Mario's Blog http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/ Working for ITAC en-us Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:14:15 EST Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:14:15 EST mario.castaneda@case.edu mario.castaneda@case.edu http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Movable Type v3.121 Pachymoticons http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/pachymoticons The next days were a bit experimental. Me and Megan searched for an emoticon editor so that I could create... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/pachymoticons case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:14:15 EST The next days were a bit experimental. Me and Megan searched for an emoticon editor so that I could create emoticons for the Case - Pachyderm community forums. We stumbled upon Pixelshop after all the Adobe programs didn't offer trials. I spent some time designing 20x20 pixel icons only to find out that they 1, lacked detail at such a small scale, and 2, were in the wrong format altogether.

I shrugged it off and turned to good ol' photoshop where I redesigned all the emoticons at 50x50 pixels.

The day after I designed all the corresponding images to allow for emoticon animation. Animations such as Pachy's trunk swaying, or eyebrows raising, or my favorite, sunbeams revolving around a really happy Pachy. They turned out pretty good and I could preview them by clicking "next" on picture viewer really fast. Since I don't have ImageReady to link and loop the animations, I'll have to send them to Megan. I'm anxious to see the final product, especially used by others!

Below are the base images for the emoticons...

View image

]]> CCPL exhibits 4 http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/ccpl_exhibits_4 The momentum from the days before carried the completion of the displays even further. I was able to start and... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/ccpl_exhibits_4 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:58:20 EST The momentum from the days before carried the completion of the displays even further. I was able to start and finish the Dune display and add a prop to the John Glenn exhibit in one day.

The sandworm to the right of the Dune display might have looked better as a sculptie rather than formed by prims, but uploading sculpties was too complex a procedure at the moment. I visited a Dune roleplay island in Second Life and posted screenshots with links to the locations on the display panels (a simple upload of an image, copy/paste some code, and voila, when touched, the image hands the user a landmark). I also built a model city from Dune that can be seen on the left. Adding revolution code to the planet was fairly simple and texturing it to my liking was too (after a little time in photoshop nailing the surface just right).

The following day, it was crunch time. Me, Paul, and Craig all buckled down each began and (relatively) finished a display. I put Marvin in place, purchased a leaping dolphin on SL Exchange as well as a blinking "Don't Panic" sign, and did a little web surfing. I was able to find a site that let you play the 1984 Hitchhiker's text adventure, so I linked that to a "game box" I made and set on the table. What isn't seen, is the towel on the table. To make that, I took a picture of one of my bath towels (laid flat), uploaded the picture to my computer, uploaded the image to SL, and slapped it on a thin rectangular board.

Completing Dune and Hitchhiker's was actually a lot of fun and turned out being one of the more productive weeks.

View image

View image

]]> CCPL exhibits 3 http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/ccpl_exhibits_3 These couple days I broke out of my rut and felt I was on a roll. I went code searching... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/ccpl_exhibits_3 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:34:13 EST These couple days I broke out of my rut and felt I was on a roll. I went code searching in Second Life and found some neat features. I began scripting by making a sliding door that opened on touch. From there I built a simple controllable UFO model. After that, I built two kinds of display screens that featured 6 different toggle-able images, and finally, I built a model of the Friendship 7 that would hover around the John Glenn display.

While slightly frustrating, the scripting was fun. It was easy to throw a couple of prims together and write the code necessary to make them spin or move. Little touches of animation really bring the display to life. Modeling and scipting was soon coming natural to me and I felt we'd have those displays done in no time.

View image

View image

View image

]]> CCPL exhibits 2 http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/ccpl_exhibits_2 What started out fast began to slow down as ideas were floating too long or failing when it came to... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/ccpl_exhibits_2 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:30:28 EST What started out fast began to slow down as ideas were floating too long or failing when it came to designing the exhibits. We hadn't quite decided on which books to display which was essentially the first step necessary to work. I built a couple more props, but nothing that could stand alone as a display. The last couple days went slow and showed little progress...

]]> CCPL exhibits 1 http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/ccpl_exhibits_1 Me and Paul worked with Sue in Second Life this week. Our assignment: design 6 exhibits to showcase Cuyahoga County... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/ccpl_exhibits_1 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:19:39 EST Me and Paul worked with Sue in Second Life this week. Our assignment: design 6 exhibits to showcase Cuyahoga County Public Library's sci-fi/non-fi space and science Summer reading list. We began by brainstorming and searching for display materials around SL. After gathering a few things, Paul and I designed some display props. Among those props were the books themselves, and a Marvin replica I built for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy display.

View image

View image

]]> More Pachyderm http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/more_pachyderm Having become so versed in Pachyderm over the last few days, I was to write a tutorial, complete with screenshots,... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/more_pachyderm case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:13:47 EST Having become so versed in Pachyderm over the last few days, I was to write a tutorial, complete with screenshots, on how to create a presentation. I also included some tips and tricks for Pachyderm after experimenting with shortcuts. When it came time to save my work, the file was so big from the screenshots, my computer's memory was unable to save the document. After some mild panicing, I split the document in two and saved them separately.

In the little time left that day, I designed a logo for the Case - Pachyderm website that was in the works.

Pachyderm Logo.jpg

]]> First days of Summer employment (May 19th) http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/first_days_of_summer_employment_may_19th After finishing my first days of work for ITAC over the Summer, I've learned a lot about Pachyderm. With Pachyderm,... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/06/12/first_days_of_summer_employment_may_19th case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:47:05 EST After finishing my first days of work for ITAC over the Summer, I've learned a lot about Pachyderm. With Pachyderm, I made a screen that included the art done for a video I made in the Fall of 2007. The screen had links to all the pieces of art, which upon clicking, brought up descriptions of each piece. It was a simple display and was completed fairly quickly and I began on another Pachyderm project.

This time, I made a much larger display to showcase more genres of the art I've done over the years. For the display, a web of my art serves as the title screen. When one of the branches is clicked, it takes you to a focused screen of that piece complete with text and audio descriptions I recorded. Megan then showed me a frame editor to further customize my presentation. My display turned out pretty good in the end.

]]> Scavenger Hunt http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/04/23/scavenger_hunt Getting to know my coworkers has been a little difficult; Craig and Paul work on almost completely different shifts as... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/04/23/scavenger_hunt case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:07:43 EST Getting to know my coworkers has been a little difficult; Craig and Paul work on almost completely different shifts as me. But with our recent project, we've been able to team up quite nicely.

Hosting a scavenger hunt in second life didn't seem to hard. The job of getting everything set up would have to be split up three ways. Craig got right on coding the scavenger hunt system. "Hunt boxes" at the start would direct players to others scattered around Cleveland+. Paul spearheaded the construction of a laser tag arena complete with debris and laser lights. And I helped publicize the event by designing a flyer and creating a group on Facebook as well as whatever help I could contribute to Paul and Craig at the time.

I think it's gonna be a success. We put in some good work and it will be increasingly easier to host events of this nature in the future.

]]> I act for ITAC... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/02/15/i_act_for_itac It was 10:20 and calculus was letting out. I made my way out of Nord, through the quad, down the... http://blog.case.edu/mario.castaneda/2008/02/15/i_act_for_itac case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:29:46 EST It was 10:20 and calculus was letting out. I made my way out of Nord, through the quad, down the binary walkway, past Euclid, and finally to Kelvin Smith, ITAC headquarters.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect on my first day working for ITAC. I was offered the job after having done particularly well in a digital storytelling class taught by ITAC employer Wendy Shapiro. The hours were flexible, the pay good, and the material all relevant to my major, I took the opportunity without hesitation.
However, I was new to the computer science field and I hoped that what Wendy saw in me in her class would pan out to doing good work in the office.

I stepped through the doors and headed to the second floor of the Library. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew it would entail sitting in front of a computer; which was fine with me. Sue Shick and Megan Linos, my supervisors, were engrossed in Second Life. Megan greeted me happily and sat me down to join them (Sue of which was elsewhere online).

The work I did was interesting at the least. I assumed my previously made avatar and took my position in Second Life next to Sue and Megan. When an off-screen voice said "action", me and Megan (our avatars) acted the part of prospective students on tour with our guide, played by Sue's avatar.

Acting in Second Life had its upsides and downsides. I felt a little detached from both my avatar and my coworkers. At times when the camera would be close up on our faces, all we could make our avatars really do was nod or smile. Walking also felt a little unnatural. In Second Life, I fly to wherever I want to go (much faster and smoother than walking any day), but for the video, me and Megan were to follow Sue as she led us around a 3D dorm. Some takes I'd bump into Megan on accident or miss a door, something my "first life" body would easily avoid doing. On the other hand, whenever a take needed to be done over, a simple click later and I was back in my exact location ready to do a take over; a perk Tom Hanks doesn't have privilege to on set.

For my first day of work, it went quite smoothly. When we needed to shoot elsewhere, we teleported. When we needed to do a take over, we teleported. When I had to use the bathroom... I walked there... sadly...

]]>