todd

People, Tools, and $

1. People:

Potential Advisers
-Mark Bolas
-A presence from the Game Development part of the Interactive Dept, (i.e. Tracy Fullerton or Chris Swain)
-A presence from Animation (I'm contacting Richard Weinberg)

Production Team (besides yours truly):
Near Term: 1 Programmer, 1 Artist/Animator
Long Term: 1-2 Programmers, 1-3 Artists/Animators

Programmers: Having a programmer who knows database structures and networks is key, having one with
a background in artificial life (intelligence, neural nets, etc.) would be ideal.

Artists/Animators: Graphical elements will be key. Aesthetics are a key part of my goal. While I love graphical work, the question here is one of simple endurance and time. Many times I’ve programmed a perfectly reasonable engine and tool set, only to burn out when it came time to add graphics (the reverse is also true).

The “near term” involves the research aspect of self-generating environments. The “long term” would be the team needed for developing a full-fledged game.

Tools:
2a. Software:
Processing- Java-based library, specifically designed for testing graphical algorithms. I’ll certainly be using this a lot in the planning stages, seeing what systems work and which are limited.

OpenGL or Equivalent- The environments will ultimately be in 3D. A game engine is tempting, but I doubt I can find one that will provide the flexibility I need without extensive learning of a proprietary scripting system.

3D Modeling/Animation program-Maya or 3DS Max are among my most familiar and hence top choices

C/C++ Development Platform-Probably Visual C++

Adobe Photoshop: Staple for any 2D graphical work necessary

2b: Hardware:
At least 3 Wintel workstations with high-end graphics capabilities: One for coding, one for generating graphics, and one for testing and debugging

Final product could involve an installation, although compatibility with typical desktop PC a priority.

Money:
(3) Workstations ~$5000
Software (Student Fare) ~$5000
*Presentation Hardware ~$5000 and up
Student Workers ~$2000

Totalling about $12,000-$17,000