topical media & game development

topical media & game development

[] readme course(s) preface I 1 2 II 3 4 III 5 6 7 IV 8 9 10 V 11 12 afterthought(s) appendix reference(s) example(s) resource(s) _

present / print

focus on multimedia

multimedia @ VU

studyguide / (pre-master) instroom

contact


  dr A. Eliëns
  eliens@cs.vu.nl
  Vrije Universiteit, FEW/Informatica, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam
  www.cs.vu.nl/~eliens/multimedia

The multimedia-related curricula originated from research and education in software engineering. However, they have now obtained a more independent status. For my qualifications in the area of multimedia, you may inspect my CV.

curricula

The are two curricula in which multimedia topics play an important role:

curricula

information science: multimedia and culture
computer science: multimedia / game development

These curricula differ in their focus on respectively content and technology development.

principles/elements

In summary, our curricula cover:

principles/elements

exploratory design -- advanced information systems, human-computer interfaces
multimedia technology -- 3D graphics, animation, games, virtual environments
scientific context -- user evaluation, media theory, mathematics, logic, convergence, standards, retrieval

Dependent on the individual interest and capabilities of the student, these elements may have different weights.

topics/projects

In the broad range of multimedia applications, we focus on:

topics/projects

multimedia information systems -- e.g. digital dossiers for cultural heritage
game development -- using 3D technology and game engine SDK's

However, application domains such as video monitoring and digital storytelling have also be touched upon.

courses -- multimedia

The courses that I am responsible for are:

courses -- multimedia

introduction multimedia -- convergence, standards, retrieval
multimedia authoring -- web3D/VRML
intelligent multimedia technology -- virtual environments
visual design -- house style and game design
multimedia project(s) -- individual assignments

Due to institutional re-organisations, however, changes may occur in the not so distant future.

facilities/technology -- multimedia zaal

Recently, the beginning of 2005, a well-equipped multimedia practicum room has been realized, with high performance computers, with double screens and a powerful GPU, as well as a rich collection of software, including:

facilities/technology -- multimedia zaal

VRML -- Blaxxun Contact 3D, Parallel Graphics VrmlPad
virtools -- www.virtools.com
Alias Maya Complete (5.0 & 6.0) -- 10 floating licenses
3D Studio Max 7 -- 15 floating licenses
Adobe Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS
DirectX9c SDK -- www.microsoft.com/directx
WildTangent WebDriver & SDK -- www.wildtangent.com/developer
CG Toolkit -- developer.nvidia.com/page/tools.html
RenderMonkey & SDK -- www.ati.com/developer/rendermonkey
Half Life 2 SDK -- www.valve-erc.com/srcsdk

The multimedia zaal also has facilities for projection, and a 5-1 surround sound system.

research context

report activities 2004-2006

research

Our mission statement is:

... to study aspects of the deployment and architecture of virtual environments as an interface to (intelligent) multimedia information systems

www.cs.vu.nl/~eliens/research

As a follow up on our intelligent multimedia research, in which we developed a platform for intelligent agents in 3D virtual space, we now focus on the use of game technology for immersive serious applications, in particular:

game technology

digital dossiers in cultural heritage -- www.cs.vu.nl/~eliens/casus
game @ VU -- developing promotional games -- www.cs.vu.nl/~eliens/game
reality augmented presentation technology -- www.cs.vu.nl/~eliens/vip

This research is, at the moment of writing, still in its inceptive and explorative phase, and primarily done in cooperation with students as part of the regular multimedia courses or individual projects. In the past we have investigated intelligent multimedia. Nowadays, our focus changed to high-performance multimedia, and game applications using state-of-the-art game SDKs.

examples/demo(s)

A number of examples of student's work, as well as research related demos, are available online:

student practical work -- infotainment, games, digital dossiers
research-related -- intelligent multimedia applications
game development -- preferably in cooperation with others
presentation technology -- on request only

The more recent explorations of game technology are not available online, but can be demonstrated on request.

motivation/rationale

www.cs.vu.nl/~eliens/media

The introduction multimedia syllabus, entitled topical media & game development covers all the background material and contains also a rationale of the educational and research activities that fall under my supervision.

multimedia @ VU

contact

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curricula

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principles/elements

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topics/projects

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courses -- multimedia

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facilities/technology -- multimedia zaal

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research context

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examples/demo(s)

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motivation/rationale

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