Google Sketchup Assignment

Top view
This picture offers an overall view of my house. The front of the house is towards the bottom.

Front View
In this picture, you can see the entrance of the house with a circular driveway. There is a double garage on the side with a glass top.

Side View

Side View

Side View

Side view

Side view

Back view
At the back, you are able to see a fountain and two swimming pools, indoor and outdoor. There are also two big "rooms" for enjoyment. The back side ends with a staircase leading to the garden in the big yard.

Google SketchUp

How to change your modeling units’ format in Google SketchUp?

How to change the point of view in Google SketchUp?

How to place a design on your object in Google SketchUp?

How to use the push and pull tool in Google SketchUp?

How to import a picture to Google SketchUp?

This is a instructional video of "How to combine two pictures in the Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0?".

How to change the pitch of your voice in the Audacity software?

Now, after you are done with changing the pitch, you should save the audio track(s). Here, you have two options. 1.) If you want to continue to work on it later, go to File, which is a tool on the top left hand corner, and click on Save project as... Type in the desired name for the audio track(s) in the File Name and find the desired place to save it in. When done with that, just click on Save. 2.) Your second option is to save the audio track(s) as a video. You will use this option when you have completed your movie. To do this, go to File, which is a tool on the top left hand corner, and click on Export as WAV. Type in the desired name for the audio track(s) in the File Name and find the desired place to save it in. When done with that, just click on Save.

How to put transitions between the pictures in Windows Movie Maker?

This is a step by step, written description of "How to put transitions between the pictures in Windows Movie Maker?".

Step 1: Turn on your computer and log in. Once the desktop screen appears, go to All Programs under START.

Step 2: Find the software called Windows Media Player and click on it with your mouse.

Step 3: Now, you should have Windows Media Player open. To put in transitions, you would need a minimum of two pictures. Make sure these pictures are placed on your computer somewhere. To attain the pictures, you need to go to Import pictures under Capture Video which is under Movie Tasks.

Step 4: Find the picture you need, click on it with your mouse and then click on the button called Import, which is towards the right of the box.

Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4 to import the second picture. (Continue to do so if you have more pictures to put in your movie.)

Step 6: Now, you should have at least 2 pictures in your collection area. To place the pictures in the movie, drag the pictures to the Video under Timeline. Place them in the order you want them to appear in.

Step 7: Now, you should have the pictures placed in the timeline, in the preferred order. To put in transitions, go to View Video Transitions under Edit Movie in Movie Tasks. A group of transitions should appear.

Step 8: To view what a transition does, double click on the selected one with your mouse. A short video should appear on the player, at the side.

Step 9: Repeat step 8 until you find the right one(s).

Step 10: Now, click on the selected transition and drag and drop it in between two pictures.

Step 11: Repeat step 9 and 10 until you have finished placing the preferred transitions between the pictures.

Step 12: Now, after you are done with putting in transitions, you should save the movie. Here, you have two options. 1.) If you want to continue to work on it later, go to File, which is a tool on the top left hand corner, and click on Save project as... Type in the desired name for the Movie in the File Name and find the desired place to save it in. When done with that, just click on Save. 2.) Your second option is to save the movie as a video. You will use this option when you have completed your movie. To do this, click on Save to my computer under Finish Movie and Movie Tasks. Enter the desired file name and the place that you want to save it in. Then click on Next on the bottom right hand corner two times. Your movie should start to save.

Peer Evaluation

****I have picked Samia’s game, FINAL DESTINATION, for my peer evaluation. ****

1. Briefly describe the game, including its objectives.
This platform type game depicts the main character as an alien who has accidently landed on planet Earth. The objective of this game is for the alien to find its spaceship (escape pod) and get back to Mars. On the way, there are a few enemies that we have to go past and some crystals that we can collect. Her game involves different stages including water, underground, ground and air.

2. List two strengths of the game.
Two strengths of Samia’s game are:
• The game is original and unique. The set up of the game and the types of traps she has put in are really novel. Therefore, the game is enjoyable to play.
• The game involves many different ways or directions that are open to the gamer. There are four different portions: sky, ground, underground and water. This allows the gamer to have choices as well as places to explore. I could play this game again and again.

3. List one weakness of the game.
One weakness of Samia’s game is:
• The amount of power ups and health packs are really low. Adding these might make the gamer more interested in playing as they are being rewarded for their actions. I died most of the time because I ran out of health which could have been fixed if there were more health packs.

4. How did you find the difficulty level of this game?
According to me, the difficulty level of this game is standard for an average gamer. The number of enemies and traps were satisfactory allowing the game to be enjoyable without making it too hard.

5. What parts of the game did you like? Dislike?
I liked everything in the game. The way Samia has organized the game is original, creative and interesting. The only thing I disliked was the number of health packs and power ups placed.

6. What improvements could I make to this game?
I don’t think there is anything that could be improved on except placing health packs and power ups. The game followed many factors that make a good game enjoyable to play and therefore, I took pleasure in playing it.

Evaluate

1. Describe your game (including a title).
The initialed title of this platform type game is “The Golden Statue”. This title reflects the theme/objective of the game as you are required to kill all the enemies and rescue the golden statue. Most of my game is above ground. There are three to five parts that are underground. In the underground areas, I have put couple of lights so that the gamer is able to see the enemies guarding the tunnel or/and the way out. Above ground consists of some traps which the gamer has to pass. The key to the locked doors are hidden somewhere between the two doors. Finding the keys isn’t hard. Also, I have placed many power ups at regular intervals. Sometimes, there are more power ups at one place than the other which could mean that there are more enemies coming up.

2. What is the objective of the game?
The objective of the game is to kill all the enemies and rescue the golden statue which has been stolen by the evil Poiente. Once the gamer kills all the enemies and reaches the golden statue, the game will be accomplished.

3. Discuss two strengths and one weakness of your game.
According to me, two strengths of my game are the number of power ups I have placed and the level of difficulty. I think the places where I have positioned the power ups are really good. I have tried to locate my power ups according to the number of enemies. Therefore, I don’t have lots of power ups in the beginning as it doesn’t consist of a lot of enemies but, towards the end, I have quite a number of them because the number of enemies increases. Usually, the guns, armors, etc. are placed before the gamer comes in contact with the enemies and the health packs are placed after the gamer comes in contact with the enemies. I also feel that my level of difficulty is just right. A person with really less experience of playing video games can play my game while a person with lots of experience can play it as well. One weakness of my game is that there are not many ways or options for the gamer to follow. The game keeps going in one direction and the gamer doesn’t really have options to choose.

4. What improvements could be made?
One improvement I could make is adding more paths in the game. I should let the gamer have more options in choosing in which direction they prefer to go. This could have added some interestingness. Another improvement I can think of is adding some more traps so that the gamer doesn’t get bored and can expect something to keep coming up.

5. What difficulties did you encounter while creating your game?
One of the difficulties I had to encounter while creating my game was checking if the tiles were on the ground. The surface of the game wasn’t flat but bumpy and the graphics weren’t the best so when I was placing tiles in the game, the tiles were above the ground most of the time. To fix that, I had to go back and place tiles below the ones I had already placed. Also, I had a little trouble with uploading the game to my blog after I was done making it. It was on my blog but it showed some error and therefore, the game wasn’t functioning. At the end, I had to upload it at home.

6. What did you have to modify or change from the original design?
I didn’t modify a lot from the original design. A few minor things that I changed include:
· I had planned to have darkness in some places in my tunnels but because the tunnels weren’t deep, the light from the ground was covering the tunnels as well. Therefore, some parts of the tunnels didn’t have darkness.
· I had assumed when creating the plan and design that falling in the water will cause mission failure but as I started creating the game, I understood that it is not possible to do so.
· The timeline I formed to help me create my game on time worked well but I didn’t take one and a half weeks to create the game. I did it over the course of four days.

7. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your performance during this assignment.
The way I handled this assignment has been proficient. My work ethic, devotion, enthusiasm and overall attitude towards this assignment gave me worthy results. The way I have worked hard and used my time efficiently at school has given me a reasonably good project. I have put a lot of time in the designing and planning of the game and according to me, they are really well done. Doing this allowed me to get a very strong idea of what I was going to include in my game and therefore, I just followed my plan. While I spend my time efficiently in school, I also did a lot of work at home. Working expeditiously with dedication gave me a chance to finish my work earlier than the expected due date. Among all these strengths, one weakness of my performance was the creation of the actual game. I could have spend a little more time in making it better but I don’t think what I have made is not good.

8. What did you do well at?
There are quite a few things I feel I did well at. To start off, I did reasonably well at the designing and planning of the game by putting in lots of details which later on helped me a lot while building my game. I think the objective/theme of my game was pretty good too. Even though rescuing a golden statue is not an original objective, it does provide gamers with a motivation to keep going on. It is better than saying that the objective is to kill all the enemies. I think the obstacles and traps I made for the gamers are pretty good. They are all different from each other which provides uniqueness for the gamers. Off the game, the amount of work I have put in to do this assignment adequately could be counted as something I did well at.

9. What could you have done better at?
No matter what you do and how much time you take to do it, you always have a chance of improvement. The same thing occurs in this place. I could have spent a little more time on the game and I could have made it better in some aspects like adding more paths in different directions. I don’t think there is anything else that might need improvement.

Feedback
1. How was the difficulty level? Give one reason why.
2. Were there some parts that you felt were too hard to go past?
3. Do you think there is an efficient amount of power ups and health packs?
****Please give any other suggestions or opinions you have about the game overall. ****

Video game

The Golden Statue

You are trying the rescue the golden statue which has been stolen by the evil Poiente. Kill all the enemies in order to save the golden statue. Have fun! :)

Plan

1. What will you do first? Why?
First, I will make the characters and setting according to the theme/objective. The reason for that is that everything depends on the characters and setting. For example, I wouldn’t have bats roaming around during the day time. This will set the basis of my game. Next, I will add the traps, enemies, chambers, levels, etc. All these have to fit in with the characters and setting. Completing all these parts will allow me to finish making the game. Next, I will just be left with testing the game. :)

2. How will you insure that you complete the project on time?
To ensure that the project is completed on time, I will work hard in class and try to work at home, whenever I can. Investigating what makes a “good” game enjoyable to play and making a design and plan has already got me started on the game. I have a clear plan of how my game is going to look like, what the objective(s) will be, etc. Therefore, I just have to create and design the game now.

3. Who will test beta versions of your game?
I will be mostly checking the beta versions of my game because I will know exactly what I am trying to produce. I will also ask some of my classmates and friends to test it because they will know the criteria and standards of judging the game as they are making a video game too. This will allow me to have a wider range of opinions and suggestions to consider. Other than these people, I would want a real gamer to test my game. For example, I could ask my brother to test it as he has some knowledge about video games because he often plays them. I think if everything goes like this, I will have a reasonably good game.

4. Will you incorporate other people’s suggestions into your game’s design?
Yes, I will mostly incorporate other people’s suggestions into my game’s design unless the suggestions influence other factors in the game. Firstly, I will have to make sure that people who are giving the suggestions are trustworthy and reliable. Their opinions and suggestions are honest and they don’t involve any selfishness. Next, I will have to judge the suggestions, keeping in mind that not everyone feels the way the person who is giving the suggestion feels. This is the important part. Changing one thing because of one person shouldn’t affect the other gamers. If it does, I will not incorporate the suggestions. In conclusion, I will have to carefully consider the suggestions and then incorporate them.

5. How will you decide if you have created a good game or not?
To decide and make sure that I have created a reasonably “good” game, I will have to see the factors that make a “good” game enjoyable to play. The factors such as originality, difficulty, number of ‘climaxes’, etc. should satisfy according my investigation. Also, I will ask my friends and some fellow grade 9 students if they find a glitch of some sort in the game. Their opinions will be taken under consideration. And, lastly, I will have to judge it and check if it is the type of game I would like to play. If all or most of these aspects are satisfied, I will consider that the game is good.

Design

1. What type of game are you going to produce?
I prefer platform style games than shooter type games. Therefore, I will be producing a platform style game.

2. What will it look like?
The setting of the game will be in the forest. There will be trees and plants in the background. There will be some underground tunnels but mainly, I would prefer it to be on the main ground. In the underground tunnels, I will put lights at several places but there will be some parts where darkness will guard. This will give the gamer a challenge. There will be some places where the land is filled with water and the gamer has to cross it. Falling in the water might cause mission failure. Some parts will consist of hills or walls which will play as the opponent of the gamer. The doors will play the role of a stopper and the keys that unlock the door will be hidden somewhere in the level. The gamer will have to fight or escape the ninjas, bats and spike blocks. They will play the enemy. Overall, I have got a design but it will change a little until the game is created.

3. How will the characters be controlled?
The character will be controlled using the arrow keys on the keyboard. The left key will allow the gamer to move left, the right key will allow the gamer to move right, the up key will allow the gamer to jump and the down key will allow the gamer to bend and squat down to prevent getting hit by the enemies. Also, the space bar will allow the gamer to use the selected weapon. As the game proceeds and the gamer receive more weapons, the "z" key will allow him/her to change and rotate through the weapons to pick the weapon of their choice. Pressing the shift key will allow the player to use an extra supporting item like the shield or torch. To rotate and change through those items, the gamer will press the "x" key.

4. What will be the objective of the game?
The objective of the game will be to kill all the enemies and rescue the golden statue which has been stolen by the evil Poiente. While you are killing the enemies to reach the statue, there will be doors that you will have to pass. These doors will be locked. Therefore, the gamer will have to find the keys to these doors, also. Once the gamer kills all the enemies and reaches the statue, the game will be completed.

5. How are you going to test its functionality?
I will test the game’s functionality by playing the game a couple of time myself and once or twice with the help of a friend. Mostly, I will test it myself because I will know exactly what I am looking for but involving another person to test the game will give me an opportunity to look at the game in a different way. I would want them to give me their opinions on the game on how to make it better.

6. How will it be evaluated?
It will be evaluated using the factors of what makes a “good” game enjoyable to play. Like I answered in the investigation, factors such as originality, difficulty, number of ‘climaxes’, etc affect the enjoyableness of a game. Therefore, I will have to make sure I all the factors are achieved. To do this, I will have to ask other people about their opinion on the game. This will give me the idea of what I should improve on to make the game better.

7. How long will you need to create it? Give a timeline for its completion.
I will need about a week and a half to create the video game. In the time given, I will need to select the background, characters, enemies, challenges, obstacles, etc. At the same time, I will have to test the game, check its functionality and evaluate it. Therefore, it is important for me to use my time wisely and finish making the video game in about a week and I might take three to four days extra to test it.

Investigation

1. What makes a “good” game enjoyable to play?
There are many good games but not all are enjoyable to play. This is partly based on the person’s interest. It plays a major role in supporting what type of game you would like to play. For example, I might prefer Platform style games while my brother prefers Shooting type games, even if both games are well-made. Another aspect that makes a “good” game enjoyable to play is its level of difficulty and struggle. The level of difficulty should start at about 5/10. If the game is too easy or too hard at the beginning, the player looses his/her interests, which is not really favorable by the game maker. Towards the end of the game or in some parts, the level of difficult should increase so that the player can have a challenge. Other aspect could be the originality. The player should find the game original with an interesting and new concept. He/she should be able cling to its concept when they play it the first time. Lastly, the game should have one or a couple of “climaxes”. This is where the player has to go past a point which is challenging. You have to do something extra to attain victory. In conclusion, there are many things that affect the enjoyableness of a “good” game and most of them are listed above. Only one of them could affect the enjoyableness or all of them could affect the enjoyableness.

2. What makes a “bad” game not enjoyable to play?
A “bad” game is a game that is not enjoyable, interesting or/and fun to play. One thing that mainly affects the player’s choice in picking between Platform style and Shooting type games is his/her preference. If there interest is in Platform style games, then they would dislike Shooting type games. It could be called a “bad” game according to them. Some main aspects that affect a player’s choice, if we ignore preference for a while, could be the level of difficulty, originality and the number of climaxes. The level of difficulty shouldn’t be too easy or too hard at the beginning. If the game is too easy for the gamer, he/she might continue to play the game but if they don’t find challenges, they might not like to play it. Same goes with a hard game. If the game is too hard for the gamer, he/she might play it but if there character keeps loosing, why would they continue to play it? Therefore, the difficulty should be just right for the gamer. Originality also plays a role in affecting the enjoyableness. If the game is not original or it doesn’t consist of a new concept, the gamer might find it boring because they have played a similar game before. So, the game maker should be careful about the concept. There should be a number of climaxes to give the player a chance to go past their skills and try to attain something. There shouldn’t be too many or too less climaxes. Also, the climaxes shouldn’t be repetitive. There should be new and different climaxes each time they come across it. These are some aspects that make a “bad” game not enjoyable to play. Only one of them could affect the enjoyableness or all of them could affect the enjoyableness.

****Age and the theme is one of the major affecters of the enjoyableness. The age and theme should match. For example, you wouldn’t want a 5 year old child playing violent games. ****

Comic book assignment

10 things I hate by aatrey Make Your Own At www.toondoo.com

This is a comic strip I made at http://www.toondoo.com/. Hope you like it!

Xtranormal Video Assignment

This is a short movie/video I made using xtranormal.com. It shows a newly elected president coming to a talk show and making fun of himself. It is intended to be funny. Hope you like it!

Soundtrack of my life...

This project is called the soundtrack of my life. It consists of songs that depict my life in any way. My sound track is called Life's Puzzzles...

CD Cover

1. Party In The USA/Miley Cyrus: This song gives a little recap of my trip to The States. My family and I traveled to many of the well-known places there.

2. Umbrella/Rihanna: This song makes me think of friendship, how one friend helps another friend and sticks out till the very end. The powerfulness of friendship is depicted in this song.

3. Family Of Me/Ben Folds: This song makes me realize how important my family is. No matter how much you try to convince yourself that you don’t need anyone but at the end you realize that your family is a major part of your life.

4. Time For Me To Fly/Jonas Brothers: This song reminds me of my first time flying in a plane when I was six. I was really excited which is portrayed by the artists of this song.

5. Happy Birthday: This song makes me feel happy for the person it’s being sung for. When this song is being sung for me on my birthday, I feel very glad to be in this world. It serves as a reminder of my birthday.

6. O’Canada/Calixa Lavallée: This song reminds me of my first time landing in Canada. It gave me the feeling you get when entering a new land, where you will get to explore and get a chance to make new friends.

7. Phoolon Ka Taron Ka/Kishore Kumar: This is an old Hindi song about the relationship between a brother and a sister. Whenever I hear this song, I remember the relationship between my brother and me. According to me, siblings are always the ones who know you the most.

8. A new day has come/Celine Dion: This song causes me to wonder about the time I moved from India. It contributes a little to the feelings I had at that time. I was really excited to go to a different place and make new friends.

9. Give me some sunshine/Sharman Joshi, Suraj Jagan: This is another Hindi song which reminds me of my elementary days. It gives me the feeling of growing up once again.

10. Fifteen/Taylor Swift: Some parts of this song jog my memory and remind me of everyday in school. School is a place where you meet and interact with different types of people while getting to learn.