WELCOME FARM PEOPLE .....but.....
this blog is ancient history...kaput...owari....c'est finis....finished....a nearly empty shell..you are welcome to look among the ruins for spare change and canned food, but if you are really interested in seeing what I am up to, YOU ARE MOST WARMLY INVITED TO:

http://www.blacksteps.multiply.com/

general insanity (this site goes well with pajamas and your favorite malt beverage)

http://www.mgkeducation.multiply.com/This site is a serious online notebook, devoted to the software I am guiding along, the MGK-the multipurpose game making kit. I will be using the MGK at the La Salle Rojak presentation.If you are interested in creating 3D games, artworks or movies, get in touch....

http://www.mgkedges.multiply.com/This is mainly a collection of machinima movies.

http://www.therefrigerator.net/

Poke around in the refrigerator and click on Popwars or the music section and see if you recognize anyone.

http://www.unseenguest.com/

Amith promised to provide me with musical support, but then his European tour came up...darn that European tour!...

and if you are really interested in something cool, google "Bioneers"

Thanks for your interest...SB

Updating and going through boxes....design realized by Roy Chan at Hybrid HK

As the CDK has an important relationship with models, I have learned a bit, not just about models, but how important the communication is between modelmakers and the CDK programmer. I have started this list as a means of allowing the modelmaker and the programmer to identify differences before they become a problem.
It is not complete, by any means, for high-end games with huge budgets and many teams.
However, I hope it is a starting point for CDK level projects. I look forward to hearing suggestions.
MODEL MAKING PROJECT SHEET
Company:
Project name:
Project number:
Project leader/Project team/contact info:
Model name:
Model(s) to be completed by:
Model use:
Description: Drawings/sketches/photos:
First importation test:
Trials:
Debugging schedule:
Detail: hi, medium low:
Texture/Skin/Mesh information:
Polygon count:
Engine to be used:
Operating system:
Engine supports vertex color: yes/no
Model making software to be used:
Drawings/sketches/photos:
First importation test:
Trials/ debugging schedule:
Detail: hi, medium low:
Texture/Skin/Mesh information:
Polygon count:
Game engine to be used:
Operating system:
Physics engine to be used:
Programmer/Modelmaker testing schedule:
Engine supports vertex color: yes/no
Model making software to be used:
Who is responsible for editing model parameters?
Contact info: Model interacts with other models?
Notes on editing parameters:
Who is responsible for animations?
Model interacts with other models?
If so, describe interaction:
Number of animations:
Animation to be completed by:
First animation test:
Animation trial/debugging schedule:
Who is responsible for editing model parameters?
Contact info: Model interacts with other models?
Notes on editing parameters:
Who is responsible for animations?
Model interacts with other models?
If so, please describe interaction Number of animations:
Animation to be completed by:
First animation test:
Animation trial/debugging schedule:
Scaling issues
Examples
Finished models belong to:
Notes:

Hello!

If you have any questions about these workshops, please contact me at blacksteps@gmail.com

There is also more detailed information at www.instinc.com (Look in the class/workshop section)

Blacksteps is pleased to announce a partnership with the British artist David Severn. Mr. Severn's distinctive works are in numerous collections and have often been used in Japanese advertising and children's books.
The joint venture will involve the development of characters and worlds to be used for virtual learning experiences, art, education and advertising.
The first project is an alphabet now being tested in primary schools for use in student-created spelling games.
More work of Mr. Severn can be seen at:
www.davidsevern.cjb.net

Video Activity: Editing work continues on the Storytellers' Conference videos.

The weekend was full of documentation: a housewarming and a furniture showcase, both events featuring different nighttime views of Singapore. One video will have a shot or two of downtown Singapore as seen from the Holland Village area and the other will show snippets of skyscrapers and Christmas lights as seen from Odeon Towers, across the street from Raffles Hotel.
Most interesting though, was the shoot on Friday morning at the International Conference on Computers in Education. Working with Michael Hanning from Studiocode, a lecture was recorded, coded and analyzed on the spot and was ready to be uploaded onto the internet within minutes of the finished lecture. Additionally, a clip was loaded into the CDK as soon as the video team returned to the blacksteps booth. Watching the Studiocode software in action was very interesting. Michael wrote short scene descriptions on the spot. As an occasional editor, I assumed he would only be writing down phrases and headings from the speakers presentation. He did do this, but he also described scenes in terms of the speaker's body language-gestures, facial expressions,movements etc.
Studiocode is used by educators to study and label classroom activity so it is advantageous to describe scenes in terms of body language. This also reflects Studiocode's roots as a video technology originally developed to help athletes coaches and trainers better analyze the bodies of athletes as well as team formations and activities.
The keynote speech by Jeremy Roschelle, the Director of the Center for Technology in Learning, SRI International was filled with studies and examples of how teacher/student/computer approaches to learning are being used to improve testing scores. "The democratization of mathematics" was a great phrase he used. The term was originally used by Arthur Jaffe (I think..I just googled and his name seems correct...Later I will check the tape, but my player is now at the editing house). Great phrase..The democratization of mathematics.
Also, it was quite coincidental that Mr. Roschelle had previously written about a system of analyzing and labeling video data ....in 1989, before video had entered the digital world...very visionary!
As webcasting becomes more and more important, I look forward to more experiences like this. The software was flawless and the opportunities to use it are many.
www.studiocodegroup.com
the CDK in action! http://blackstepsmonjacdk.blogspot.com

CDK Research: I met with Sebastian Loh from the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He is doing research on education and the monitoring of player's activities while they are in virtual learning experiences(VLEs). We had an interesting discussion.

Movie Activity:I was nicely surprised to see the group photo taken at the conclusion of Ted Perkin's seminar on film financing. The course is excellent and highly recommended to anyone serious about finding out how Hollywood really works. Visit http://www.conquistadehollywood.com/englishhomepage.htm and see if you can recognize anyone in the middle of the back row.