqx4e0LXPSTSMaXYwtD9rsWyyS_jzeGLElmP_dDqNrirrv4ns7u8anHM2o_HNLKQlqutoYto7dZHlq07cbpT8BEt0/s1600/moodle_capture.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uKMTser5WnobYlBNT2Gur7GGgaBmn-0B57_bCfFL6CROq-hmdlPqx4e0LXPSTSMaXYwtD9rsWyyS_jzeGLElmP_dDqNrirrv4ns7u8anHM2o_HNLKQlqutoYto7dZHlq07cbpT8BEt0/s320/moodle_capture.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Screen capture of Business German Program interface</span></i></div><br />
By offloading the business German topics onto a blended learning environment, a tighter integration between the lower-division courses and program subject matter can be achieved while simultaneously ensuring that all instruction is scalable to address the needs of any number of students, transparent to the course instructors, and flexible in terms of delivery time, manner and place. It's been fun, but I'm really looking forward to getting back to research on immersive digital game environments for second language acquisition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">What better way to start of a new research push than a total redesign of the research blog? The old design was getting a bit ... well, old. The new blog look and feel, I think, gives visitors more of a sense of what the blog has been developing over these last few years. It also seems, in my opinion, to be a bit cleaner. For those of you with smaller screen resolutions, here's an image of the full blog:</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhZjE1WC5mcL301Rr0gJrAubJcO1ODpsRpvxpa6vDcbVQ_AgarnrJ7AcLrtCDlegMo70IFlrpQN3uiIuWr58Bi_MDc3Dcq_lkicZYtV1UAqvhtkMpHGny7YKI8OmC3Lso-DQ8PL5O64A/s1600/full_interface.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhZjE1WC5mcL301Rr0gJrAubJcO1ODpsRpvxpa6vDcbVQ_AgarnrJ7AcLrtCDlegMo70IFlrpQN3uiIuWr58Bi_MDc3Dcq_lkicZYtV1UAqvhtkMpHGny7YKI8OmC3Lso-DQ8PL5O64A/s320/full_interface.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Full blog screen capture</i></span></div><br />
Anyway, in the coming weeks I will be working on getting an article out detailing the results of an experiment I ran with the game a few weeks ago. Some interesting data revealing how these immersive digital game environments help students project themselves into a simulated cultural space. And then there's the eventual book project I would like to crank up. Should provide me enough material to blog on.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-51164975891781782962011-04-20T11:16:00.000-07:002015-10-05T07:54:17.673-07:00Download Game Prototype<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <i>Digital Bahnhof</i> (<i>DigiBahn</i>) <i>Project </i>is an interdisciplinary software development initiative seeking to program a 3D digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) environment for teaching German language, vocabulary, and culture to advanced high school and beginning university students. The current basic prototype addresses the topics of recycling and waste management in Germany and has been developed to test proof of concept and as a research bed to evaluate how the narrative structures these environments generate can best be leveraged to teach a second language within simulated sociocultural contexts. Project development has been made possible with generous support from the <a href="http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/teaching/catl_home.xhtml">Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning</a> (CATL) and <a href="http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/teaching/tlt_home.xhtml">Teaching and Learning Technologies</a> at <a href="http://www.elon.edu/">Elon University</a>. Future work on the project will be supported through the <a href="http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/teaching/catlsch_prog.xhtml">CATL Scholars Program</a> at Elon University. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi416Et-rtgZxb-WCFnO8MlZRz3nl4bm-AvK91f_SZaH6_WeXB5MUfUVFrBKX5E-qEBwbNa_hZa1T2LlJ7Ca5kDvKygNpIuRM-kHBqqsHifiddwRvkhVvWEi-dW7F3DDa8Af7vDTtUkQ74/s1600/digibahn_screenshot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi416Et-rtgZxb-WCFnO8MlZRz3nl4bm-AvK91f_SZaH6_WeXB5MUfUVFrBKX5E-qEBwbNa_hZa1T2LlJ7Ca5kDvKygNpIuRM-kHBqqsHifiddwRvkhVvWEi-dW7F3DDa8Af7vDTtUkQ74/s320/digibahn_screenshot.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 3D game prototype is the next evolution of an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_fiction">interactive fiction</a> (IF) game that was developed to teach students how to navigate a German train station (available for download <a href="http://cle.usu.edu/CLE_IF_AUSFLUG.html">here</a>). The 3D game prototype and instructional materials have been developed with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source">open source</a> technologies, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeware">freeware</a>, and software that is commonly found in the second language acquisition classroom. Developmental costs have thereby been kept to a minimum, easily within the range of the tight operating budgets that many language departments and programs deal with on a daily basis. Language instructors everywhere are invited to use the game and related materials in their own courses and to adapt or correct them as they see fit. I'm sure that there are numerous errors in the programming code, German language, and instuctional design. It is hoped that the game will show language instructors what is possible with current technologies and will help to serve as a catalyst for them to network in fields traditionally beyond the boundaries of their own discipline (<i>e.g</i>., digital art, computer science). The game, all associated digital resources, and supporting instructional materials are made publicly available under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/">Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license</a>.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dck_rjHNcUQ?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you would like more information about the project, please contact the project director David Neville (<a href="mailto:dneville@elon.edu">dneville@elon.edu</a>). Your feedback and experiences with the game will direct future game development and help create an environment that is fun, educational, and broadly accessible. I did all the 3D development, coding, and instructional design myself in my spare time over the course of one year, so the game doesn't play like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2">Half-Life 2</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect_2">Mass Effect 2</a>. It nevertheless hopefully shows the directions that language education can (and should) explore in the coming years.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>For Students/Instructors</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The game can be downloaded as a compressed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_(file_format)">.zip file</a> and extracted to your computer. The extracted folder contains two releases of the game: (1) a Windows <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EXE">.exe file</a>, which can be played on a PC, and (2) a Mac <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_binary">universal binary file</a>, which can be played on a Mac computer. An accompanying player guide in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Document_Format">.pdf format</a> gives instructions on how the game can be played.</span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/t7bs1xz5mmjsfto/digibahn_game.zip?dl=0" target="">Download game</a></span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>For Instructors</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instructional materials are available for download and include: (1) a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint">PowerPoint</a> presentation on recycling and waste management in Germany, (2) a vocabulary list, (3), classroom exercises; (4) a level-appropriate reading, and (4) a homework assignment. With the exception of the PowerPoint presentation, all instructional materials can be modified in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice">OpenOffice</a>, an open source word processing program.</span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ky8667n4bsqvds/digibahn_instructional_materials.zip?dl=0">Download instructional materials</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=cb9bf144-1076-4615-9951-294eeb832823">Download PowerPoint Viewer</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.openoffice.org/">Download OpenOffice</a></span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>For Developers</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Game resources are distributed as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unity_(game_engine)">Unity</a> package, a proprietary compressed file format that contains all the game source files for 3D models, code, and sound. Please download Unity and install it on your computer before attempting to extract these files. You can either double-click the package, which will prompt Unity to create a new project into which the package will then be imported, or your can import the package into an existing project. As the Unity package is rather large and contains many resources, it may take a while to download and extract all files. Computer code for the game was done in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_Sharp_(programming_language)">C#</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Visual_Studio_Express">Microsoft Visual Studio Express</a>, 3D model development in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_(software)">Blender</a>, 3D model textures in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP">GIMP</a>, and sound effects with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audacity">Audacity</a> using open source, royalty free, or collaborative sound resources (<i>e.g</i>., <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">freesound</a>). Once the Unity package has been extracted, all game models, scripts, and sounds can be found in the Assets folder. </span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/0f4e5yv5rjq5s44/digibahn_source.zip?dl=0">Download 3D game package</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://unity3d.com/unity/download/">Download Unity</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blender.org/">Download Blender</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.gimp.org/">Download GIMP</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">Download Audacity</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/express/Downloads/">Download Microsoft Visual Studio Express</a></span></li>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-88260505855480034262011-03-16T11:52:00.000-07:002011-03-16T11:53:30.189-07:00Creating Instructional Materials<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that the game prototype is finished, I have been spending time getting the instructional materials ready. First to be created was the story, which the students will read before doing the related exercises and playing the game:</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5hyphenhyphenYZ4Gr-hNbTPkhuI-y6CNRU4pZvX1sd-Whf3ed8t0yjz0jL-Ryb9JPbU5UQJucKkNNDbW8o1QGhFVfSYRwTVLAwh2BsXxD4iMLj_GBjytMSc537HjFPgU4w76GH52X8roJr0j1aNs/s1600/recycling_text.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5hyphenhyphenYZ4Gr-hNbTPkhuI-y6CNRU4pZvX1sd-Whf3ed8t0yjz0jL-Ryb9JPbU5UQJucKkNNDbW8o1QGhFVfSYRwTVLAwh2BsXxD4iMLj_GBjytMSc537HjFPgU4w76GH52X8roJr0j1aNs/s320/recycling_text.png" width="247" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was able to find several websites dealing with recycling in Germany and Austria (<a href="http://www.berlin-sammelt.de/">Berlin sammelt </a>and <a href="http://www.umweltprofis.at/">Umweltprofis</a>) and I adapted the information from these websites so that it was appropriate for a first-year German student. Basically, the reading details how recycling is sorted in Germany and simply presents factual information on the types of recycling bins available. The exercises that will follow (yet to be created) will personalize this information for the student. For example, a fill-in-the-blank story that describes how a student in Germany recycles objects in her apartment. The experiment group, of course, will use the game as a means whereby this learning can be made even more subjective and personal, hopefully resulting in measurable improved learning outcomes.</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-69281885729855367612011-03-09T12:04:00.000-08:002011-03-09T12:04:30.094-08:00Walk-Through for DigiBahn Game Level<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few days ago I made a video highlighting the finished game, essentially a walk-through of the environment. After capturing the video with <a href="http://www.fraps.com/">FRAPS</a>, I put the computer on standby and went off to teach. Once I came back to the office a few hours later I found, to my horror, that the computer would not run. The technicians at the university said it was loose RAM, which may have caused a short that fried the motherboard.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just got the computer back, so I decided quickly to upload the video I had made before anything else happened to the computer:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dck_rjHNcUQ?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's it for now in terms of game development; I'll be focusing now on the development of the instructional materials. Once I get everything organized and ready for distribution, I will post links to where it all can be downloaded.</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-50922489405559392482011-02-28T11:55:00.000-08:002011-02-28T11:55:50.586-08:00Score Screen Finally Finished<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been busy with teaching and other sundry university service responsibilities, which has taken me away from game development these last few weeks. Thank goodness that I was able to get the majority of development done during Winter Term when I didn't have a teaching load. The final problem I faced was getting the player performance data out of the game and into the score screen. In Unity, when one game scene is unloaded and a new scene is loaded, all assets (including class variables, etc.) associated with the old scene are destroyed. I was able to find a work around to this problem by 1) saving the performance data as player preference data in one scene, and 2) loading these variables in the new scene. Here's the code for it:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the old scene, once the player completes that last task, his performance data is sent to the system before the new scene is loaded:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">PlayerPrefs.SetString("PointsScore", pointsHolder.guiText.text);</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">PlayerPrefs.SetString("HealthScore", healthHolder.guiText.text);</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">PlayerPrefs.SetString("MoneyScore", moneyHolder.guiText.text);</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">Application.LoadLevel("final_screen");</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Here I'm directly accessing the guiText object where this data is stored and then sending this data as a string object to the player preferences. In the new scene, I use the following code (excerpted) to get the data out of the system and printed to the screen:</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">public string finalPointScore;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">public string finalHealthScore;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">public string finalMoneyScore;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">public GameObject geld;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">public GameObject gesundheit;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">public GameObject punkte;</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">public void Awake()</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> {</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> Screen.showCursor = true;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> Screen.lockCursor = false;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> finalPointScore = PlayerPrefs.GetString("PointsScore");</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> finalHealthScore = PlayerPrefs.GetString("HealthScore");</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> finalMoneyScore = PlayerPrefs.GetString("MoneyScore");</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> geld = GameObject.Find("GUITextGeld");</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> geld.guiText.text = finalMoneyScore;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> geld.gameObject.transform.position = new Vector3(0.14f, 0.517f, 1);</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> gesundheit = GameObject.Find("GUITextGesundheit");</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> gesundheit.guiText.text = finalHealthScore;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> gesundheit.gameObject.transform.position = new Vector3(0.185f, 0.45f, 1);</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> punkte = GameObject.Find("GUITextPunkte");</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> punkte.guiText.text = finalPointScore;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> punkte.gameObject.transform.position = new Vector3(0.145f, 0.38f, 1);</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> }</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here's a screenshot of what this code actually looks like once the game is played:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQAkFZj-ThSnEboDPYj47y2Z3leVGwV-wquADuqB6MIAAvIVydB4_wQNglaAzdToCUcyJsryPwPhrxjM6w9GfUUrwXHu0Dos0yRpUIii_CJWwWRhwaU6-JE6arKS5mp9kVBKQow_HwBE/s1600/test+2011-02-28+14-38-03-64.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQAkFZj-ThSnEboDPYj47y2Z3leVGwV-wquADuqB6MIAAvIVydB4_wQNglaAzdToCUcyJsryPwPhrxjM6w9GfUUrwXHu0Dos0yRpUIii_CJWwWRhwaU6-JE6arKS5mp9kVBKQow_HwBE/s320/test+2011-02-28+14-38-03-64.png" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that the game is finally finished, I need to start looking at getting the instructional materials assembled and creating lesson plans for the day on which the game will be tested in class. As I will also be working with human test subjects, I will need to get institutional IRB approval. All sorts of little things to keep an eye as the project moves forward!</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-8866761764676051022011-02-10T11:09:00.000-08:002011-02-10T19:08:43.460-08:00Beer Bottles (Nearly) Imported<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new semester has finally started and, as anticipated, I've been busy with teaching and course preparations. I'm glad that I had time over Winter Term to code the game, get the functionality figured out, and polish the game interface. I'm going to test the game prototype in about two months and, as it currently stands, I only have some minor tweaking to do and development of instructional resources.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The game will require students who play it to recycle bottles according to glass type: clear, brown, and green. This will allow students to practice vocabulary and grammar (German two-way prepositions, e.g.: <i>Ich werfe die Flasche in den Braunglascontainer</i>), all within a simulated real-world context. For the last few weeks, however, I've had some difficulties getting the bottles to be "just right." Either I could make the entire bottle transparent, or none of it. Basically there was a problem with applying more than one texture to a single game object inside of Unity. I was finally able to solve this problem by composing one bottle out of several different objects, each of which had an unique textured applied to it. So, for instance, I was able to take a German beer label (which shouldn't be transparent):</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3t6XTeCyR2_IODjLgcEd16JQyspbLA4lhU0WSXWmefLEX2RdotvmW9KrXYKi-KuAu5IYmPvV_c9MbLlAgRO9Ho4PfgnldYkMSE4fSIf_9gh3a9kGfI0EkBaoAcBcCesgv_VGntae-qw/s1600/bier132a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3t6XTeCyR2_IODjLgcEd16JQyspbLA4lhU0WSXWmefLEX2RdotvmW9KrXYKi-KuAu5IYmPvV_c9MbLlAgRO9Ho4PfgnldYkMSE4fSIf_9gh3a9kGfI0EkBaoAcBcCesgv_VGntae-qw/s320/bier132a.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And apply it to a beer bottle, which needs to be entirely transparent. So, I made an object for the label inside of Blender and applied the label as a texture before importing it into Unity. I did the same thing with the beer bottle, albeit with a space in the model where the beer label object would be inserted. Once inside Unity, I created a compound object composed of the the Blender objects. And here's the result:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKYUj0aKsvyDVqBhAvGgTRH3gnplgrs2tLdA1PjJL2nfMNyoUzu_jnTDuiN1AHWFTRADRhouuNvIvUQUKXlpn2BIdqxzKl_3f9H8zVgWFi7CoXOD2xlO7ekakTSIwfcIDz_RJeJEiHXU/s1600/2011-02-10_1350.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKYUj0aKsvyDVqBhAvGgTRH3gnplgrs2tLdA1PjJL2nfMNyoUzu_jnTDuiN1AHWFTRADRhouuNvIvUQUKXlpn2BIdqxzKl_3f9H8zVgWFi7CoXOD2xlO7ekakTSIwfcIDz_RJeJEiHXU/s320/2011-02-10_1350.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A minor detail, perhaps, but one that I think adds a little extra layer of authenticity to the game, although I don't know whether the students will take time to think about the extra work that it entailed. Now that I got the clear and brown glass bottles finished, I just have to do the green glass bottles and non-recyclable trash and the game will be mostly finished. And, by the way, <a href="http://www.franziskaner.com/">Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier</a> is really good. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-38277761942518896642011-01-27T10:43:00.000-08:002011-01-27T10:43:01.993-08:00Start, Info and About Screens Finished<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Took a break from doing modeling in Blender, where I still need to make game resources (bottles, cans, trash), and spent a few days getting the game start, about and information screens setup. With Unity, this was a snap to do and only required minimal scripting in C# and light image creation skills in GIMP. This is what I got:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoKDuFLQoTWr7MPDGGUaCypVy6_pVLtH8JphCws0pZsSSFFi2r6DGhqsggIGZ9JnkB5GJCqVSlBXYmNqsf-35vfP3CljEpfGc5iJ5_kODnK4Ks3IVrXWNGQ5gndajOIhnem5R64IotGQ/s1600/test+2011-01-27+13-30-09-79.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoKDuFLQoTWr7MPDGGUaCypVy6_pVLtH8JphCws0pZsSSFFi2r6DGhqsggIGZ9JnkB5GJCqVSlBXYmNqsf-35vfP3CljEpfGc5iJ5_kODnK4Ks3IVrXWNGQ5gndajOIhnem5R64IotGQ/s320/test+2011-01-27+13-30-09-79.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Start Screen</i></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBpW7_FvyGTo3RtclWuh94p9uAdMGzNQfmb-_B_MAdMJq2uA8lonDTaZjzER4pG7VdDKZuyOzOVBETX91-sbJ4ncF65runH0ADCpcK2NADwRgkQVFYzYN0pNeAPBkSH3r3fU6Kj9vZco/s1600/test+2011-01-27+13-30-19-21.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBpW7_FvyGTo3RtclWuh94p9uAdMGzNQfmb-_B_MAdMJq2uA8lonDTaZjzER4pG7VdDKZuyOzOVBETX91-sbJ4ncF65runH0ADCpcK2NADwRgkQVFYzYN0pNeAPBkSH3r3fU6Kj9vZco/s320/test+2011-01-27+13-30-19-21.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Info Screen</i></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMF1H7RNP3wpLN_yGIf7gu7yv9yeIpNbmYY3sE24YRFQmTrhDFJpk56qGHkYa8jipKfZBDHwjLzePXzCm8xnEDL7Q3pigPxToqlA_-ZAsOu20o3JyClPMuthiVoe5eg9Mvwp2vGatg-c/s1600/test+2011-01-27+13-30-24-73.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMF1H7RNP3wpLN_yGIf7gu7yv9yeIpNbmYY3sE24YRFQmTrhDFJpk56qGHkYa8jipKfZBDHwjLzePXzCm8xnEDL7Q3pigPxToqlA_-ZAsOu20o3JyClPMuthiVoe5eg9Mvwp2vGatg-c/s320/test+2011-01-27+13-30-24-73.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>About Screen</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the coming days, I will try to make a screen capture of the game as I also included a really nice sound loop that I found on <a href="http://www.flashkit.com/">FlashKit</a>, which unfortunately does not come across on screen shots. I'll probably also get back to making the final game resources before getting down to writing the instructional materials for the game. Nevertheless, I'm happy to say that I'm weeks ahead of schedule and should be able to test the game out in-class in April.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-52896805661087302312011-01-20T10:32:00.000-08:002011-01-20T10:33:45.421-08:00Game Finally Coded<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been working feverishly these last few days, hoping to get get my game coded before the semester begins. Once the semester begins, I'll have my hands full with grading, teaching, and the what-have-yous of being a university professor. And although I won't be testing the game until the end of the semester, experience has taught me that the end always has a tendency of sneaking up. So, better to get it done sooner than later. Here's what I got:</span></div><br />
<center><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XKqVd1yD3B0?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="425"></iframe><br />
</center><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finished just in time, as I was starting to get loopy from writing code. This morning I was getting frustrated from making changes to a certain script but not seeing any difference in gameplay. Then I realized that I was editing a script for a totally different object than the one with which I was interacting. Time for a break!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that all the game logic is coded, I just have to add a few more game objects (e.g., bottles and trash) and then think seriously about how I will instructional the game. Sure, I have a general idea about what topics will be covered, but I need to think about prior knowledge that players may have and sequencing the instruction. In sum, a good chance for me to put my ideas from an <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2010.01092.x/abstract">earlier article</a> into effect. Once that is done, I will be making student supporting materials (e.g., homework) using <a href="http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus">Scribus</a>. After that, well, hopefully an article and national open-source distribution of the project.</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-79750192158869006982011-01-10T15:57:00.000-08:002011-01-12T04:22:06.372-08:00Polishing Interface and Writing Code<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been working these last few days on tweaking the game interface and writing the code the will provide game functionality. I'm happy to report that the code for managing the points and health in the game are all finished, as seen in this screenshot:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpD9SaUysgLyW7hXgJfQgiZirA5D57_XGs0fJ_zgXeJK2RcwvQQDQTS__7QcecKFmc1agzFUzTQlnb0fYXJfxKBzJO69B31MJMxb7W0tl5ZHeifh3zWlH1ldnTYFcabE_XJ3EikYyTu_E/s1600/test+2011-01-10+18-38-16-79.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpD9SaUysgLyW7hXgJfQgiZirA5D57_XGs0fJ_zgXeJK2RcwvQQDQTS__7QcecKFmc1agzFUzTQlnb0fYXJfxKBzJO69B31MJMxb7W0tl5ZHeifh3zWlH1ldnTYFcabE_XJ3EikYyTu_E/s320/test+2011-01-10+18-38-16-79.png" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every minute, the code will deduct one health point and play a small audio file (a "ping"); players will be able to get health points by purchasing something to eat or picking up a first aid kit. When players gain health points, another sound file is played. The game points work on the same logic. Once I get the money interface finished (what you see in the screenshot is just a place holder), I will get to work on developing the interactive objects that the player needs to pick up and recycle (or throw away).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm also happy to say that coding the game is going much more smoothly than I thought. Progress in this area was helped on tremendously by code I grabbed from the <a href="http://blog.almostlogical.com/2010/03/24/interacting-with-animated-blender-models-in-unity3d/">AlmostLogical</a> blog. Once I got my mind wrapped around the code, tweaking it for the game was very straight-forward. Here's a screenshot of the code:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5e8uf8YjNdoCd9xc2GXhGQAn1RxvtaDufbjAxC_uRtuUy8MYln2ht_CSDsoYFtQo4-6xcACNjaVbeILQPFKPur7kF3ymFptbZZH5YILmBdiMaEtBA2sD5pyLy78SDApKUKYNYA2-kqXM/s1600/digibahn_code.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5e8uf8YjNdoCd9xc2GXhGQAn1RxvtaDufbjAxC_uRtuUy8MYln2ht_CSDsoYFtQo4-6xcACNjaVbeILQPFKPur7kF3ymFptbZZH5YILmBdiMaEtBA2sD5pyLy78SDApKUKYNYA2-kqXM/s320/digibahn_code.png" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been really impressed with the Unity code libraries. Some game functionality, which I thought would take lines of code to write, are accomplished with one-line function calls. Hats off to you, Unity.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a side note, an <a href="http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132077565/video-games-boost-brain-power-multitasking-skills">interesting report</a> on the NPR website detailing how video games increase brain power and multitasking skills. Apparently, computer gamers perform better than non-gamers on certain tests of attention, speed, accuracy, vision and multitasking. Who would have thought?</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-90558892357825624052011-01-07T09:58:00.000-08:002011-01-07T09:59:59.654-08:00The Verisimilitude of Real Spaces<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Playing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2">Half-Life 2</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2:_Lost_Coast">Lost Coast</a> a few weeks ago, I was struck by the sense of "place" that the game provides and the <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16475">story</a> that the spaces tell in a visual manner. Not only were the images beautifully rendered, but the spaces themselves seemed to emit a sense of real history, especially inside of the church:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsV7FYePZYPvXMqZyJEXJK8d67ITyX7dzm4t2-Bs9YxBwUWaVSVteI2N5w0ZKfmUfvG_hSiLqPMrmtMWsEgLnvPN00OOQab1ZTtkUrRSGsxhqWcCkd7s_UuXGydGLhYkspOdIVVqKyZk4/s1600/hl2+2011-01-04+19-11-59-62.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsV7FYePZYPvXMqZyJEXJK8d67ITyX7dzm4t2-Bs9YxBwUWaVSVteI2N5w0ZKfmUfvG_hSiLqPMrmtMWsEgLnvPN00OOQab1ZTtkUrRSGsxhqWcCkd7s_UuXGydGLhYkspOdIVVqKyZk4/s320/hl2+2011-01-04+19-11-59-62.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyZtkz3GhALNqE0k2_RGr1j3bY_RT-skzsRbxDwt_fG8waTnhU9cdN5ll28p1GFzRTOJrGwPMJtxVUp0KIanURJHSvYVyICKKqhD9I3DzGaDa23yZkGzxtUaRpuI1T8s5egUCcK8Z9SE/s1600/hl2+2011-01-04+19-12-07-32.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyZtkz3GhALNqE0k2_RGr1j3bY_RT-skzsRbxDwt_fG8waTnhU9cdN5ll28p1GFzRTOJrGwPMJtxVUp0KIanURJHSvYVyICKKqhD9I3DzGaDa23yZkGzxtUaRpuI1T8s5egUCcK8Z9SE/s320/hl2+2011-01-04+19-12-07-32.png" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since starting work on my project, I've been fascinated by this real sense of space that can sometimes be found in virtual worlds and I've been wondering if it could be leveraged to help teach a second language. They say that nothing helps students learn a second language better than immersion abroad. I just wonder if immersion in a virtual space can also be helpful and, if yes, in what manner. Can the story that virtual spaces tell help to create mental narratives that students can use organize a second language and navigate spaces in which this language is used?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although clearly not as beautifully rendered as the Half-Life 2 game, I've been trying to develop a verisimilitude of real space in the game I've been developing. In other words, to get it as close to a real-world German town as possible:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vYDK8s8QK3w?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vYDK8s8QK3w?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that the models are developed and inserted into the game, future work will focus on scripting player/object interactivity an C#, polishing gameplay, and testing the game prototype in my German 122 class in Spring Semester 2011. After that, well, then comes the boring stuff of writing up essays to discuss data and research findings.</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-22970319643115990932011-01-03T11:42:00.000-08:002011-01-03T11:42:50.332-08:00Reflecting and Refracting with the Fountain<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than halfway with reimporting developed game models, which entails opening the models up in Blender, removing the object scale (Alt-S) and rotation (Alt-R), and redoing the rotation and scaling in Edit Mode. For fun, I decided to throw in a model of a fountain into the museum square instead of a tree. I also wanted to play with the water reflection and refraction capabilities that Unity offers. Almost every German town has a fountain at the center of town and, in my opinion, Bad Oberdinkelheim should be no different. This is what I got:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnUiV5RekjBqftletWeOLwWGxEiTTVM0N0NvsFsCMmxWydzuoPPg2FPomWV405Iioeg8oOmCjytHPlhUP1fjn30nXJRmZh2Mg1B_lA1ztLfFWgHCq2w9E1VvkwRUn4MfjQDfv8LLP9u0/s1600/test+2011-01-03+14-32-46-80.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnUiV5RekjBqftletWeOLwWGxEiTTVM0N0NvsFsCMmxWydzuoPPg2FPomWV405Iioeg8oOmCjytHPlhUP1fjn30nXJRmZh2Mg1B_lA1ztLfFWgHCq2w9E1VvkwRUn4MfjQDfv8LLP9u0/s320/test+2011-01-03+14-32-46-80.png" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second floor of the museum is reflected in the water and the bottom of the fountain is refracted through the water. All in all, very easy to do with no coding involved; just drag-and-drop functionality that is controlled through the Unity GUI. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-78232150099720862562010-12-29T10:45:00.000-08:002010-12-29T10:45:35.036-08:00Reimporting Blender Models<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have been busy these last few days putting the finishing touches on the new and improved city museum for the game and have begun reimporting already-developed models. I will be using the opportunity to change the format of the textures from .png to .jpg as the latter seems to be much smaller in size and Unity can handle them better. Here's a screen capture of what I've got so far:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQogy76hyGiAE2FvDDCtdLUW3paNuzc1wAXi3n2WExzRodjyaUw_LRrnn_4_cb2Duhnl03h72SJ59M_p7mmYFQ0MtzIY6KWe3lX28pLVu4P_cYVl87f3D4SmFC8EfsxfMqnG9kE1qHowE/s1600/image_001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQogy76hyGiAE2FvDDCtdLUW3paNuzc1wAXi3n2WExzRodjyaUw_LRrnn_4_cb2Duhnl03h72SJ59M_p7mmYFQ0MtzIY6KWe3lX28pLVu4P_cYVl87f3D4SmFC8EfsxfMqnG9kE1qHowE/s320/image_001.png" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once I get a spare moment I will make a video of a walk-around to better illustrate the virtual space. Broke my hand - again - so I'm having to manage Blender and Unity with a left-mouse configuration; at least for the next four or so weeks. Good thing I already have most of the development work already done. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-843920362647997066.post-64772881118792949332010-12-18T11:05:00.000-08:002010-12-18T11:05:56.788-08:00Blue Window Frames and FRAPS Test<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally got the second floor of the museum finished, including all textures and the final changes to the meshes. Although I will be adding several more models for the prototype test (<i>e.g</i>., medieval tower and some traffic signs one would normally find in a pedestrian zone in Germany), I wanted to do a quick test to see how the framerate for the game was. I exported what I had as a Windows executable file, ran the game from my laptop (Dell XPS M1730) in 1280x 1024 windowed format, set the graphics quality for "beautiful," and let <a href="http://www.fraps.com/">FRAPS</a> record the information for me. This is what I got:</span></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frames: 2739</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time (ms): 48159</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Min fps: 49</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Max fps: 76</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Avg fps: 56.874</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still a better framerate than television (~30 fps). And here is a screenshot of the test, showing the completed second floor of the museum and the remaining meshes that need to be textured:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-9zKRI3dk8xZnC8OV8cbA_Znkwl_JUlZhGrrog7FCy5NhEX2uksbCn2hiUmQpG6jBL67wz-SJ5g3_Weipcbly2BtRldHQVOwijTnePeETUns38654gz6L7DaKR8mPtFozvMhuAV3uRQ/s1600/test+2010-12-18+13-32-12-60.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-9zKRI3dk8xZnC8OV8cbA_Znkwl_JUlZhGrrog7FCy5NhEX2uksbCn2hiUmQpG6jBL67wz-SJ5g3_Weipcbly2BtRldHQVOwijTnePeETUns38654gz6L7DaKR8mPtFozvMhuAV3uRQ/s320/test+2010-12-18+13-32-12-60.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I noticed in earlier tests that the .png texture format was just too large and caused the game to slow down too much; I switched all textures to .jpg format, which seems to render much more quickly. All in all, a pretty good test, I suppose, although I wonder what the framerate will be on my students' computers when they test the game next semester. They may have to set the graphics quality for "good," or perhaps the game will lag too much. One other thing to test out before the prototype is deployed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought a day or so about what I should do with the second floor window frames on the museum. Although I could have done them in a regular brown wood texture, I didn't know whether this would be as optically interesting. Then again, I didn't want to add something that one wouldn't perhaps find in Germany. So, after searching a while "Fachwerk Fenster" in Google Images, I discovered this nice picture:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuooAB_BdlG0lPCERr26Nfjya97ABFfZ5AnRp5GfJKVryoWsUxNXPtInhi2WewkG_PcFFG3ydydiKImSN5Mrvi2sDjSAmyw3KKkOFdjIE0t9UtSUp6qAgemw4oV5a0YgxdFad7ksBWLU/s1600/blue_window_frames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuooAB_BdlG0lPCERr26Nfjya97ABFfZ5AnRp5GfJKVryoWsUxNXPtInhi2WewkG_PcFFG3ydydiKImSN5Mrvi2sDjSAmyw3KKkOFdjIE0t9UtSUp6qAgemw4oV5a0YgxdFad7ksBWLU/s320/blue_window_frames.jpg" width="303" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought the blue color added a nice touch, so I sampled the color inside GIMP and created a texture map for the windows. I didn't put too much effort into the frames, however, since I'm guessing that most players won't spend too much time looking at the second floor of the museum and I needed to quickly move on to other aspects of the project, such as programming the whole thing in C#.</span></div><br />
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</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The DigiBahn Project</div>David Nevillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056523706172459563noreply@blogger.com2