BENV2423 REAL-TIME INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS

SESSION TWO 2013

UNITS OF CREDIT, 6UOC

RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS

www.russelllowe.com
www.crydev.net
http://freesdk.crydev.net/dashboard.action
http://freesdk.crydev.net/display/SDKDOC3/Installing+Exporter+Plugins
www.benv2423-2013.blogspot.com
cgtextures.com
www.groups.google.com.au/group/benv2423

CryEngine 3 : an introduction and application. Vol. 1
CryEngine 3 : an introduction and application. Vol. 2
CryEngine 3 : an introduction and application. Vol. 3

CryENGINE 3 Materials: an introduction and application Vol. 1
CryENGINE 3 Materials: an introduction and application Vol. 2
CryENGINE 3 Materials: an introduction and application Vol. 3

Go to coursefolders.fbe.unsw.edu.au\DATA\Courses and navigate to; BENV2423 - RealTimeEnv\Resources

The above is a link to the BENV2423 resources folder (your user name is the letter 'u' followed by your student ID and your password is your normal fbe password. If you haven't set that go to the "current students" page on the fbe website and follow the "FBE password services" link).

info.library.unsw.edu.au/web/services/services.html
red centre guide

COURSE CONVENER

STUDIO TUTORS

Rosamond Kember

Vinh Nguyen

TIME


3 hours per week (1 hour lecture plus 2 hours lab tutorial).
Lecture:
Tuesday 11-12pm, Chemical Sc M10 (ex AppliedSc) (K-F10-M10)
Labs:
Tuesday 12-14pm. Red Centre West 2033 (K-H13-2033)
Tuesday 12-14pm. Red Centre West 2034 (K-H13-2034)
Tuesday 14-16pm. Red Centre West 2033 (K-H13-2033)
Tuesday 14-16pm. Red Centre West 2033 (K-H13-2033)
Tuesday 16-18pm. Red Centre West 2033 (K-H13-2033)
Tuesday 16-18pm. Red Centre West 2034 (K-H13-2033)

In addition to the 3 hours spent in class students are expected to spend an additional 10 hours per week on self directed study for this course.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Real time interactive environments have been, until very recently, essentially untheorised. And while the emergence of readily accessible real time rendering and physics engines offers an opportunity to revolutionise design, the influence of these technologies and approaches on form, space and environment is being determined by non designers. This course will return designers to the leading edge of spatial and environmental design by engaging with these new processes and technologies within a rigorously drawing orientated academic framework. An understanding of parametric, solid and surface modelling is assumed. Learning and assessment is based on design experiments within a computer lab based studio environment.

TEACHING STRATEGIES AND ATTITUDE TO REPRESENTATION

Students will be asked to develop and represent an individual position that articulates an environment for a seminal piece of architecture to sit within, 100 years after the demise of human life on earth. The students will be introduced to themes such as the Sublime, the Picturesque, materiality, and acquire technique so that they can confidently approach projects of their own in the future.

LEARNING OUTCOMES TO BE DEVELOPED WITHIN THE STUDIO

At the end of this course students will have:

Developed skills in critical thinking and problem solving using digital representation, visual scripting and simulation. Students will engage with a range of important software, including SketchUp, CryEngine 3, Premier (or a Vegas trial) and Blogger.

Developed breathtaking and significant objects, spaces, environments with a focus on the interactions between the three.

DESIGN STUDIO EXPERIMENTS

Included below are abstracts for the two EXPERIMENTS. They are included here to give you an overall impression of the course and to bring your attention to the concepts, techniques and software we will be working with. Each abstract will be expanded into a full brief at the introduction of each EXPERIMENT.

EXPERIMENT 1: THE ISLAND


TIMETABLE: Weeks 1 - 6, 35% of final grade.
ARCHITECTURAL COMPUTING CHALLENGE: To explore the conceptual opposition between terms such as Truth and Deception, Real and Virtual, Revelation and Concealment, on a variety of scales ranging from the macro to the micro. To incorporate themes such as the Sublime, the Picturesque, into a highly developed landform.
REFERENCE TEXTS: The Island (2005), Morley S, 2010, The Sublime, Whitechapel Gallery Ventures Limited, London
SOFTWARE: Blogger, SketchUp, CryEngine3 Free SDK, Fraps, Geocontrol (trial), Premier, Photoshop, Crazybump (trial), Vegas (trial).
TECHNIQUES: Blogging, Modeling, Repurposing Computer Games, Visual Scripting, Machinima, Video Editing.
OUTPUTS: 1 x 120 second (max!) video clip, 1 x Blog with completed weekly tasks, 1 x Crysis Free SDK folder containing all of the required files to "play test" your work.
PREMISE: The combination of the flowgraph, AI, rendering and physics engines in contemporary computer games with video capture devices provides an opportunity to represent interrelationships between objects and space in a highly immersive and engaging manner.

EXPERIMENT 2: LIFE AFTER PEOPLE


TIMETABLE: Weeks 7 - 13, 45% of final grade.
ARCHITECTURAL COMPUTING CHALLENGE: To analyze the state of decay, structural failure, materiality, abandonment of a seminal piece of architecture, 100 years after the end of human life on earth.
REFERENCE TEXTS: Weizman, E., Tavares, P., Schuppli, S. and Studio, S. (2010), Forensic Architecture. Archit Design, 80: 58–63. doi: 10.1002/ad.1134, Fisher, M. (2010), Post-Apocalypse Now. Archit Design, 80: 70–73. doi: 10.1002/ad.1136, Life After People (2008, 2009)
SOFTWARE: Blogger, SketchUp, CryEngine3 Free SDK, Fraps, Geocontrol (trial), Premier, Photoshop, Crazybump (trial), Vegas (trial).
TECHNIQUES: Blogging, Modeling, Repurposing Computer Games, Visual Scripting, Machinima, Video Editing,
OUTPUTS: 1 x 180 second (max!) video clip, 1 x Blog with completed weekly tasks, 1 x Crysis Free SDK with the required files to "play test" your work.
PREMISE: "The most architectural thing about [a] building is the state of decay in which it is. Architecture only survives where it negates the form which that society expects of it. Where it negates itself by transgressing the limits that history has set for it". (Tschumi)

CLASS PARTICIPATION AND BLOG

TIMETABLE: Weeks 1 - 13, 20% of final grade.
OUTPUTS REQUIRED: Weekly reflection on lectures and tutorials, participation during tutorial time and on the class forum. 1 x Blog with tasks completed and uploaded weekly.

SCHEDULE

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Evidence of thought and rigor in concept development
Imagination and innovation in terms of the use of the representational instruments introduced in studio.
Precision and skill in each of the above areas of assessment

In addition to these criteria you will be assessed on the level and extent to which you engage with the learning outcomes for the course and the PREMISES listed in each EXPERIMENT abstract.

Students need to submit both experiments to pass the course.

All of the student work is assessed via each students blog. Images and text are uploaded by the students directly. Video is uploaded to YouTube (or similar) and a link provided from the students blog. Sketchup models are uploaded to Google 3dWarehouse and a link provided from the students blog. Crysis real time environments are uploaded to FileFront (or similar) and a link provided from the students blog. If there are technical issues with regard to uploading your work to these venues then you should upload your work to an equivilant service (with links back to your blog).

ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS


The Built Environment and UNSW Academic Policies document supplements this course outline providing detail on academic policies and other administrative matters. It is your duty as a student to familiarise yourself with the policies and guidelines as not adhering to them will be considered as academic misconduct. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable defense.

The document can be found in your Blackboard course as well as:http://www.be.unsw.edu.au/student-intranet/academic-policies

It covers:

Built Environment Student Attendance Requirements
Units of Credit (UOC) and Student Workload
Course and Teaching Evaluation and Improvement (CATEI)
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Late Submissions Penalties
Special Consideration - Illness & Misadventure
Extension of Deadlines
Learning Support Services
Occupational Health & Safety