Welcome to Infinity graphics

Why did we take this class?

Originally, we had a desire to create a program that was beyond simple text and graphics. Today’s software easily incorporates sound, text, and a graphical user interface that is easy to use and usually intuitive. We wanted to create a program that incorporated multiple forms of media beyond what we have learned in the previous classes.

What did we learn?

In short, computer game design. Some of the key things we learned were:
- How each aspect of the game is divided and handled (in terms of Finite State Diagrams and such).
- A history of video games
- The criteria for successful games and game hardware
- Different Artificial intelligence algorithms
- Rigid body dynamics and physics
- The importance of scheduling and game design
- 3d Modeling and incorporation of animations

What were the Benefits of taking this class?

We did not learn only from the professor, but we learn from our fellow classmates and ourselves. The class provided a nice competitive atmosphere for motivation and interesting lectures and guest speakers. It was nice to design and create a project on our own with the restrictions that would normally be imposed in a classroom setting.

What were the disadvantages of this class?

There were no serious disadvantages to taking this class except the tools that we used were far from perfect.
- 3d Canvas Pro is awful. There are bad compatibility issues with different versions of 3D Canvas Pro. It had a confusing interface design that often hampered progression. All in all, it was a waste of the $40.00 it cost to buy it. Instead, all the models were done in Maya and then exported as a .x file to be loaded in by dark basic.

- Dark Basic Pro was chosen because it had a lot of built-in functions. However, most of those built-in functions turned out to be useless. Collision detection did not always work with .x files. My team spent two weeks trying to correct Dark Basic’s collision detection to work properly before we implemented our own algorithm for collision detection. Lighting did not work on single polygon surfaces, which our matrix predominantly was. In addition, shadows slowed our computers to a grinding halt. Unfortunately, Dark Basic also lacks an object oriented language ability that would make organizing and coding the finite state machines much easier. In addition, excessive commenting inside the code caused valid lines of code to become unrecognizable. The only thing we truly appreciated about the built in commands was the sound and music set. While they did not do exactly what the Dark Basic manual said they would, the sound and music commands did work exceptionally well, especially in 3D. (You can test this for yourself through the Chautauqua we created).

How do we feel about the class overall?

All in all, the class was a positive experience. Class was not only educational but entertaining. Never before have we been given such artistic freedom in designing and creating our own program in a class. If nothing else, we will have gained a project to add to our personal portfolios that truly show what we are capable of when we push ourselves to the limit, and that is why we named ourselves Infinity Graphics.



\| Team \| About CS426 \| Special Thanks
Why did we take this class? Originally, we had a desire to create a program that was beyond simple text and graphics. Today’s software easily incorporates sound, text, and a graphical user interface that is easy to use and usually intuitive. We wanted to create a program that incorporated multiple forms of media beyond what we have learned in the previous classes. What did we learn? In short, computer game design. Some of the key things we learned were: - How each aspect of the game is divided and handled (in terms of Finite State Diagrams and such). - A history of video games - The criteria for successful games and game hardware - Different Artificial intelligence algorithms - Rigid body dynamics and physics - The importance of scheduling and game design - 3d Modeling and incorporation of animations What were the Benefits of taking this class? We did not learn only from the professor, but we learn from our fellow classmates and ourselves. The class provided a nice competitive atmosphere for motivation and interesting lectures and guest speakers. It was nice to design and create a project on our own with the restrictions that would normally be imposed in a classroom setting. What were the disadvantages of this class? There were no serious disadvantages to taking this class except the tools that we used were far from perfect. - 3d Canvas Pro is awful. There are bad compatibility issues with different versions of 3D Canvas Pro. It had a confusing interface design that often hampered progression. All in all, it was a waste of the $40.00 it cost to buy it. Instead, all the models were done in Maya and then exported as a .x file to be loaded in by dark basic. - Dark Basic Pro was chosen because it had a lot of built-in functions. However, most of those built-in functions turned out to be useless. Collision detection did not always work with .x files. My team spent two weeks trying to correct Dark Basic’s collision detection to work properly before we implemented our own algorithm for collision detection. Lighting did not work on single polygon surfaces, which our matrix predominantly was. In addition, shadows slowed our computers to a grinding halt. Unfortunately, Dark Basic also lacks an object oriented language ability that would make organizing and coding the finite state machines much easier. In addition, excessive commenting inside the code caused valid lines of code to become unrecognizable. The only thing we truly appreciated about the built in commands was the sound and music set. While they did not do exactly what the Dark Basic manual said they would, the sound and music commands did work exceptionally well, especially in 3D. (You can test this for yourself through the Chautauqua we created). How do we feel about the class overall? All in all, the class was a positive experience. Class was not only educational but entertaining. Never before have we been given such artistic freedom in designing and creating our own program in a class. If nothing else, we will have gained a project to add to our personal portfolios that truly show what we are capable of when we push ourselves to the limit, and that is why we named ourselves Infinity Graphics.