09/13/02: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Something Old...

You're probably wondering what the heck my title for this entry means. Well, I've finally decided to stay with my old project. I would not have gotten anywhere near finishing even Newtonian physics...especially since I planned to explain each basic physic concept.  I realized that they were too hard to explain in a limited amount of space, and I'd be spending more of my time explaining physics than programming.

Something New...

However, I've decided to revamp the idea quite a bit, so it won't be just my old project.  I want to add some real programming in there since I plan to learn OpenGL like there's no tomorrow.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  The first step is to plan out the museum, like I mentioned before.  I'm thinking I could break history up into decades or eras (the roaring twenties, the war years, the hippie era, etc.) and make each a corridor off of the main hallway.  This way, it will resemble my previous idea of putting all the war-related films in one corridor, the social reform films in another, etc, but it will still retain a somewhat chronological organization.  I'll come up with a more detailed building plan later...after I figure out how many films I'll have.

Another thing that I want to do--completely frivolous--is to program an exterior to the museum.  For example, grass, trees, bushes, flowers, sky. It would really help me to learn how to program textures, which I really want to know how to do.  I was also thinking that I could add a memorial garden in the courtyard.  I could try to program statues and fountain, which would really stretch my programming skills because I'll be programming irregular shapes as well as adding textures.  Another reason why I think a memorial garden would be a good idea is because I could put only montages in the garden.  For example, I could have a montage of World War II, the Vietnam War, etc.  And since I have the software to create the montages myself, it would really let me have fun with the creative aspect that I love.

Animations are another thing that I think would be a nice addition.  For example, I was thinking that I could program the doors to open and close when the user went through them.  It would be completely frivolous and unnecessary, but it would be a nice touch.  Also, in order for the user the see an exhibit, he or she must click on the framed screen capture of the film he or she wants to see.  He or she can do this from any angle within a certain range, so I thought it would be nice if, when the user clicked the frame, it would rotate until it was directly in front of him or her at a specified distance away.

I've also thought of a way for the viewer to see the video clip and be able to read the paragraph description without either taking up the room of the other.  I plan to program it so that when the user clicks the exhibit, he or she will see the video clip, but there will be a button on the lower right-hand corner of the screen that the user can click to stop the video and see a description of the historical significance of the event.  This way the user can see one without being distracted by the other.

Finally, I have a tentative idea--but this is only necessary if I can't find a way to play the video clips through the program.  If I must use the web, I'd want to find a way to put the entire program on the web...possible utilizing Internet2, which I understand we'll be getting this year.  Perhaps I'll de some research on Internet2.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue...

Now you're probably wondering what 'Something Borrowed' and 'Something Blue' refer to.  Well, I'll be borrowing some code from my fellow Imagining the Future group members, Evan Herbst and Henry Cook because I certainly didn't code it all on my own.  As for 'Something Blue,' my physics idea is very blue that it wasn't chosen. =)