iMyth

Tag: Raconteur Engine

  • Mixamo

    I have neglected the Grammar Based Universes aspect of my website for far too long. What better way to break the silence than with Mixamo.

    https://www.mixamo.com/

    What mixamo is is a procedural character generating system That not only allows the user to prototype new characters rapidly but provides precedural tools for rigging and simple canned animations.

    [embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp9FB6NQu1U[/embedyt]

    I’m not saying all character should be created this way. In fact it can be kind of limiting on the grand scale of things. However, if you are a developer trying create a prototype for an early concept or are experimenting for tomorrow’s technologies, then time is your greatest nemesis. Unless developing beautiful characters is your primary ambition, you need to customize a character which will provide the function you need now.   I have not had an opportunity to play with Mixamo yet. However, I will follow up as I discover more about this unique tool.

    As the Raconteur engine comes to life, I will definitely keep this service in mind.

  • Modeling

    Over the weekend I read Chris Crawford’s chapter on “Modeling”. Overall I like his approach to modeling human response and behavior. I think he’s got a good thing going. I especially like the way he translated boolean into numerical form. It makes a lot of sense. Hi eight steps for establishing modelling rules seem like good guidelines.

    Crawford mentioned during an earlier chapter that to represent the vast and numerous storyworlds, interactive storyworld creators would need to employ more procedural methods for modeling reality. I think this approach needs to be extended to modeling behavior. While his technique for contracting multiple rules with one numerical equation is pretty nift, I can’t help but wonder if this can’t be pushed further.

    Boolean logic is also another attribute that can be improved upon. Boolean expressions are good for modelling simple transitional states. However, reality is very rarely black and white. More often it is multiple shades of grey. I like to replace my Boolean expressions with Fuzzy Logic operations. I feel I get a more organic response with Fuzzy Logic where boolean tends to be mechanic. Extending this further I would like to get my hands dirty with Fuzzy Cognitive maps. Instead of creating rules to represent behavior, Fuzzy cognitive maps create vast matrices keeping record of those sensitive relationships. I have not been able to implement  FCM’s yet. However, they will be one of the first features included on the Raconteur Engine.

  • Decisions … Decisions

    Within the last couple of days, I have been inundated with possibilities for creating the Raconteur Engine. In the long run, I’ll need to create a brand new engine with behavior and characteristics unto itself. However, I need to start someplace and the best place is where others have already laid down stable tracks. I had always been impressed with the Unity Engine.  However, I have recently been introduced to the High Fidelity Engine and now the Source Engine. Here are their pro’s and con’s.

    Unity

    pros:

    • Easy to Use Engine
    • Can Distribute to any platform
    • Huge user community
    • Very Common engine
    • Houdini Engine already ported

    cons:

    • Program in Java
    • Simplistic Rendering

    High Fidelity

    pros:

    • Massive Cloud computer
    • Very small latency
    • Very Fast
    • Very Progressive

    cons:

    • No Interface
    • Requires very large amount of programming
    • Huge amount to learn beyond API
    • Tiny user community
    • Not yet “Official”
    • Houdini engine not compatable

    Source

    pros:

    • Huge user community
    • Great distribution method, “Steam”
    • Innovation leader in VR
    • Super smart company – Valve
    • Only on PC’s

    cons:

    • No GUI
    • Lots of programming
    • Houdini Engine Not Ported
    • Start from Half-life(?)
    • Simplistic Graphics
    • Excellent on PC’s only

    Results

    Wow, this is going to be harder than I thought. They all have a similar number of pros. Unity seems to have the least number of cons however. I can’t make a decision at this time. I’ll need to define my products and what I anticipate my product progressions to be. When I have a stronger vision on my product line, then I’ll be able to decide where to start.

  • Future Angle for Interactive Storytelling

    After having read Chris Crawford’s book on Interactive Storytelling he tells of a definite upward struggle to get the genre of Interactive Storytelling off the ground. Indeed for the amount of time he has been working on this topic it seems as if it will never take off.

    In contemplating how to make a living off of Interactive Storytelling I came to the quick realization that indeed there is no market. The field is just in its infancy. What the field really needs is a vehicle that demonstrates that Interactive Storytelling to be an economically viable field. That has not happened yet. When that does however, I believe there be an enormous landslide of attention devoted to the development and expansion. There is a lot of ground to cover.  The idealistic dreams of pioneer is still a pipe dream away.

    One possible way of demonstrating the economic viability of Interactive Storytelling is to marry the interactive experience with social media. The story of the actual experience is enjoyable. In fact, escapism may be underlying goal of many of the participants. However this is only an first person experience. The emotional experience is contained only within the individual. However, as Chris Crawford mentioned, storytelling arose from the interaction of the language and social nodes trying to rationalize the visio-spatial and environmental understanding of reality. Thus the storytelling experience calls out to be shared socially. The stories about the stories are what will give life to the genre and act as the vehicle which will transport it to its future incarnations.

    The Raconteur engine will be a juxtaposition of the classical Story Telling Engine and an interface to the on-line social media which so predominates our current society. Its hard to tell how long this social media boom will last. Regardless, like it or not, it is here and it must be considered as a vehicle for almost all social interaction. (Gen X’ers and older may argue.) Thus it is my hope to exploit the social media aspect in order to help drive and fund the Interactive Storytelling elements. Regardless of the longevity of social media, storytelling is part of what it means to be human and will be with us for as long as we exist.

  • New Direction for Raconteur?

    While this thought is not new, I’ve had trouble justifying it in the past because of cost considerations. However, a new thought hit me today and it might be a potential solution for getting this show on the road.

    I have not written about this to this blog but this concept has been on my mind for a long time. I’d like to create an immersive AR/VR experience. Currently, there is no way for we as humans to jack into the matrix and have it feed us CG content to override our five senses. However, until that interface exists, there are still millions of problems to solve generating that content and presenting it such a way that it is interesting, motivating and compelling. This goes right along what I am looking to do in the Raconteur engine. The environments, characters and stories present enough research potential for hundreds grad students and researchers for quite many years.

    The test bed for this system is a virtual amusement park/adventure land. I’ll call this virtual story world. Visitors to this world will be equipped with a headset complete with VR goggles and earphones. Eventually an emitter can be provided to generate CG smells. In addition to the headset, the visitors will be wearing a trackable body suit. The suit will be used to track the precise movements of the visitor. The visitor’s motions will be fed into central program which will driver an avatar for the visitor. A CG environment and the avatar will be directed back into the VR Goggles. The story world will be constructed of a re-configurable collection of walls, doors, steps and props. The visitor will not perceive the the real story world. Instead, he will see and hear the interpretation of the story world as re-created by the Raconteur engine. Other characters in the world will either be other players or agents generated by the engine.

    The story world will be constructed inside old shopping malls, supermarkets or other abandoned large spaces. The visitors will experience an alternative reality story generated by the Raconteur engine. The story world will provide the physical resistance as perceived by the engine. Touch will be provided by the story world; sight and sound by the engine. I have not figured  out a way to deal with physical contact with other characters however yet.

  • Immediate Plans for the Future

    I have to admit I’m a bit concerned I don’t yet have a grand vision for where all this is headed.  However, I do have a small handful of small projects which may help provide some vision. This particular blog doesn’t really fall within the Grammar Based Universes or Interactive Storytelling categories but is really a combination of both.

    The projects I pursue have two purposes:

    1. To push the field of Interactive Storytelling into the next big wave. (Don’t know what the next big wave is yet? Hold on it is coming!)
    2. Create Business opportunities such that I may be able to focus 100% in this direction and provide abundance for my family.

    Keeping those themes in mind, here are the next projects to focus on:

    • Create First Unity Project 11/25/13
    • Integrate Houdini with Unity using Houdini Engine
    • Create a moving character in Houdini and get it into Unity
    • Create an articulated character in Houdini and get it into Unity
    • Develop FLOPS engine (It’s gotta be portable, fast and easy to use!)
    • Finish up my HDA builder
    • Test some of Chris Crawford’s ideas
    • Create a Plot Driven Story Universe
    • Port Houdini Engine to other packages such as Cry, Unreal, Frostbite and Touch.
    • Create a story Language based on Chris Vogler’s Writer’s Journey
    • Create larger, all media encompasing story language.

    That’s a lot to do … and get it all done by the end of the week? – SURE!