Action in Motion II This project will be building off of the tech demo and research done in the previous Action in Motion project to create a 5 minute action-game experience using hybrid input on the Kinect. There will be a focus shift from the previous semester, moving from tech-development to game design. The team will research good design practices for using hybrid input, and play test the best/most intuitive methods for implementing it with the Kinect. While the pure Kinect input provides powerful motion tracking, it is still limited by its inability to track fine movements. The team will be focused on developing game mechanics where the Kinect tracking is the primary input method, but is supplemented with other input devices to allow for more nuanced actions, and to provide context for actions in a "hack-and-slash" action game environment. The goal of the project is to build a system that feels fun, and enables a certain level of skill-based mastery when playing the game, as well as encapsulate these mechanics into an experience for the ETC demo room.
	Anihccam Anihccam del 3000, the mechanical ballet subtitled Interpretazione e riproduzione dei movimenti e rumori delle macchine, whose costumes have become enduring icons of futurism, is being re-imagined at Entertainment Technology Center, CMU by using the modern animation techniques and advanced motion capture technology. The ballet was conceived by Fortunato Depero in 1924. It is a sort of futuristic dialogue between a few locomotives in love with the stationmaster. The project has been commissioned by Museum of Modern Arts in Rovereto, Italy.
	Beyond the Stage Project Beyond The Stage is creating experiences that take drama straight to the audience - either online, in their community, or interactively while they watch a performance! We use technology to enhance the transformational power of theater and reach new audiences.
	Crescendo Encore Crescendo Encore is continuing the work done by Crescendo. Last semester, Crescendo created a classical music game geared for families that encourages cooperation, brings people together and gives players the feeling of playing real instruments. We are working with SmileGate, a Korean game developer. Smilegate has given us two major directives this semester. Whereas the game created by Crescendo was playable only for the PC, SmileGate’s first directive is to explore the possibilities of making the game playable on different consoles. SmileGate and Crescendo Encore have agreed to move forward with Xbox Live Indie Games as a platform. SmileGate’s second directive is to build upon the existing framework and enhance the game with better feedback, better hardware and a better UI, all the while leveraging our industry contacts to create a great experience. The goal of the project is thus to deliver to SmileGate a game built upon the game created by Crescendo that can be played on the Xbox360.
	Digital Dream Lab Digital Dream Lab is working with the Makeshop at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, where children are provided with a hands- on workshop to learn about creation through small projects. Sewing machines, woodworking tools, electronic circuit blocks, various other materials, and amazing facilitators provide children with an exploratory environment that starts with the simple question, "What do you want to make today?" Our focus this semester is to explore how a digital creation experience can function in the Makeshop. With a current gap and request to bring programming concepts into the process, we have proposed a tangible block interface to teach the basics through a storytelling framework. The physical blocks will represent characters, actions, modifiers, etc. in the digital space, and a projector will provide a window for children to explore and create!
	Factomo Factomo is a project team at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center charged with creating a new interactive game experience through which players can create and operate the manufacturing factory of the future for General Motors. We are working with our client representatives, Robert Tilolve and Ronald Lesperance from the GM Research and Development Center to create new ways to visualize the manufacturing process in a virtual environment, which is both fun and informative. Our project will work to create a competitive environment in which teams can compete in categories such as plant efficiency and productivity to design their vision of future automobile production. Simultaneously, it will feed the choices the players make during this process back to GM R&D for consideration during actual facility design and construction.
	Fun Kinection Microsoft Kinect Fun Labs is a part of Microsoft Studios that specializes in pushing the boundaries and limits of the Kinect sensor. The goal of the semester for the Fun Kinection ETC team is to create a polished and shippable gadget to add to the Fun Labs lineup. The team will be working closely with client representatives from Microsoft to ensure the delivery of a high-quality and fully realized end product. The team will not stop short of an experience with the Kinect that will be groundbreaking and foster innovation throughout the industry.
	Glatitude Generosity is infectious, and positive energy spreads faster than wildfire. Project Glatitude is a client-based initiative working with the Linden Foundation, a charitable organization based in Pennsylvania. The Linden Foundation has challenged us to create a gaming experience centered around the "Pay It Forward" concept that encourages people to get out of their comfort zone and through generosity of spirit, change other people's lives. With this goal in mind, Glatitude is creating a game in which the playing space is your own community. Players will pass along acts of charity and kindness that branch out and with enough momentum, go viral. The game is supported by an online component that visualizes the generosity of the players within a digital network. The goal is to deliver to the Linden Foundation a polished game model that encourages players to be kinder to their fellow man and to help make the world a better place.
	Jokers and Gestures Jokers and Gestures is a client- based project at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center working with WMS Gaming. WMS Gaming is a casino style gaming company based in Chicago. The goal of the project is to create a novel interactive and immersive experience for slot machine players at the casino. The team will create custom hardware and software to demonstrate and test this new slot machine experience.
	Madhouse Madhouse is the first ETC project located at MediaCityUK in Manchester, UK, and working with the University of Salford. The project aims to bring interactivity to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies's operatic "8 Songs for a Mad King" as a centerpiece for Salford's high-tech lounge, the Egg.
	Megalodon-SV The Electronic Arts Office of the Chief Creative Officer has tasked us with creating a game using WebGL that will redefine the expectations of browser-based gaming. WebGL is an exciting new software library that expands Javascript to generate interactive 3D graphics in web browsers without cumbersome plugins. The game we’re making is a tower offense game, based on original EA IP. The game will feature fast paced multiplayer battles, different character classes with distinct weapons and abilities that can be upgraded, and a customizable battle kit of units that the player can summon to help them win the day. One of the most exciting parts about this project is that we are working so closely with the OCCO. Our close proximity and relationship with the OCCO this semester will be a great help to us on the road to success. We are very excited to be working with them.
	mindful xp mindful xp is about making games with meaning – not solely through narrative or aesthetic choices, but instead using mechanics, dynamics, interactions, and all the things that make games “games” to experiment with their expressiveness as a medium.
	Oceanus 4 Description coming soon
	Pixel Pushers Pixel Pushers is an educational game and modification project under the supervision of our client, MinecraftEdu. We are creating a toolset that allows teachers to create lessons in the popular indie game Minecraft, easily share those lessons with other educators, and allows them to effectively monitor and review their students' progress. Further, we aim to explore what academic subjects best lend themselves to the game’s format through a series of proof- of-concept lessons. Finally, we want the student experience to be as safe and constructive as possible, whether sessions are being held in real classrooms or virtual youth centers. The goal of the Pixel Pushers project is to make game-based learning through the MinecraftEdu software more accessible to students and educators alike. With the target student age ranging from K-12, and a target teacher audience spanning continents and countless disciplines, we aim to create a flexible application that enables educators to use the fun game environment of Minecraft to effectually complement their lesson plan.
	Project Xense Project Xense is a museum exhibit that showcases both the challenges and the advances in implant and prosthetic technology. The project is part of a larger “CyberPeople” exhibit at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, located in Washington D.C. and features interactive experiences about retinal (vision) implants, cochlear (hearing) implants, and neuroprosthetics. Simulations utilizing EEG headsets, head-mounted displays, real-time video processing, and more will allow guests to gain first-hand experience of the mental and physical challenges of using implants and to learn more about both the current and future technologies involved. This union of medical science with media technology will hopefully educate and inspire the researchers as well as policy-makers of this generation and beyond. Project Xense is funded by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) and produced by students at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC).
	Sci-Fri (Science Friction) Initiated by DARPA, this multi-semester project is the first step towards inspiring young minds to pursue science and engineering as a career. This year we are focusing on creating several games for children ages 5-7 through which they learn science. We are collaborating with many institutions, such as the Sesame Workshop which will give us guidance on the age-appropriateness of our work, and Carnegie Mellon’s Human Computer Interaction Institute which will help us measure how the games affect childrens' knowledge and skills.
	SEEC The goal of this project is to develop an interactive experience (software and/or hardware that can live at the Schrader Center) that enriches (brings to life) the content of the Oglebay Institute so that visitors can engage and learn the content in a meaningful, relevant, impactful and fun way - with the focus especially on kids. The experience will also aim to promote awareness and involvement (in nature or artistic outlets), encouraging kids to go outside, "go green" at home, create their own artistic expressions outside the OI experience etc. The experience will specifically aim to augment the rich educational content that OI is already making available and may be designed in a way to encourage visitors to learn problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, interdisciplinary collaboration etc.
	Spring Entertainment Description coming soon
	The Grid Description coming soon
	V.T. Online A web-based and fully interactive virtual tour.
	Wall# Wall# is a result of collaboration between the Entertainment Technology Center and Microsoft Retail. We are pleased to be stationed alongside our client in their offices and are enjoying benefits of continuous guidance. Our project aims to explore various avenues of interaction to enhance the end customer's experience. In addition to this, we are also aiming to innovate with tools and frameworks to further enrich the content production pipeline.
	Whale R U “Whale R U” is a Master´s of Entertainment Technology student project based in the Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute, M-ITI. This semester we are working with the Madeira Whale Museum, which is located in Caniçal.The Museum has an educational section, where groups of school children are taken on field trips, as well as two main exhibition rooms, one that portrays the history of the whaling industry in Madeira and another room that showcases whales and also information about whale watching activities supported and organized by the museum itself.

For a list of past projects and innovations, check out our Project Archives.