Academic Works
During my undergraduate career, I was involved in several different large academic projects. I will split them up by course designation and then supply some information along with a link to view the work.
Computer Science
Venatio Creo Research Paper (Human Computer Interaction)
Download: Click here!
This paper exists thanks to the tremendous help provided to me by my academic advisor April Kontostathis. Thanks also goes to Lindsey Katharine Stone for all those nights spent editing it with me.
Synopsis and Explanation
Venatio Creo is a computer application that allows non-programmers to create their own interactive computer games without written programming. You may view more on the physical prototype that I produced by clicking on the “Venatio Creo” section header above, but the basis of the project is not simply an application. The Venatio Creo Research Project is something that I have been actively working on for over three years. This project was born from an interest to perform research in human computer interaction (HCI) in specific relation to developing software without the assumed prerequisite knowledge associated with the task.
Essentially, my initial goal was to take an extremely complex task and find an intuitive and easy way to perform it. The project eventually manifested itself in the idea to allow any literate computer user to make their own game quickly. There have been several programs created in the past that attempt to stream-line game design, but few of them address the problem that they in turn require a proprietary written scripting language. My goal then was to perform research on this existing technology and to determine which features were working and which weren’t. At the same time I also began researching methods for having users enter instructions into a computer without having to learn syntax and spend hours learning a new scripting language.
The eventual solution to this was to develop an interface that was entirely what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG). The entire interface is transparent to the user, they add images and objects to their game world by directly manipulating them using the mouse. At no point are they asked to enter coordinates or perform tedious entry of different attributes for objects in the game world, instead it is streamlined through a simple interface. Once a game world is developed, the user may add interaction to their world by specifying simple English sentences. These sentences are built by having the user click on different words in the sentence, then supply a substitute for the word (think Mad-Libs). At no point does the user have to type anything, all they are doing is selecting new words to take the place of the older words in the sentence. This creates an environment where it is impossible for a syntax error to occur, the only issue prevalent is that there may be a semantic error. Through testing this type of system with different users, I found that this system is effective in allowing new users to quickly develop meaningful interactions in their games.
In a nutshell, the academic paper presented here addresses most aspects of the project, including design, development, implementation, testing and iteration of the core design. If you are interested in this discussing aspects of this paper, you may contact me at evan (dot) wolbach (at) gmail (dot) com. More information is available at the Venatio Creo Website.
East Asian Studies
The Visual Culture of Meiji-era Japan through Analysis of Constructed Photography
View: Click Here!
Thanks must go to my academic advisor Mizenko-sensei for pointing me in the direction of the ideas for this project, as well as offering me the opportunity to complete it in a unique way.
Synopsis
This project acted as the capstone for my East Asian Studies major. The goal of the project was to take many of themes that we were discussing in my Japanese Visual Culture course (with a focus on the methods for evaluating cultural items) and apply it to some artistic photography from the Meiji-era. This project was incredibly fun to work on because my advisor offered me an exceptionally open design environment. I eventually felt that creating a website for the project was the best method for disseminating it, as it just flowed so much better being separated by sections on a website. If you are interested in a downloadable version, it is available through the link above.
The Japanese Visual Culture of 8 and 16 bit
View: Click Here!
Synopsis
This project was the final project for my Japanese Visual Culture course taught by Mizenko-sensei. The task for the project was to take a piece of Japanese culture and perform research and study on why exactly it was visual culture (and how it related back to Japan as a whole). It was an incredibly open ended project that I think turned out exceptionally well.
Computer Science
Venatio Creo Research Paper (Human Computer Interaction)
Download: Click here!
This paper exists thanks to the tremendous help provided to me by my academic advisor April Kontostathis. Thanks also goes to Lindsey Katharine Stone for all those nights spent editing it with me.
Synopsis and Explanation
Venatio Creo is a computer application that allows non-programmers to create their own interactive computer games without written programming. You may view more on the physical prototype that I produced by clicking on the “Venatio Creo” section header above, but the basis of the project is not simply an application. The Venatio Creo Research Project is something that I have been actively working on for over three years. This project was born from an interest to perform research in human computer interaction (HCI) in specific relation to developing software without the assumed prerequisite knowledge associated with the task.
Essentially, my initial goal was to take an extremely complex task and find an intuitive and easy way to perform it. The project eventually manifested itself in the idea to allow any literate computer user to make their own game quickly. There have been several programs created in the past that attempt to stream-line game design, but few of them address the problem that they in turn require a proprietary written scripting language. My goal then was to perform research on this existing technology and to determine which features were working and which weren’t. At the same time I also began researching methods for having users enter instructions into a computer without having to learn syntax and spend hours learning a new scripting language.
The eventual solution to this was to develop an interface that was entirely what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG). The entire interface is transparent to the user, they add images and objects to their game world by directly manipulating them using the mouse. At no point are they asked to enter coordinates or perform tedious entry of different attributes for objects in the game world, instead it is streamlined through a simple interface. Once a game world is developed, the user may add interaction to their world by specifying simple English sentences. These sentences are built by having the user click on different words in the sentence, then supply a substitute for the word (think Mad-Libs). At no point does the user have to type anything, all they are doing is selecting new words to take the place of the older words in the sentence. This creates an environment where it is impossible for a syntax error to occur, the only issue prevalent is that there may be a semantic error. Through testing this type of system with different users, I found that this system is effective in allowing new users to quickly develop meaningful interactions in their games.
In a nutshell, the academic paper presented here addresses most aspects of the project, including design, development, implementation, testing and iteration of the core design. If you are interested in this discussing aspects of this paper, you may contact me at evan (dot) wolbach (at) gmail (dot) com. More information is available at the Venatio Creo Website.
East Asian Studies
The Visual Culture of Meiji-era Japan through Analysis of Constructed Photography
View: Click Here!
Thanks must go to my academic advisor Mizenko-sensei for pointing me in the direction of the ideas for this project, as well as offering me the opportunity to complete it in a unique way.
Synopsis
This project acted as the capstone for my East Asian Studies major. The goal of the project was to take many of themes that we were discussing in my Japanese Visual Culture course (with a focus on the methods for evaluating cultural items) and apply it to some artistic photography from the Meiji-era. This project was incredibly fun to work on because my advisor offered me an exceptionally open design environment. I eventually felt that creating a website for the project was the best method for disseminating it, as it just flowed so much better being separated by sections on a website. If you are interested in a downloadable version, it is available through the link above.
The Japanese Visual Culture of 8 and 16 bit
View: Click Here!
Synopsis
This project was the final project for my Japanese Visual Culture course taught by Mizenko-sensei. The task for the project was to take a piece of Japanese culture and perform research and study on why exactly it was visual culture (and how it related back to Japan as a whole). It was an incredibly open ended project that I think turned out exceptionally well.
