Johnny.Rodgers

Assignments

Assignment 1

A1_01, A1_02, A1_03, A1_04, A1_05, A1_06, A1_07, A1_08, A1_09, A1_10, A1_11, A1_12, A1_13, A1_14, A1_15, A1_16

Assignment 2

[1], A2_02, A2_03, A2_04, A2_05, A2_06, A2_07, A2_08, A2_09, A2_10, A2_11, A2_12, A2_13, A2_14

Assignment 3

A3_01, A3_02

Assignment 4

SPIROGRAPHICDESIGN v2

Since a set of UI widgets was initially integrated with my Project 2 submission, I've taken this assignment to expand the feature set of the Spirographicdesign tool:

• Export features added: user can now export their spirograph to JPG (courtesy of Yonas Sandbaek - http://seltar.wliia.org)
• Cleaned up HTML page for display of tool, including a small gallery of recent spirographs
• Set background colour (grayscale, only editable on start or after reset)
• Set stroke alpha
• Inner and outer radius values now take effect immediately (during drawing, rather than after reset) - previously only the increments were updated dynamically
• "Show Dots" relabeled "Show Guides", and now includes a guide circle that indicates the current size of the inner and outer radii of the drawing circle, as well as its motion path
• Canvas is now much bigger, and in a landscape format (1200 x 700 - this is potentially problematic for small displays. A multi-format option would be helpful in that regard (ie. launch at 800x600, launch at 1200x700, launch at 1900x1200, etc)
• Fixed some minor bugs

* I've put together a quick ControlP5 Widgets tutorial for anyone who's interested, or having trouble with Assignment 4: ControlP5 Demo

Projects

Project 1: Aclockalypse Now!

Display the progress of time in a non-traditional way.

ACLOCKALYPSE NOW! (Rollover predictions on left to see more information on right)

After reading an article outlining fears about the possible havoc the Large Hadron Collider may have wreaked on the universe when it came online a couple of weeks ago, I got thinking about doomsday scenarios and predictions (and how each one of them to this point has been wrong). So, I decided to visualize some of these predictions (past and present) in a playful 'apocalyptic clock.' The design of the clock is intended to loosely mimic the USA's Department of Homeland Security Threat Level graphics, which I find equally as ill-intentioned as perennial predictions of doom from various interest groups (religious cults chief among them). However, as the LHC fears provided the impetus for the project, I've also tried to include some science-based predictions.

http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/Project1/dhs-threat.jpg   http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/Project1/homer_end.jpg

Project 2: Spirographicdesign

Create your own drawing tool, emphasizing algorithmic generation/modification/manipulation.

Experimental Spirograph Drawing Tool

I chose to develop a Spirograph generator. Users can control the variables of the spirograph during generation, including the radii, offset, increments, and stroke weight and colour. Additionally, the drawing can be played and paused, and can be switched between line and dot mode. When in dot mode, a heavier stroke weight makes the dots easier to see. I'd like to add a feature to export the completed image to PNG, but didn't have time to look into that.

Screenshots

http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/Project2/spiro_screenshot.jpg

http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/Project2/spiro_screenshot2.jpg

http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/Project2/spiro_screenshot3.jpg

Final Project: Firing on All Cylinders (Hockey Interview Generator)

Application available at: http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/FOAC

Report available at: http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/FOAC_Paper/final_paper_IAT800_JR(301089308).pdf

Build Something Cool!

After watching hundreds of post-game hockey interviews, you can't help but notice some...similarities between them. The formulas don't change too much over the years, and common phrases tend to crop up. Based on this, and on an interest in the impressive commentary engines used in current sports video games (specifically, NHL 09), I am going to design a hockey interview generator that uses real game scores to build post-game interviews.

Each day, NHL scores will be pulled in from an RSS feed of NHL results (available from http://www.totallyscored.com/, as XML or JSON), and a player interview generated for each from a set of stock hockey phrases I've been collecting over the years (see sample below - feel free to add). The UI will allow the user to select which game results/interviews they would like to see (from a drop-down list).

This project will allow me to experiment with web services (feeds) in Processing, which I haven't done before, as well as model a language system within a tightly constrained domain. This aspect loosely ties in with my thesis research into adaptive systems. I'll also be designing a UI that will allow for the display of Team logos, player photos (captains), and interview text. If time allows, I would love to actually record the stock phrases as audio files and use those to put the interviews together. I have some hockey buddies who would be good for this.

Libraries

• ControlP5 UI library to define UI components
• JSON Java library for parsing the score feed (install instructions and discussion in this post)

Development Plan

• Get JSON library up and running and feeds being retrieved
• Retrieve and prepare other assets (logos, phrases, player photos)
• Define language model (what gets used when), testing with static data
• Design interface
• Build and test with live data
• If time, record audio and integrate with system

Current Phrases (feel free to add)

Interviewer Questions

• How did you feel about your team's performance tonight?
• After this game, how do you prepare for your next effort?
• What can your dressing room take away from the game?
• What was the feeling like on the bench?
• How did you and your team approach this matchup?
• What was on your mind heading onto the ice?
• How did you feel about your play tonight?
• What have been your team's strengths so far?
• Tell me about your experience of tonight's game.
• Overall, what strategy can your team rely on moving forward?

Player Responses

POSITIVES

• We're firing on all cylinders
• We got a couple lucky bounces
• Each of us made sure to take our man out of the play
• We kept up the tempo
• Everybody's gotta make sure to D up on their man
• We cashed in on our chances
• We won the battles in the corners
• I think we just wanted it more
• We were really good on the forecheck
• We had fun out there tonight
• I think we played as a team
• We played to our strengths
• We were able to put some pucks in the net
• Our guys were able to make things happen tonight
• We took the play to their end
• We were able to get the puck deep
• We got a couple dirty ones
• Our guys came through
• We were able to generate some chances
• We didn't quit
• This win means a lot to us
• We played as a team tonight
• We've got a lot of faith in ourselves
• We took care of the little things
• It felt good to get the win
• The whole team stayed sharp
• We pinned them down in the zone and made some plays
• We feel really good about our game right now
• I think we said what we needed to say on the ice
• We all played tight defensively
• We felt comfortable out there
• We were dominant
• We were able to stick to our game plan
• We capitalized on our opportunities
• It's nice to get two points
• We were just happy to get the W
• We played a good defensive game
• We've been very consistent
• We had all of our lines contributing
• The whole team feels positive about the way we're playing
• We've developed good chemistry on this team
• We're rolling and we want to keep going and keep getting better
• We've had some success and we want it to continue
• We have to give ourselves a good chance to win, and that's what happened tonight
• We were able to outwork them
• Each of us just had a bit of an extra step out there
• It's about us trying hard every night and then keeping it simple
• We were able to create off the rush
• Some creative offensive opportunities presented themselves

NEGATIVES

• We need to turn things around
• We have to make sure to keep the third guy high
• Obviously they were able to control the puck better than we did
• We have to get some confidence
• We have to get some wins
• We have to do the little things
• Our team game wasn't there
• We didn't have a lot of energy
• We took a few too many penalties
• They had us on our heels
• We weren't able to get a lot of shots through to the net
• There's no excuse
• We just have to play better
• The bounces didn't go our way
• We just have to make sure to knuckle down in our zone
• We let them put the pressure on us early and then never caught up
• We don't want to dwell on this loss
• They ended up finding the back of the net more than we did
• We've had some tough games lately
• We have to hang tough and keep our heads up
• It's never fun to lose
• They capitalized on their chances
• They made plays that we weren't able to
• They outskated us
• They took the game to us
• They did all the things that we were supposed to do
• They've got talented guys that can move the puck
• It's disappointing
• We kind of lost our momentum
• It was a tough game to play
• They're a good team
• We didn't make them work hard enough for their goals
• It's tough
• We haven't been starting games the way we want to
• This is one of those games where the other team locked it down
• We've gotta find a way to win
• We have to be ready to play
• The bottom line is we didn't get it done
• We feel embarrassed by the way we played tonight
• We rang it off the post a couple times but ultimately we've gotta do better than that
• It's frustrating when you play well and you don't get the win
• Hopefully some calls will start going our way
• We're hoping the refs will start to give us a break

STRATEGIES

• We wanna make sure we're skating
• We need to take away their time and space
• We've gotta hit hard
• We just have to make sure that we don't get scored against so often
• We have to stay physical
• We've gotta take advantage of our opportunities
• We want to keep the pressure on
• We've always got to give 110%
• We've gotta win the little battles
• We have to make sure to battle for the puck
• We've gotta play physical
• We've gotta play smart
• We've gotta keep up the pressure on the forecheck
• Hopefully we'll be able to get some pucks deep and be successful
• We don't want to get ahead of ourselves
• We just want to take things one game at a time
• We gotta make sure we get to the loose pucks
• We just have to be as prepared as we can be
• We've gotta stick to the fundamentals of our game
• Our goaltender has to be our best player
• We have to play well in front of our goaltender
• We've got to find a way to get pucks in their net and keep them out of ours
• We have to force some turnovers
• We have to shut them down at our blue line and find a way to break through theirs
• We absolutely have to stay out of the box
• Our penalty kill has to be really strong
• Our powerplay needs to put some points on the board
• We need to take it one day at a time

JOINING PHRASES

• and
• plus
• and plus
• and, uh,
• and also
• , and
• obviously, and
• and really
• , also
• and, you know,
• and also, you know,
• and definitely
• but
• and the other thing is that

Screenshots

http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/FOAC/screenshots/la_columbus_win.jpg

http://www.creativecreature.ca/IAT800/FOAC/screenshots/la_columbus_loss.jpg