Web Production II

Web Production II
Media 331
Thursdays 1:10AM -4:00PM
Film and Media Department
Fall 2004
Instructor: Andrea Polli, apolli@hunter.cuny.edu
Hunter College, New York

Course Policies

Course Description and Objectives: This class will introduce students to basic interaction design and programming concepts and the multimedia authoring environment. Using the programming cycle of design, implementation, and testing and debugging, students will learn about control structures, branching and decision-making, developing reusable code, writing functions and procedures, as well as structured flow. Students will develop a vocabulary that will allow them to talk to multimedia programmers. They will also develop enough programming skill to begin to author their own basic interactive multimedia projects. At the end of this class students will:

Understand basic structured programming concepts
Understand basic object-oriented programming concepts
Understand the Program Development Cycle
Be able to use flow-charting techniques and psuedocode as part of the program design process
Be able to translate flow-charts and psuedocode into functioning computer programs
Be able to correctly use basic programming building blocks such as: variables, strings, constants, commands, arithmetic operators, etc.
Be able to appropriately use sequence, branching, control and decision-making structures in their programs
Be able to add external resources to their programs including: graphics, sound, QuickTime movies, other resources

Prerequisites: Web Production I (Media 285). Students with transfer web production credit must have a working knowledge of Mac operating systems as well as Adobe Photoshop (or other comparable programs). Macromedia Flash MX is the foundational program for this course.

Grade Policy: Student's grades will depend on the TIMELY completion of all homework assignments and readings, lab exercises, midterm, a final project, attendance and participation. If a student has any emergencies or difficulties in completing an assignment, THEY SHOULD CONTACT ME AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. My e-mail is apolli@hunter.cuny.edu - no excuses.

Grades will be awarded using the standard grading scale:
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
below 60% F

Attendance: Attendance to all classes is required. Part of your final grade will be determined by class attendance. If a student misses a class section, it is the student's responsibility to make up any work missed. More than three absences will result in an 'F' (failure). Lectures will be held at the beginning of class so you must be punctual. Two late arrivals equal one absence!

Make-ups: If a student finds they will not be able to hand in a midterm or final on the scheduled day, it is the student's responsibility to notify me PRIOR TO THAT DAY. Under no circumstances will I accept the work if I have not been notified and arrangements made prior to that day.

Lab policy : NO EATING OR DRINKING IN THE LAB (THIS INCLUDES WATER) Students found with food or drink at the computers will lose access to the lab. Keep and consume food and drink in the designated area. Open lab hours are posted on the door of the lab the 2nd or 3rd week of the semester.

Participation: Lecture must be interactive. To this end, I encourage an open atmosphere where back-and-forth communication is the norm. Students are free to speak up when they need clarification or wish to make observations. Always let me know if you are having difficulties mastering a technique presented in class and I will help you. Plus, you will be expected to work several hours outside of class time each week. You will not be able to finish your assignments during class!

Homework: Homework assignments will be collected at the beginning of class (when attendance is taken). Any homework not turned in at this time will be marked late. Points will be deducted from late homework. There are several labs at Hunter that are available for students to use outside of class to complete homework assignments.
The computer lab schedule will be made available.
The following courses are recommended upon successful completion of this class: Media 399.97 Web Design Projects

Required Textbook and Materials: (available at the College's bookstore, Barnes and Noble, amazon.com, and most major book stores)

Macromedia Flash MX Actionscript for Fun and Games Gary Rosenzweig,Que Publishing, 2003
At least one USB flash drive, ipod, or other storage device (zip disks are no longer supported in the lab)
A notebook to take notes in and reference
Time outside of class to work!

Optional: (many of these can be acquired through at Barnes and Noble, amazon.com, etc. if not available in the Hunter or NYC libraries)

Advanced Flash 5 Actionscript In Action Dan Livingston, Prentice Hall, 2001
Flash 5 Magic with Actionscript by J. Scott Hamlin
Foundation Actionscript Sham Bhangal, Friends of Ed, 2000
Foundation Flash 5 Sham Bhangal, Friends of Ed, 2000
Actionscript: The Definitive Guide Colin Moock, O'Reilly, 2001

Suggested Reading: (many of these can be acquired through at Barnes and Noble, amazon.com, etc. if not available in the Hunter or NYC libraries)

Envisioning Cyberspace, Peter Anders, McGraw-Hill, 1999
The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design, ed. Brenda Laurel, Addison-Wesley, 1990
Computers as Theater, Brenda Laurel, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1993
Affective Computing, Rosiland Picard, MIT, 1997
Electronic Culture: Technology and Visual Representation, ed. Timothy Druckey

Web Resources:

Course Outline

This schedule is subject to change!! Please feel that you have a say in the tempo and the extent to which material is covered.

Week 1 Sept 2	Class Introduction, overview of the facilities, logins. HTML Review	READ: Chapter 1, Flash Elements Used to Make Games and Toys
Week 2 Sept 9	HTML Quiz Introduction to the Flash Multimedia Model: Flash windows and architecture Creating a new movie Creating library items (graphic, movie, button) Basics of the Timeline and Scene window Movie Properties Using help Simple animations with Tweening Inserting and using layers for navigation The Library window	READ: Flowcharting: http://www.nos.org/htm/basic2.htm http://www.hci.com.au/hcisite2/toolkit/flowchar.htm http://www.smartdraw.com/resources/centers/flowcharts/resources.htm
Sept 16	NO CLASS MEETING
Week 3 Sept 23	Review HTML Quiz In - class flowcharting exercise Introduction to the Flash Multimedia Model Part 2: Memory management for images (transform bitmap, etc) and Importing media Flash basics for interactivity Using buttons and movie clips Creating a Flash Movie (.swf) Viewing on the web	READ: Chapter 2, An Introduction to Actionscript HOMEWORK: 1 page TYPED treatment for choice game and flow chart for choice game: DUE NEXT WEEK
Week 4 Sept 30	Introduction to Actionscripts Instances, Movie Clip Properties Writing Actionscripts: Mouse messages Review MIDTERM ideas/treatments and flowcharts MIDTERM Completed choice game-DUE Week 8, Oct 21	READ: Chapter 3, Actionscript Elements Used to Make Games and Toys Completed MIDTERM choice game DUE WEEK 8, OCT 21
Week 5 Oct 7	More Actionscripting Movieclip handling Changing and testing Movieclip properties Mouse location, random, and relative location Button scripting Commenting and good programming style Vocab: Events and handlers Commands, Arguments, Keywords Statements and Expressions Constants and Mathematical Operators Understanding Condition and Status	Review Chapters 1, 2, and 3 READ: HANDOUT - What is a Game? Appendix B The History of Games
Week 6 Oct 14	NO CLASS MEETING ACM Multimedia Interactive Art Exhibition, Columbia University Independent work on midterm	READ: Chapter 4, The Game-Creation Process
Week 7 Oct 21	MIDTERM Assignment Due - Critique Discuss Final Projects Good programming practices and game design discussion Actionscripting Continued The movie explorer window Understanding message hierarchy Debugging Window Control Structures: variables arrays text and strings Logic If If/Else Nested If statements	HOMEWORK: Final Project Flow Chart and 1 page TYPED treatment due NEXT WEEK
Week 8 Oct 29	View and Discuss Final Project Ideas and Flow Charts -More Movieclips: duplicating, dragging and dropping, collision detection, keyboard input, etc.	READ: Chapter 5, Actionscript Design Effects
Week 9 Nov 4	Technical review/exercise Chapter 5	READ: Chapter 6, Toys and Gadgets Chapter 7, Construction Toys
Week 10 Nov 11	NO FORMAL CLASS MEETING Independent work on final project	READ: Chapter 8, Hunt and Click Games Chapter 9, Catch and Avoid Games
Week 11 Nov 18	Technical review/exercise Chapters 6 and 7	READ: Chapter 10, Aim and Shoot Games Chapter 11, Ball and Paddle Games TWO Final project Work-in-Progress Presentations Due before 12/16
Nov 25	NO CLASS MEETING-HOLIDAY	READ: Chapter 12, Quizzes and Word Puzzles Chapter 13, Picture Puzzles
Week 12 Dec 2	Work in class on final projects. Work-in-Progress Presentations	READ: Chapter 14, Brain Puzzles Chapter 15, Casino and Card Games
Week 13 Dec 9	Work in class on final projects. Work-in-Progress Presentations	READ: Chapter 16, Arcade Games Chapter 17 Advanced Techniques
Week 14 Dec 16	Final Project Due - FINAL PROJECT CRITIQUES

Midterm

Make a short interactive game. Technically, your game must include: at least two kinds of symbols, at least one interactive button, navigation to labels within your movie, and tweening. You must present both the original .fla file and the .swf file and be able to show how you constructed the movie.

Final project

Complete an interactive game of your design.

Your movie must include:

a flow chart
the use of at least two kinds of actionscripts
proper commenting and variable naming
custom variables
a conditional
property manipulation of an instance
sound and sound control

The quality should be on the level of what you might hand in to a design house during a portfolio review.

Show in class and hand in both a .FLA file and a .SWF file

You must be able to show and clearly explain how you programmed this game.