The Journey Begins

Hello all!  This semester I will be working on my senior design project and I'm very excited to get started.  Here is the abstract for my project, which should be a good starting point for understanding what it's about:

The Kinect has opened up great opportunities to develop new ways of interacting with virtual games.  I will use Microsoft's KinectSDK to create a 3D game where the player herds a group of agents around obstacles and through other dangers to reach the goal with as many surviving agents as possible.  This game will not only utilize gesture input to direct the agents, but will also take into account the urgency with which the player gestures.  If a player wants the agents to stop suddenly they can direct the agents with a faster, more forceful stop gesture, etc.  Another notable feature is that there will not be a character in the game that represents the player; the player will interact directly with the agents, and vice versa.  Lastly, time permitting, I hope to include parameters that will give each agent certain characteristics that can help or hinder the player, such as willingness to follow directions and being more easily distracted.  These elements would help to make the game more challenging and more satisfying upon successfully reaching the goal.

Marley