CisLunarFreighter/Introduction to game design and production processes

Introduction
This section provides a learning trail oriented towards general game production using open source tools and desktop techniques. There are large overlap between the production processes used in 3D computer modeling to create sets, models, animation, and sound tracks for short clips and preliminary post production on clips or dailies and the traditional film industry. In the older methods of film making dailies are used later in post production film making. A large advantage of computer animation in this way is the ability to return to preproduction and reuse components.

This learning trail focuses initially on using the available open source components and tools which are fairly mature. Developers working on open source tools wishing to interact with their potential users and customers are very welcome for their expertise and to assist with maturing their offerings quickly to the benefit of us as well as the entire open source gaming and animation community.

Initial tools in ongoing study and materials production: Open Source Tools for Possible Use in cisLunarFreighter Please add others to these as they are used within the project.

Important Ground Rules on this Trail

 * 1) Do not use or upload others' work without prior permission and agreement to the terms of the upload submittal form (GNU FDL, etc.). If you wish to retain full distribution and modding rights then you can email your work to others privately.   Be considerate and upfront by pointing out to them the materials are provided on a proprietary basis for their personal use only.  The email rerouting system at Wikiversity apparently does not allow attachments so some prior coordination is necessary and useful.  Large animation and modeling files can clog slow bandwidth access so please ask before sending large (i.e. graphics and large specification) files.
 * 2) This trail involves both generic and specific techniques so work can be performed in a variety of desktop tools as desired.  Our initial focus is on open source tools as they are generally freely available to everyone.   Detailed discussion involving how to integrate data between less prominent tools and proprietary tools can get quite involved and will need appropriate refactoring as necessary to improve our learning trails for everyone, novice to expert.
 * 3) Offensive material substantially outside the community norm will be removed immediately. Even a satirist should be able to find something which can avoid offending most reasonable people.  Wikiversity is a fun learning environment, not a place for inflammatory homework.  Which community norm you ask?  Ours, here.
 * 4) Skip around to what interests you, where you wish to learn, and where you can help others. Drop out when you need to and come back when you feel like it.  The community will still be here when you get back if everyone pitches in and has fun while they are here.

Getting Started
You will need a project idea from which you should at minimum sketch or have some storyboards and generate some simple scripts. This will be needed soon to have your actors and sound effects created to assist you with inspiration, timing, and detailed animation. Meanwhile .... we would love to have you work on any portion of CisLunarFreighter which catches your interest. Some of the models necessary to create a spaceport firestation and some scenes for stills or animation involving landing emergencies, drills, inspections, etc. are now available at Blender for Game Graphics and Animation.

If you plan to design software or talk extensively with the software designers then this online short course not affiliated with Wikiversity may be of use to you in learning UML (Unified Modeling Language). Sketches may be scanned and loaded as jpegs or system models may be created using a free/open source UML editors such as ArgoUML.

We can help initiate the game and software design processes with some simple modeling tasks for anticipated sets and scenes while we learn our modeling and animation tools. The screenshot below shows the beginning development process of crude models of pieces of a spacecraft we require.
 * Initially I will focus on gameplay and a little later add some educational value. Mirwin 01:08, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

This learning trail will now focus on how to use Boolean Functions and other tools within Art of Illusion to quickly rough out simple models and sets quickly. This will help us soon with storyboards and gathering interest of new potential developers and participants.



How did we get this far? Just starting and proceeding? When you first saw the image above of the joint of the rocket engine nozzle and the command service module of a spacecraft did you envision a gameplay scenario of damaged actuators which must be fixed for an animation clip showing an exposion and a fellow player drifting into the void along with his tools and pieces of debris. Does the game give us the ability to recover our buddy or the body? Are the tools critical to our player character's survival?

Step 1. We need some idea of what our models and clips are needed for and whether we can get started on generic pieces that can help us flesh out the project fast while contributing to our ever expanding set of reusable components and tools.

cisLunarFreighter
CisLunarFreighter will be an enhanced first person flyer game with educational aspects to encourage our users to have fun polishing their math skills while interacting with their buddies in a MUD environment we will develop and establish to host the game and serve its applets. The initial spacecraft will be loosely modeled on work performed for the SDIO for SSTO and VTOL spacecraft. Background is available in a printable/viewable form here Notice the excellent figures ... almost storyboard quality! Just no story yet. These will help us by provide a starting point for our solids modeling grounded in science.

Now it is relatively easy to recognize some pieces of our lunarFreighter beginning to emerge. Notice how placement of the camera affects your interpretation of what the pieces are or might become after you have seen some of the figures and science explained in the engineering report. Did you notice we started at the top and the pieces almost ready look suspiciously like an Apollo Command module, shell of a service module, and the CSM's (Command Service Module) engine nozzle? These were created with only the Boolean Solids methods and the Lathing operation. Lathing is creating a solid by rotating some defined piece of its geometry through space. Onward.

Operations or Mission Scenarios, UML Case Studies, Story Shorts for Animation Clips or Sound Clips
Our lunar freighter pilot oversees loading and fueling at his local spaceport and organizes his bill of laden to schedule his ports of call on the moon. He takes off, dodging birds, aircraft, satellite, asteroids etc. It is possible to blast through an asteroid but frown upon for space spations. The FSA (Federal Space Administration, post NASA) frown upon capricious carnage and has been known to lift licenses. The player lands, unloads, reloads then heads to next port. Mission is complete when the freighter has returned to a Terran Spaceport and been handed to the mechanics with notes for rapid turnaround to next mission.

A splashscreen for games is an introductory clip which sets the atmosphere to play the game. It is precisely the same as a film short, commerical, etc. See >>>> link here  If we had our detailed splashscreen script done it would assist us with our modeling. Many modern games have graphics totally different in their splashscreen than the game to compress the development cycle. In my view, this is often unprofessional and sometimes damages the game playing experience. Special care is required to not promise something you cannot deliver inside the game. Particularly if the splashscreen is used, as it often is, in stores to sell the product. You get home and find expectation are not met. An easy way to avoid this problem is to use the actual models and rendering tools used creating the game to create the splashscreen. Fortunately the storyboards can be useful in analyzing the cases used in UML (Unified Modeling Language) analysis and design for the program development.

(When it is ready, link to the scripts, case studies, and operational scenarios of cisLunarFreighter in a convenient pdf file uploaded to the wikiversity server; for example . Sun's free open source Open Office 2.0 productivity suite contains a word processor which was used to  create the previous pdf file.

Others are encouraged to provide links to open source materials here at wikiversity or elsewhere as good examples. Keep in mind the attribution requirements and licensing requirements if you cut and past into your own work.

Additional Learning Trails for Scripting and Case Scenario Design Studies
 * Developing Scripts and Case Studies for cisLunarFreighter

So how do we continue creating useful models for this cisLunarFreighter game?
Many questions are relevant:
 * What pieces or individual models are required for game animation clips or stills?
 * What textures are needed?
 * Do we need a series of sprite shots to allow easy user/program control of the animation?
 * Is the solid model to be used direct in program or only flat 2D graphics planes?
 * What format should files be delivered in to the animation?
 * Do we have a naming and indexing convention to help archive the files so we can reuse them in the future?
 * Are there licensing issues with objects customer want me to start from?
 * Who controls the publishing rights on the object I create?
 * What level of realism is required on what pieces? For example do we ever open cargo bay doors in space?  How is the cargo secured and how does it look?
 * Do we need some cargo models
 * Do we need a forklift model at the Spaceport? If so, can I reuse my own forklift model or is it too complex?
 * It is in an old 3DSmax file. Can I import or tranform it somehow cost effectively or is it better to just model another specifically correct forklist for this project?
 * Can we scale later or it is important to build all models and set to correct scale right now from the start? If so .... first we must find a set designer and finish storyboards!!!!!!

Think about these a bit and then you can review my (and hopefully others) answers and discussions ->>>>> put file link here when available

Useful Graphics Techniques
Add your favorite technique to Specific Graphics Techniques in Game Production for the benefit of other, it is currently a very sparse index.

Useful Programming Techniques
/Specific Java Programming Techniques for Game Development

Other Applicable Process Wikiversity Courses
These will be helpful perequisites or for post study in producing animation. Need the entire finished product if working by yourself or merely most of the skills if you have some help in a team or company environment. A trivial example: We are a little off course! or Pirates have towed us Where!
 * Screen Writing and Script Production [Course:WikiU_Film_School_Course_01_-_Learning_the_Basics_of_Filmmaking]
 * Storyboarding [Course:WikiU_Film_School_Course_01_-_Learning_the_Basics_of_Filmmaking]
 * Soundtrack Scores and Creation [Mad_Max%27s_Course_in_Film_Scoring_for_Motion_Pictures]
 * Background and Foreground music creation [Creating_music_with_your_PC]
 * Foley Sound Effects
 * Licensing options and considerations.
 * Grid computing --> Got to get that entire project done last time and shipped! Helps if prior    tasks are quick and trouble free.
 * Project management and budgeting
 * Marketing and Sales -->> Unless it is stricly a hobby you may wish to sell your products and/or services!

Applicable Free/Open Source Tools and Resources
Editor's Note: After this has developed a bit move to its own page and link. Mirwin 01:39, 6 November 2006 (UTC)  Open Source Tools for Possible Use in cisLunarFreighter

Open Source Stuff Needing Evaluation for our Purposes
MUD Client Server
 * http://developer.berlios.de/projects/quizmaster/

A development team[] already developing open source servers, clients, artwork, audio and interfaces for games. Mirwin 04:45, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Some Model Examples Now Available
I was reading some of the Art of Illusion Manual from the start. It is extremely well written and does an excellent job of explaining a simple yet powerful and effective user interface for screen and object manipulation onscreen while modeling components or doing set design for stills or animation. While playing with the interface to learn its use I made some more progress on my first homework models for cisLunarFreighter.



Boolean modeling was used to create the above with little knowledge of the rest of Art of Illusion's capabilities. Good explanations of Boolean Modeling is available in the Manual and a detailed introductory tutorial on Boolean modeling functions and techniques is available at http://www.artofillusion.org.

Notice the engine components and flame? Those will look lovely flying away in an explosion! We must remember to mention to the scriptwriters and storyboarders that survivable explosion are possible and necessary to plots requiring flight of crippled ships to nearest spaceport.

If you look the model set over carefully you will find defects for various purposes in various components. Do not worry. Our model set will improve as we work with it but now we have something to plug into concurrent desktop production activities. As of now I have about ten pages of scribble sketches probably unreadable to others. Using these models I can create some storyboard stills from preliminary sets created while learning the features of Art of Illusion. I am cheating a bit as I spent several years working as a producer with 3DSMax on my desk and already have been through concurrent design cycles with animation. Hopefully others with experience will show up to polish some of their skill too.

Finally, if you do not like or pick up modeling well, do not despair! You can cut and paste with GIMP (or equivalent) and some of our first rendered stills (such as the screen shot above hint hint 8/ ) and avoid modeling by getting good at something else within your production team .... like storyboarding or scripting! I go now to work through some of the Art of Illusion's web site's allegedly (how would I know yet?) excellent detailed tutorials. This will hopefully improve my modeling quickly so I can finish the spacecraft components and maybe start on a spaceSuit. I hope you have an idea for a product or project or components of somebody else's project that you would like to work on soon. This stuff is much more fun and effective working within a project team context with congenial and knowledgeable colleagues. Mirwin 04:10, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Request from Lunar Boom Town
Venture teamCargo_Imports requests assistance. They need some 3D models, stills, and animation clips for concept development. Basic conceptual design is a cheap mass produced one way cargo rocket that delivers supplies and perhaps one or two people to the lunar surface at a profit. There are flyback 1rst and 2nd stage, 3rd stage is lunar insertion tug pushing softlander. Mirwin 05:46, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

Models needed
 * Flyback first stage
 * Flyback second stage
 * Lunar Insertion Booster/Crashlander
 * Soft Lander
 * Lunar base - spaceport pad, crashlander receiving crater, rental habitats

clip/segments desired
 * Launch from Terran Spaceport
 * Flight - Roll/tile to proper flight trajectory
 * 1rst stage separation
 * 2nd stage ignition
 * Flight - Some dynamic shaking regions tapering into deep blue of upper atmosphere
 * 2nd stage separation - background shifting to black with earth horizon in view
 * Third stage ignition - camera moves to show final lunar insertion stage blasting towards moon
 * Engine cutoff and transition to close to the moons orbit
 * Separation - and brief flare of softlander
 * Crashlander - Proceed to designated impact crater receiving zone
 * Softlander - Lands next to a lunar outpost next to the crater

Let's Review
It is becoming apparent now that as we bounce between film classes to gather traditional skills and discuss their needs with our game designers that the graphics techniques and even formats for game design have identical chunks of process and confusingly similar chunks as well as totally diffent needs and methods. We need to know something of what the customer (game designer or film maker) intend to do to compete his product to identify what graphics components we need, how they should be produced, how intermediate subproducts or components should be produced and achived (Clearly a backup of product is made before shipping to customer but what about all the intermediate necessities to create the product? Do we save it all or redo intermediates if changes are required?). So, without further ado here is what I told myself as the Entrepreneur who agreed to produce cisLunarFreight for an open source game mud being being developed.



Scanned sketch of the big idea for a starting point of cisLunarFreighter. It will be embedded in a MUD based completely on open source Java software, graphics and ideas for the game modding communities to play at and with. We make our money by providing extra services and a couple of advertising screens if traffic gets high. Obviously not in the middle of game play! Only setup and extra browsing.

http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/A_Hands-On_Introduction_to_Game_Design_and_Production_Processes

Basically we expect our clients to be modding pieces of all our games constantly, most of them in open source fashion so we do want to save capability to modify game graphics in the future. Both to maintain constant increments of change to maintain interest in the site and to be able to integrate new open source excellence back into our main default products and servers.

"What?" We ask the businessman in confusion, seeing and recognizing only scribbles.

"I do not know. You guys are the graphics experts.  I am busy setting up the business details, the server, java framework, and doing the programming for cisLunarFreighter as well as considering mods for open source java games that look potentially popular with our clients." says the business person in exasperation. "Let's just try something and find out what works!"

"Ah," we respond. "Can you give us any ideas for what you intend at all?" we ask in desperation?

"Yes!" As the sketch above shows; and the operational scenario or mission cases above show; we want first person flyers/operators and strategic god like overview director/operaters. cisLunarFreighter will incorporate features from the classics Asteroids, xPilot and Lunar Lander. So we need sprites for our critical models we operate from an overview or isometric top down view and masks for first person views inside cockpits. "I hope this helps. See the samples and play the games a bit and get started modeling right away! Your models are the second step in my timeline after we get the server setup.  I need them and the graphics so the java programmers know what software components to integrate and develop!"



The pilot's view of the cockpit above can be used for a foreground mask that the program parades game objects through for the cisLunarFreighter pilot to avoid or blast as appropriate. We (Java developers) must find or create a java viewer that will do this and get prototype code working so we know what shape and angle the graphic may be shot from and used successfully. A few years ago in other languages far away and different only rectangular transparent sections could be supported with the skills available. This led to the unfortunate demise of a potentially profitable product line. The MUD entrepreneur does not wish to repeat this debacle.

Sprite
Sprites are small recognizable graphics that are periodicaly updated to animate a screen object. A little spacesuited figure running across a lunar terrain might be animated by using 12 sequential images looped as the software translates (as in add add a delta vector to a position vector either 2D or 3D translated to a 2D screen) the figure by a convenient reference point ... say heads or toes. In this case let's say toes so we can add easily add kicked up dust or objects like rocks or tools when we collide with them. This is to animate a straight line.

A figure that is controlled by the player such as a cisLunarFreighter spaceship (think good looking asteroid ship or lunar lunar lander) must have a set of little graphics to animate each different point of the compass or direction of movement and each type of movement. The permutations quickly grow beyond the possible so specific player actions to animate must be chosen carefully for non interaction with other elements and few commands. The good news is that the graphics for an array of isometric sprite elements can be programmed and generated as a sequence of images by Art of Illusion. The bad news is that every format translation and intermediate data product necessary to get the graphics element to the Java software must be performed on each sprite element. Anyone with open source tools to help automate this conversion process please link to the tools or tutorials or insert comments on how to use the tools here or nearby.

By analyzing the scribbled big idea of the customer we can start to make some progress while waiting for final (or draft) storyboards and player case scenarios to stimulate the Java programmers into telling us the final data formats and requirements.

Exercise for a Java programmer -- Design a small set of preliminary MVC patterned classes for a cisLunarFreighterViewer, cisLunarSpaceModel and playerGUI/command listener and tell us the precise file/format specifications for the graphical content you require to animate the view of the freighter and system during the TerranLander, Lunar Lander, xPilot, and Asteroids phase of play. Ask for 3D isometric data that will look good on standard backgrounds for this play phase ..... Black space with dense starfield ala NASA photographs. Planet Earth fuzzy weather fading to clear landfall, zooming to spaceport then landing pad; and Luna crisp landfall zooming to spaceport pad. The animators will want to know about any color limitations they must account for in their work processes as interim data products move around.
 * My preliminary tendency is jpg for background (since wikiversity can use jpg in lesson plans already and sets of jpg for the sprites indexed in sets of eight compass headings chosen to look good. Unless others feel different I propose eight rather than twelve unless the new distortion routines in recent Java release indicates specific higher number for good results.  Basically we rotate the shipsprite  and at specific angles jump to appropriate image update to give a smooth appearance.  We test this thoroughly while defining a semi automated delivery process for the collections of sprite images to make efficient use of manpower available.   Everyone will spend as much or more time learning than finally doing the boring details and that is what we are about here at Wikiversity.  Mirwin 23:06, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Potential problem: jpg does not support transparency maybe a newer format is better? If so please tell us which ones to evaluate!  Thanks Mirwin 23:06, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Can We Start Modeling and Animating Yet?
Yes, notice the customer has sophisticated 3D graphics from one product not named (working name Virtual Airport) and another cockpit process referenced as being fed on the moon (see the little stick guy on lunar buggy at top deliving the cargo from the lunar spaceport out and around moon? Maybe we can sell some advertising to UPS and put their logo on the lunar delivery trucks and spacecraft?  Maybe FedEx?  Talk to marketing and advertising sales guys ... back to real work.

Object list: flight controllable objects (local lunar jumper, lunarFreighter); ground controllable objects (lunarDeliveryVan, Hyster); passive relocatable objects (cargo,tool chests,spacecraft engine parts); dangerous objects (birds, rocks, debris, pirates, aliens, patrols.

Draft Sets/models useful/needed for draft storyboarding
 * Lunar SpacePort
 * Terran Spaceport
 * lunarFreighter cockpit
 * maintenanceShop
 * tarmac service vehicles, lunar vehicles
 * spacecraft (lunarFreighter, lunarJumper)

What is an object? To the java programmer it is the instantiation of a class. The class is a specification of how to build the object. So he may have one pilotController class that takes the player or AI commands and control any spacecraft object instantiated. In Art of Illusion and object is similar because it the program was designed for and implemented in Java using object orientated methods. What does this mean? If we can get useable graphics to the Java programmers to get one flight controllable object successfully instantiated and playing bugfree the Java programmers can give us some standards on how they want the data delivered for all the rest and all new "flight controllable objects". Then we can shoot the sprite sets off of the models and deliver them so the game starts to look like a game. Stimulating interest from players who can give us feedback and extend our work indefinately on this open source product!

What is a model? Formal and personal definations abound. In this case I think of a model as a set of objects that are grouped together to accomplish a specific purpose. Consider the engine model in the screenshot (insert link to 2nd shot here). It is not yet comlete because I cannot yet render the engine either at rest, firing, or exploding.

What is a set? A set has all the elements necessary to create a specific shot. The storyboard is an initial idea on what a set will require but it is not complete. We now have enough information to draft a couple of generic sets and models to allow us to easily use Art of Illusion for initial storyboard coordination. The idea is to go back and forth between the set designers, the script writers, the big idea guy and all others iteratively as efficiently as possible until everyone has a good idea of what they are needing to get done.

Exercises involve creating 3D Models and Sets. Participants are encouraged to download and use each others FDL'ed/GPL'ed models, sets, stills, storyboards (still of a draft scene marked up by hand; or cut and pasted modified; and scanned back in as a jpeg to be used for reference or even textures). For now email each other and/or the project lead for source files. Hopefully soon someone will show up competent to establish and help maintain a sourceforge site for us. Otherwise we can post files once I get cisLunarFreighter's MUD server up and running.

An exercise/production task completed http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Image:LunarRoverTestShot2.jpg by Mirwin 04:18, 7 November 2006 (UTC)  Summary reminds you can have the model as a starting point or to use in your own project. The model needs to be grouped and simplied for background use and some handles and control mechanisms added for detailed closeup animation. There is no texturing or materials work done yet. Remember there are good tutorials on those subjects at ArtofIllusion.org I just have not got to them yet.

Way EXTRA Credit Identify a useable route from 3DSMax set, model, or object files to useable files for Art of Illusion (and other tools others are using). At this time we have no way to reuse the extensive files the customer has agreed to open source to us for use in modding the open source applets our open source mud server will be delivering to the community when cisLunarFreighter is complete.

WAY WAY EXTRA CREDITFind and mention an object oriented Java based mud server that can be evaluated, used and/or modified to meet our community's needs.
 * Evaluate http://developer.berlios.de/projects/quizmaster/ Might be good for Wikiversity but might also be starting point for java mud server and client. Mirwin 22:45, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Is This Project Too Ambitious?
No.

First, I have put a fair amount of thought into it and there is a lot of open source stuff around that can assist me/us in completing it.

Second, We will learn a lot even if we/I never complete the project.

Third, as higher quality tools, models, methods, processes, etc. become available it becomes easier for beginers or cross training experts to join us and assist. For example, I am a well experienced project manager, one time entrepreneur, and out of date computer consultant now studying Java and object oriented design. While learning Art of Illusion I will occasionally complete a useful task. Occasionally I will do something else useful to the project. As projects start to look interesting they start to accelerate.

Roles We Need Filled
Keep in mind that with volunteers people must often come and go to meet other responsibilities. Please accept or assist with any empty role that interests you for however long you can volunteer and do what you can while you are here. You can always return when you have time and interest!

Roles we need filled when someone interested shows up:

Consultant to the Server Administrator -- Initially either Windows XP or linux, whichever we can get working with my verizon dsl soonest, later open source, I like Fedora Core at the moment but I am open to anything someone can help me get up and keep up. Nothing fancy initially just a Tomcat applet server. Later whatever environment we need for the open source MUD we develop to serve out cisLunarFreighter to our community and admiring public.

Java Systems Integrator/Analyst -- We need an applet server compatible with a MUD server and client. Hopefully all in Java as one language is enough to learn at a time. We get fancy later if performance demands it.
 * Mirwin 23:55, 6 November 2006 (UTC) I am doing some of this now.

Software Engineers/hackers - Much/all of the Java code will need to be integrated, designed, fixed, debugged, supported, etc.

SourceForge Project Administrators - Responsible for setup and management of source files, documentation, and mailing lists at SourceForge.

Lead Animator - Coordination person for all animation related issues to help the information get around timely.

Lead Modeler - Coordination point for all modeling issues to help the information get around timely.

Game Designers

Animators

Modelers
 * Mirwin 23:55, 6 November 2006 (UTC) I have been doing some of this.

Business Managers and Entrepreneurs
 * Mirwin 23:55, 6 November 2006 (UTC) I will be setting up a MUD service oriented business. I have some ideas I will share on profitable value propositions and some I will keep proprietary.  Keep in mind anyone can use our products here to setup and operate a business.  Eventually I may start a related MUD Server Entrepreneurs class if there is any interest.  My primary contribution back to the community, if anyone is interested, will include getting these classes going and the cisLunarFreighter game which I will be working on tirelessly until it is completed.  I encourage to work on your own project and submit examples of open source materials to the rest of the classes here for discussion if you do not like mine ... or even if you do!.

Web Scouts or Hunter Gathers
 * Mirwin 23:55, 6 November 2006 (UTC) I have been scouting for open source java components.

Players To tell us what they like and want.
 * Maizcul 18:55, 26 February 2007 (GMT) I am an avid gamer and willing to test and suggest
 * Arcanwarrior 08:23, 8 August 2007 (AEST) I've played a lot of games and have experience in level design for Unreal Tournament 2004.

Beta Testers Game is not ready for testing yet but some of the Java components and production task tools certainly are.
 * Maizcul 18:56, 26 February 2007 (GMT) I am willing to test and do what I can to help

Distribution Packagers

Script Writers

 * Maizcul 18:56, 26 February 2007 (GMT) This needs claifying, script as in programme script or script as in storyboard script
 * Excellent point! I meant dialoque scripts for recording audio clips applicable to storyboard stills or animation clips. Target is audio objects that can be activated or integrated into play action by software programmers as appropriate.  I had not envisioned using JavaScript or other scripts to accomplish some of the programming but that is certainly possible if a script programmer creates some useful components.

Directors/clip integrators

Foley Audio Specialists

Voice Performers
 * Maizcul 18:57, 26 February 2007 (GMT) I enjoy voice acting/performing and am able to do a range of things, I am from england so have an english accent and can make it sound more/less "posh" if needed

Audio Engineers Can you help a Voice Performer setup an adequate sound system to perform a script into remotely?

Others as they arrive

...

Some may have been curious why we need these various roles filled. I hope my somewhat rambling getting started process has started to show newcomers to game development activities (including modeling and animation) why we need to work with others on these projects to get anything meaningful (besides or perhaps including self study) done. If you still have doubts the introductory film makers courses are pretty good at demonstrating this. insert link here This type of production is a large effort with many diverse skillset required to make progress.

I go now to finish another excellent pre-existing tutorial at the official www.ArtofIllusion.org website before modeling a lunar delivery van. Leave a message at my talk page if you have any questions or answers. Thanks! Mirwin 23:55, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Detailed Game Design
I have set up another learning trail for the programming detail the hackers and game designers will need to get into. Some of course will also be here frequently helping us with modeling and animation requirements and implementation. Those java tools have to be debugged by somebody! That is us! And them! Together.

Practical Object Oriented Game Design in Java