Open for Enrollment
You can also start immediately after joining!
This exclusive course is part of the program:
Digital Game Design: Getting Started with Perlenspiel
Go at your own pace
4 Sessions / 6 hours of work per session
Included w/ premium membership ($20/month)
Skill Level
Beginner
Video Transcripts
English
Topics
Gaming, Digital Game Design, Gamecrafting, JavaScript

Not available for purchase in India

Starts Jan 8, 2019

Exploration: A Closer Look at the Microgame API

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You can also start immediately after joining!
This exclusive course is part of the program:

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Enrollment has closed

Go at your own pace
4 Sessions / 6 hours of work per session
Included w/ premium membership ($20/month)
Skill Level
Beginner
Video Transcripts
English
Topics
Gaming, Digital Game Design, Gamecrafting, JavaScript

Not available for purchase in India

Course Description

This hands-on course continues the exploration of Perlenspiel’s application programming interface (API) begun in the previous course. A wide assortment of commands for controlling the appearance and behavior of beads, the grid and the status line are presented and demonstrated, together with the subsystems supporting animation, faders, images and pathfinding.


schedule

This course is in adaptive mode and starts Jan 8, 2019. Learn more about adaptive courses here.

Session 1: Timing and Animation (April 9, 2024)
This session demonstrates how to use Perlenspiel’s timer API to implement animation.
7 lessons
1. Timers: Project Tic-Toc
2. Animation Control: Rain? I Don’t Mind
3. Illusion of Motion: From a Trickle to a Downpour
4. Illusion of Gravity: Flood Control Dam #3
5. Location Reference: Houston, We Have Liquid Water
6. Array Splice Removal: Good to the Last Drop
7. Thoughtful Code Architecture
Session 2: Nuances of Color (April 16, 2024)
In this session, we'll take a look at the API commands used to control exotic bead attributes such as alpha transparency, size and radius. Automatic faders for bead elements, the grid background and the status line are also introduced.
8 lessons
1. Transparency: Let Me Make One Thing Perfectly Clear
2. Scaling the Heights (and Widths)
3. Let Me Tell You About My Background
4. Bead Corner Radius
5. Bead Utility Functions: V’Ger Requires the Information
6. Visibility: I Don’t Have to Show You Any Stinkin’ Beads!
7. Faders: Not Fade Away, Part 1
8. Faders: Not Fade Away, Part 2
Session 3: Images & Motion (April 23, 2024)
Perlenspiel’s API subsystem for handling images is introduced, together with techniques for safely encapsulating JavaScript project code.
7 lessons
1. The ImageData Format
2. Loading and Displaying Images: PS.imageLoad()
3. Image Asynchronicity, Capture and Dump
4. Code Security I: A Better Firewall
5. Code Security II: Fortress of Solitude
6. Code Security III: Building a Framework
7. Keyboard Animation
Session 4: Actor Movement (April 30, 2024)
In this session, we'll further discuss animation techniques that lead to a demonstration of the API’s pathfinding AI subsystem.
7 lessons
1. Mouse Animation: Lines
2. Mouse Animation: Lively and Agreeable
3. Paths: Opportunities and Obstacles
4. Intro to the Pathmap Subsystem
5. Pathmaps: Preparing an ImageMap Object
6. AI Pathfinding
7. Making Maps Malleable
Learning Outcomes

Below you will find an overview of the Learning Outcomes you will achieve as you complete this course.

Instructors And Guests
What You Need to Take This Course

Prior Knowledge: This program is at a beginner level. However, prior familiarity with digital games and the basic principles and tools of software engineering are recommended.

Materials: No special materials required.

Equipment: Computer with broadband Internet access and a updated web browser, preferably Chrome or Firefox. Installation privileges may be required if a student wishes to employ an integrated development environment (IDE) for project work.

Software: (Optional but strongly recommended) An interactive development environment (IDE) for HTML/JavaScript such as WebStorm (JetBrains), Brackets (Adobe) or Atom (GitHub).

Additional Information

Please note: Taking part in a Kadenze course as a Premium Member does not affirm that the learner has been enrolled or accepted for enrollment by Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

If a student signs up for the Digital Game Design program, it is recommended that these courses are taken sequentially.

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