Tag: research lab

Jamie works for Epic Games, and gave a lecture on the usage of Unreal Engine. This was an interesting lecture as while we were given some very basic knowledge on the usage of Unreal and a different game engine, we were primarily taught to use Unity for all our projects in our modules.

The initial discussion was about the use of 360 degree video, where they would use multiple camera rigs to capture images to then project onto a sphere. Back when development of the videos was only just starting, the cameras had to be very close to one another to capture video for each individual eye, as these videos rely on the same Stereoscopic render techniques that VR experiences commonly used.

The discussion was short, but we got to learn about a few of the 360 videos Jamie developed. One main one was the simulation of a taxi cab experience in VR using these techniques, but he also outlined some other attempts using different ideas such as drones, and boats.

After this short discussion, the topic switched to that of Unreal Engine and Epic Games. I have always been aware of the existence of Unreal, and I consider it a viable option for many developers in recent years as Epic Games have offered the software for free and give high rates of pay to any games put on their platform using it.

While Unity values function primarily, giving users access to many tools to create their ideas, Unreal seems to strive more heavily for graphical fidelity, with tools such as MetaHuman being common practice for Unreal projects. This is a difficult line to follow for VR development in my opinion, as high graphical assets can slow down VR due to its high processing demand. Beyond this, I also believe high fidelity is not always the best idea, and plenty of games are popular due to them following their own personal art styles.

Briefly at the end of the lecture, Jamie talked about some of his experience working in the industry, and urged us to stop refusing the apply for jobs due to not being a complete expert in certain fields. The specific industry we wish to work in is always changing as more techniques and options come to the table, so no one will ever be an expert for long. I will do my best to try and take this advice to heart, in hopes it will give me the confidence to apply in areas I didn’t believe I could before.

Our lectures with Phoenix Perry discussed the ideas of machine learning, and a program called Interact ML.

The discussion began with a talk about search engines use machine learning inputs to filter searches, and as such, may be vulnerable to certain bias and discrimination. The core idea was that when a ‘man’ or ‘woman’ was searched on Google Images, the primary results contained pictures of Caucasian individuals.

While I understand the idea and viewpoint made, I genuinely believe that there is no reason to try and combat it. If we tried to cater to every single individual on the net with their certain searches, the net would be a much different place and have no semblance of a baseline. Beyond that, as stated these searches are the result of the most common concepts related to certain words, and trying to change them may just end up confusing anyone who is searching for items.

The next part of the discussion was on the usage of InteractML, which is a visual scripting tool designed for Unity to aid in the development of videogames without the usage of traditional coding techniques. The ML stands for the Machine Learning aspect of the program, where it must be taught certain interactions through performing them. After the program learns them however, these interactions can then be coded simply using the visual nodes.

The idea of stylized tools to aid in the development process of projects has always been something I’ve been interested in, having looked into software such as Gravity Sketch VR to create 3D models INSIDE VR for use in projects. In the case of InteractML, I would definitely be interested in giving it a try, with me having already seen the frustration common coding practices can cause for those inexperienced in its quirks.