You may work on this project either individually, or as a group. The project's results are due on Monday 12 October. We will demonstrate your lab projects using either Community Place Browser or Netscape Navigator (your choice), in class on 12 October. This means that you will have to put your VRML up on a Web site. You will be provided with a Web site as part of your class computer access, if you don't already have one.

Knowing how flaky VRML can be, I will offer an opportunity to "pre-test" the VRML on Friday afternoon, Oct 9 on my laptop in my office. That way we will have increased confidence that your Big Show on Monday 10/12 will work.

The Assignment

Select an amusement park ride - a carousel, a Ferris wheel, the Octopus (arms go up and down, while cars on the end whirl around with shrieking teenagers inside) or (for the truly ambitious) perhaps a roller coaster. Whatever you select, write a couple of sentences describing the ride you intend to build, and draw a simple sketch of it. Then give me that description (by 9/9/98). Your specification should also include the name or names of the people on the team who will build this wonderful demo.
 
 

You should also give your team a colorful name. This is, after all, the first time you've designed an amusement park ride. You want to attract customers to your design firm for follow-on work, if its first product doesn't kill all its passengers.

NOTE: You are expected to understand the INTERNALS of your own VRML code. That is, you may build it with CSC, but you must then open it up with a word processor and see how it is built. I expect to include at least one question on the midterm exam which is based on your having the source code to your own Lab 1 available. You will snip out part of that code and explain it to me, as part of your (open book, take home) midterm exam.

None of the normal actions that amusement park rides take, should require scripting. Normal VRML interpolators and routing should handle it. (There is no VRML node I'm aware of that provides shrieking teenagers, however.)

The Demo

In class on 12 October, each group will briefly state their objectives and then run the demo on my laptop, connected to the projector. I will write down the URL and my comments on the worksheet you gave me back in September. Then I will go back after class and examine the demo at that URL again before assigning a grade to the project.

Grading

If the project does what it set out to do, and demonstrates a thorough knowledge of VRML features, it's good for a 90% score. The final 10% is reserved for "pizazz" (what's 90-speak for that?) That is, for the special sparkle that means the team put extra effort into  making a slick, professional presentation. You know this kind of effort when you see it.

Anything that doesn't work as advertised in the spec sheet is a potential subtraction below 90%. But beware - if you low-ball the specs (doing only a few trivial things) then your potential max score may only be 80% or 75% in the first place. I will give you feedback when you hand in the specs, if this is the case.

The lab's score (0 to 100) counts for 10% of the course grade.

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