I know a few of you are interested in pushing your final bootstrap infused website to the web using GitHub Pages.  I wanted you all to have a link to a couple tutorials:

https://www.thinkful.com/learn/a-guide-to-using-github-pages/

https://pages.github.com/

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Also for those that continue to ask:

THE FINAL IS DUE MAY 22ND!

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And finally…

Remember, to get Bootstrap templates as a foundation for your final submission:

GO TO STARTBOOTSTRAP.COM!

To read the bootstrap manual and find extra features like buttons and grid formatting

GO TO GETBOOTSTRAP.COM!

This will most likely be the final blog post of the semester, though I may add a few references for those that come to Tuesday’s class and ask for a specific type of reference.  Regardless, this is the most important blog post in relation to homework assignments, Proposal B and The Final Project.

Proposal B:

I have graded and commented on all of the Proposal B submissions I was able to both download and evaluate.  I am not accepting any more Proposal Bs at this time, if you missed the window, I’m sorry.  If you really really want an opportunity to submit a Proposal B, please come to Tuesday’s class and we can discuss.  Most of you made the requested revisions I asked for and your midterm grade is significantly higher.  Unfortunately, some of you are still not quite grasping how to get your .html file’s images displayed in the browser.  I recommend anyone still having this sort of issue come to Tuesday’s session.

Final:

I am accepting final submissions that fall under two categories:

CATEGORY 1: “Heavy Duty” — Blender and Unity

Your final falls under this category if you are doing one of the following:

A. Video Production – This does not mean making a single animated gif from a youtube or internet archive video.  Video production means that you have edited together different videos and added your own audio track, or it means you’ve taken real world footage & imported it into Blender and optimized the video for distribution.

B. Game Design – You have been experimenting with Unity, you have a full set of assets, a .unity file, and have experimented with game control mechanics.

C. 3D Exploration – You are creating either an image or a video using Blender’s 3D tools, this can be something highly detailed and static, or this can be something very minimal with the inclusion of difficult/complex rigging systems and/or animation

If you fall under Category 1 your options for submission are as follows:

A. You have it easy, all you have to do is upload your video to the “Final Project” project in Vocat

B. You have a couple options, you can either create a screencast of your game demonstrating different aspects of use OR you can send me your .unity file and post up to 5 key screenshots to Vocat.  You also have the option of taking 3 key screenshots and following the Category 2 Final submission protocol.

C. You also have it easy.  Just upload a rendered video file (best option) or if you are rendering to image files, upload those files to “Final Project” project in Vocat.

 

CATEGORY 2: “Precise and Pretty” — Gimp, Atom, HTML/Bootstrap

Your final falls under this category if it does not fall under CATEGORY 1.  It doesn’t matter whether you are working on image optimization in gimp, trying to learn how to animate .gif files, or just trying to make your own resume page.  You need to follow the Bootstrap tutorial I posted on the blog a few weeks ago [CLICK HERE to access this tutorial].  Choose a template that has a space for at least 4 images, and include 4 of your optimized images (NOT screenshots unless applicable).  You will then send me your file (This means send me your entire folder of stuff, the .css files, the javascript files, the .html files, and the asset files (A.K.A. the image files)), then you will upload a screenshot of your back-end .html and a screenshot of how your final page appears in the browser you are testing it on.  Please make sure you understand this process, if you do not, make it to class on Tuesday with specific questions.  This will be your last opportunity to ask for instructions.  I will be doing no further hand-holding in relation to final projects after Tuesday.

 

WHAT IF MY PROJECT DOESN’T FALL UNDER EITHER CATEGORY?

The exceptions:

1. You are using PHP, Ruby, Python, or some other form of coding/use of webframeworks, etc to do a comparably complex deliverable.  This applies to only a couple of you.  You may simply send me your submission via e-mail and include 4-5 screenshots (half front-end, half back-end) and in the discussion section on the “Final Project” Vocat project give me a short update as to the status of your deliverable.

2. You have pushed your website live to a GitHub Pages instance [CLICK HERE for a Github Pages tutorial].  If you fall under this category I am not requiring your site to have bootstrap styling, it can be styled however you want.  I’ll just want you to take a screenshot of your back-end and front-end (See Category 2), and then to place a hyperlink to your site in the discussion section on Vocat.

 

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If anything I’ve posted here in unclear make sure you speak to me about it during Tuesday’s “Open Discussion/Troubleshooting” session.

 

Thank you all for a great semester!

Remember to finish Final Prep I in Vocat, and there is now a Vocat project titled “Homework Grade.”  This is where I want you to post the six screenshots that illustrate your three best homework submissions.  These three submissions (plus your Final Prep I and upcoming Final Prep II assignments) will be the primary basis for the homework portion of your final grade.

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I’ve made a list of some of the things we went over last class, and some of things that I didn’t have time to discuss:

I. Biologically Inspired Models of Intelligence @ Google – Ray Kurzweil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG_nOddk01E

II. Nick Bostrom’s Ted Talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnT1xgZgkpk

III. Vulcan’s Hammer : Philip K. Dick

A. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan%27s_Hammer
B. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tY6HppCvBE

IV. Is It O.K. To Be A Luddite? Thomas Pynchon 1984

 
http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/18/reviews/pynchon-luddite.html

V. Are Humans Necessary? Margaret Atwood

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/opinion/margaret-atwood-on-our-robotic-future.html

Your homework for Tuesday April 28th has been assigned on Vocat, the project title is “Final Prep I”.  Please log in to Vocat to see assignment details.

Thursday we will be talking about Serious Games, in preparation, try the following browser based game from MIT:

 

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http://web.mit.edu/mprat/Public/web/Terminus/Web/main.html

It uses mechanics found in vintage interactive fiction games of the 70s and early 80s to get users familiar with terminal commands.  This should be especially helpful for those of you that are using Mac and Linux platforms.

I’d like you to read the following Gamasutra article for Tuesday 4/21.

The SCUMM Diary: Stories behind one of the greatest game engines ever made

I’d like you to take about a page of notes on the article, and bring them to class on Tuesday.

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This will probably be your last assignment that doesn’t necessitate Vocat and is not related to your final project (though I’m not promising anything here).

Now that Vocat has been updated, after I finish grading all of the midterm proposals, we will mostly be looking at assignments that deal directly with your final projects, and you’ll be uploading screenshots of various levels of progress to Vocat.

We will discuss this further in class.

I’ve created a pretty exhaustive Bootstrap tutorial that covers what we discussed in past class lectures.

Please access it by visiting the following Github Repo:

https://github.com/EliCash82/bootstrapTutorial

Please log into Vocat, you should see a project on your front-page called RiP: A Remix Manifesto.

Write three 140 character annotations (REMEMBER: 140 characters are letters and spaces NOT words) throughout the film, share ideas in which you agree with what is being said in the documentary, where you disagree, and so on.

In the discussion section respond to this prompt: “Is everything a remix?” Your discussion response should be between 150 and 300 words.

If you didn’t choose to do the artistic homework assigned in class (or if you missed class) the following homework is due on Tuesday:

Watch the following films

All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace

and

The Loving Trap

Take 3 screenshots, size each of them to have a 480px height and 640px width.

Write 140 characters below each image describing what the image illustrates.

For this week’s homework you will need to log into Vocat:

http://app.vocat.io

Now you will need to go to either YouTube.com or Vimeo.com, search for a tutorial on something you’d like to understand how to do in relation to your final project in this class.  Some good sample search queries: “animate in blender”, “color correction in Gimp”, “2D Unity Game”, “host a free website with github”.  Post the tutorial to Vocat.  If you are having trouble posting a Vimeo video or YouTube video please consult Vocat documentation:

http://docs.vocat.io

Once you have found the tutorial and posted it to Vocat, I’d like to see three 140-character annotations (about the size of a tweet), I’d like one of the annotations to state a point in the tutorial that helped you, one point in the tutorial that confused you, and one annotation at the end of the video stating your overall impression of the tutorial.  I’d then like 150 words in the discussion section where you will talk about how successful you were in following the tutorial, and if this task is still something you’d like to incorporate into your final project.

Due Tuesday February 24th

Create an HTML document with the following (In this order):

1. A header with a title for your submission

2. A 1280X720 pixel screenshot from the film Downloaded

3. At least one paragraph about what you took away from the documentary (at least 250 words)

4. BONUS (Optional): Use the software resources page to help you with the inclusion of CSS styling and/or twitter bootstrap.