Literacy in Motion: Bunnies in Space, a Kinect game developed by students in the NIU Digital Convergence Lab.

1. SPRING 2012 (DESIGN) FALL 2012 (DEVELOPMENT)
PROJECT TEAM ASSISTANT COACH PROJECT TEAM ASSISTANT COACH
Jui-Ling (Raye) Chiang (Project Manger) Eric Russell Eric Bellefontaine (Programmer) Jui-Ling (Raye) Chiang
Matt Guttman (Script Writer) COACHES Rebecca Fassola (Illustrator) COACH
Philip Pellicore (UI Artist) Hayley Mayall Peter Hamlin (Sound Effects/Dialogue) Wei-Chen Hung
Greg Remiasz (Programmer) Cindy York Thomas Helms (Programmer)
Philip Pellicore (UI Artist)
Johnnie Tran (UI Artist)
Jim Westerkamp (UI Artist)

2. Agenda
• Project Overview
• Game concept & requirements
• Game technology & development
• Game structure & story
• Team Contributions
• Game identity & media assets
• Sound effects & game programming
• Conclusion
• Usability findings & future work
• Demonstration of game’s educational strategies
• Q&A

3. Game Concept: Design Stage
• What is Literacy in Motion: Bunnies in Space?
• Educational Game
• Focus on Literacy
• Physical Interaction
• Who is it for?
• N.I.U. Literacy Clinic
• 4th - 6th graders
• Project Purpose
• Introduce or reinforce tier two vocabulary
• Release energy
• Avoid competition

4. Game Design & Development
Spring, 2012 FALL, 2012
Graphic
Assets
Design User
Testing Content
Document Interface
Programming
Field Trials
(STEMfest, AECT)

5. Game Concept: Design Requirements
• No Shooting
• No Violence
• No Competing
• Consistency of graphics, animations and script
• Spoken Dialogue
• Background music

6. Kinect Technology & Building Tools
• What is the Kinect?
• Physical properties
• Software development kit
• Interfacing with the game
• Gesture recognition-connecting to characters
• Game Building Tools:
• Visual Studios, XNA, C#, .Net Framework
• 3D Studio Max, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash

7. Game Structure & Story
Video Game Video Game Video Video Game Video
Introduction Tutorial Landing Collection Power Source Cave (Generator) Puzzle Ending
Games

8. Game Development: Game Identity
• Developed game identity
• Created various digital
assets
• Created promotional
print work

9. Game Development: Scene Drawing
• Collaboration
• From sketches to digital graphics

10. Game Development: Characters
• Character Evolution
• Personality
Spring 2012 Fall 2012 Present

11. Game Development: Mini Games
• Creative Solutions
• Purpose
• Environment
• Creatures
Spring 2012 Present

12. Sound Effects & Dialogue
• Recorded audio in the field
• Various organic sounds manipulated to achieve
designated sound
• Several hours of audio to create 15 short snippets
• Recorded script in sound-proof booth
• Mixed and Mastered vocals to match db
• Eliminated ambient noise

13. Game User Interface: Game Controls
• User friendly interface
• In-Game Controls
• Menu Controls

14. Game User Interface: Game Tutorial
• 2D Animation
• The character Animations
• The grasping hand
• and others
• 3D Animation
• Space Ship
• Asteroids

15. Game Programming: Game Tutorial & Menu
• Tutorial
• Ship
• Asteroids
• Kinect movements
• Timing and dialogue
• Menu
• Creating controls that match other Kinect games
• Structuring menu for easy additions and removals of components

16. Game Programming: Collection & Puzzle Games
• Easy to customize and change
• Kinect & player scaling
• Graphics scaling
• Mini game independence

17. Game Programming: Background Programming
• Code for:
• Playing videos
• Kinect controls
• Audio engine
• Animations
• Collision detection
• AI
• Splash screens
• Story progression

18. Field Trial: STEMfest
• October 20th, 2012 at NIU Convocation Center
• Findings from players
• Natural interaction
• Desire to complete the game
• Attention to game visual representations
• Word choice (catch vs. collect)
• Game usability
• Closure & transition
• Personalization
• Characters
• Objects
• Scenes

19. Future Work
• Implementation
• Literacy clinic, schools
• Support
• Website
• Update/prelauncher
• Teacher Resources
• Pre/Post game worksheets
• Printable reference materials
• Online resources
• Research

20. Demonstration
Game Educational Strategies:
Use of visual effects, audio prompts, and feedback

21. Q&A
650 hours spent on game design…
1,450 hours spent on game development…

22. Thank You
Dr. Laurie Elish-Piper
Dr. Suzi Hinrichs
Matthew Guttman
Digital Convergence Lab