ETC Alum Eben Myers ('04) along with Vincent Aleven (CMU HCII), Matthew Easterday (CMU HCII), Amy Ogan (CMU HCII) submitted a paper based upon a course taught at Carnegie Mellon.
Congratulations to Eben!
DIGITEL 2010
The 3rd IEEE International Conference on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning
http://digitel2010.cl.ncu.edu.tw/
Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Dates: April 12-16, 2010
Title: Toward a framework for the analysis and design of educational games
Authors: Vincent Aleven (CMU HCII), Eben Myers (Etcetera Edutainment and CMU ETC), Matthew Easterday (CMU HCII), Amy Ogan (CMU HCII)
Abstract: We describe and illustrate the beginnings of a general framework for the design and analysis of educational games. Our students have used it to analyze existing educational games and to create prototype educational games. The framework is built on existing components: a method for precisely specifying educational objectives, a framework for relating a game’s mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, and principles for instructional design grounded in empirical research in the learning sciences. The power of the framework comes from the components themselves, as well as from considering these components in concert and making connections between them. The framework coordinates the many levels at which an educational game must succeed in order to be effective. We illustrate the framework by using it to analyze Zombie Division and to generate some redesign ideas for this game.
Department of Media Relations
Carnegie Mellon University
Alumni House
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-268-2900
Fax: 412-268-6929
Contact: Eric Sloss For immediate release:
412-268-5765 Jan. 5, 2009
ecs@andrew.cmu.edu
Students At Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center
Recreate Italian Futurist Puppetry Ballet, Balli Plastici
PITTSBURGH—Depero Futuristi, a student team at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, is re-imagining the Futurist puppet ballet “Balli Plastici,” or the ‘plastic dance.’ Using a puppeteering software toolkit called ToyBox Futuristi, the group has digitized the ballet’s original marionettes while developing a means for others to create their own Futurist-inspired ballets.
Under the direction of Franco Sciannameo, director of the interdisciplinary degree programs at Carnegie Mellon, the group hopes to move the marionettes beyond mere appreciation and propel them forward as living art. The group designed ToyBox Futuristi using arrangements of original and re-imagined “Balli Plastici” puppets, set pieces and backdrops in an attempt to adapt and modernize Depero’s pieces to the digital age while still keeping the artist’s original vision alive. ToyBox Futuristi also features an intuitive user interface that is artistically consistent with Depero’s work.
Created by Italian Futurist Fortunato Depero in 1918, “Balli Plastici” uses geometric, fantastical, multicolored marionettes to encapsulate the Futurist ideal of machinery striving to break free of human control. The machine-like puppets were intended to replace human actors and dancers while establishing a new way to present art. “Balli Plastici” has been featured on Performa 09, TimeOut New York, MeFeedia and Parson’s Illustration department blog.
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About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. For more, see www.cmu.edu.
Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center and University of
Pittsburgh Team Up To Create A New Form of Interactive Theatre for Kids
PITTSBURGH— Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) and the University of Pittsburgh have teamed up as part of Shakespeare-in-the-Schools (SITS) program to bring a new, interactive, touring theatre production titled, “Darwin and the Kid,” to area youth. A performance of “Darwin and the Kid” will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m. at the Charity Randall Theatre on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus.
Written by SITS founder and University of Pittsburgh Professor Attilio Favorini, “Darwin and the Kid” is a play about evolution for middle and high school students that combines live theatre, video images and an interactive website. The production is the SITS program’s second venture into science education. Coming on the heels of “Rachel Carson Saves The Day,” a play about the pioneering environmentalist and the dangers of chemical pollution, “Darwin and the Kid” addresses key points of evolutionary science as prescribed by the Pennsylvania Standards for Science and Technology for grades 7-10.
After incorporating a sophisticated audiovisual package into “Rachel Carson Saves the Day,” SITS members were convinced that school audiences would welcome a rich audiovisual environment to supplement the play’s text. ETC was invited to help create key audiovisual elements including video image of Darwin, audio and visual representations of the voyage of the Beagle, projected hypertext definitions of key terms and a website.
“We hope it’s just the first of what could be a new genre of theatre,” said Favorini. “In any case, it’s a nifty way to enliven the study of science for our school kids.”
Department of Media Relations
Carnegie Mellon University
Alumni House
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-268-2900
Fax: 412-268-6929
Contact: Eric Sloss For immediate release:
412-268-5765 Jan. 20, 2010
ecs@andrew.cmu.edu
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About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. For more, see www.cmu.edu.
The objective of the SurfaceScapes project is to create a proof-of-concept for playing tabletop role-playing games on the Microsoft Surface Table. This semester the team used Dungeon and Dragons as the basis for the prototype. In October the team's 3 minute video caused a stir within the online tech/game publications. Recently Microsoft Surface Blog did a follow-up on the team's progress this semester.
To see the blog:
http://bit.ly/6cE871
To see the team's web site:
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/surfacescapes/index.html
Great job SurfaceScapes team!
Everyone at the ETC and Carnegie Mellon are getting ready for the Building Virtual Worlds show.
The show is featured in a story on Carnegie Mellon's home page as a Must-See-Event.
http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/computing/2009/fall/a-must-see-event.shtml
And the ETC students took The Fence on November 30, 2009 to help promote the show. The Fence is the university’s billboard for student groups. Located on the Cut (the grassy area of campus between Forbes Avenue and Hunt Library), the Fence must be painted in its entirety, between midnight and sunrise. Students complete their painted work and guard the fence through the night to make sure no one paints over it.
BVW was founded more than a decade ago by the late professor Randy Pausch. The first show is open to the general public and starts Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Purnell Center’s Chosky Theater. A later show — by invitation-only — takes place at 6:00 p.m.
If you are not able to join us in Pittsburgh, please join us live on the web at 6pm December 2nd.
http://bvw.etc.cmu.edu/content/show
