OEHack 9 (The Movie)

The ninth incarnation of our OEHack session will be an entire week of hacks! The workshop will primarily be focused on OpenEngine hacking but we will include many events about game programming in general. To this end we have invited some external groups to come and tell about their experiences, research and development in the gaming industry.

This OEHack is as all other OEHacks, open for everybody. You do not need to have any commitment to the OpenEngine project or even prior experience with game programming. If you think it sound interesting just come by at any time (preferably not in the middle of an invited talk) and join the fun!

We have a designated forum thread for the event where you may post ideas and help make OEHack9 a great week!

The planning of this event is still in progress and this page will be updated as more pieces fall into place. If you have any questions please post them in the forum thread.

Request to participants:
If you plan to participate in some part of the event please  send an email to  zerny@daimi.au.dk with OEHack9 in the subject line. This will help us greatly in sorting out some of the practical concerns.

Time and location

The week of hacks will take place in  Ada-333 during week 33, from Tuesday the 12th to Sunday the 17th of August 2008. The location will be accessible for everyone in the regular open hours at DAIMI, being 8:00 to 16:00. After hours you may contact one of the people involved to gain access to the building. The schedule for each day can be seen below.

Plan

Tuesday

10:15 - OE General Assembly

We start the day with a general assembly focused on what direction the project is heading and what we wish to accomplish. This should at least contain a discussion about

• the project vision and mission; and
• the organizational structure.

11:15 - OE Talk: The OpenEngine Project

Speaker:

Ian Zerny

Abstract:

OpenEngine is a free software project that relies entirely on the community surrounding it. This talk covers how to get involved in the project, how development takes place and what infrastructure is set up to aid these processes. The talk is targeted towards newcomers as well as existing developers.

13:15 - Hack Plan

Selection and creation of tickets that we wish to close during the hack week.

Wednesday

10:15 - OE Talk: The OpenEngine Framework

Speaker:

Carsten Nørby

Abstract:

OpenEngine is a general framework/library for 3D graphic applications. It is an event based system with a scene graph at its core. During this talk these core elements will be explained along with the rendering system that is central to the function of any 3D engine.

11:15 - OE Talk: Audio Effects

Speaker:

Thomas Salomon and Christian P. V. Christoffersen

Abstract:

Recently OpenEngine has been extended with a new sound system based on OpenAL. This talk touches upon the capabilities that OpenAL provides and how this can be harnessed from within the new sound system.

Further talks to be announced...

Thursday

11:15 - OE Talk: Visual Effects

Speaker:

Peter Kristensen

Abstract:

I Need More Eye Candy!!!
Impressive visual effects are a must for any respected graphics engine. This talk covers what OpenEngine currently provides in terms of shading and particle effects and how we expect to improve these offerings in the future.

13:15 - Guest Talk: Semi-Procedural Animation for Character Locomotion

Speaker:

Rune Skovbo Johansen

Abstract:

Rune will make a presentation of the Locomotion System he is developing for his Master Thesis. The Locomotion System can make animated characters in games walk and run more realistically. It automatically blends keyframed or motion-captured walk and run cycle animations and then adjusts the movements of the bones in the legs of the character to ensure that the feet step correctly on the ground. The system can adjust animations made for a specific speed and direction on a plain surface to any speed, direction, and curvature, on any surface, including arbitrary steps and slopes. It also works for almost any characters with legs, regardless of the anatomy of the bones.

Biosketch:

Rune has a Bachelor Degree in Information Studies and is currently finishing his Master Degree in Multimedia with specialization in Games Programming. He has a broad interest in most areas of multimedia but is particularly devoted to technologies that help bring game worlds alive, such as AI, animation, and procedural content generation. He is currently developing a Locomotion System for his Master Thesis in collaboration with Unity Technologies.

14:15 - Guest Talk: title to be announced

Speaker:

Heine Kastbjerg Gundersen, Digital Out, Århus

Abstract:

to be announced.

Biosketch:

Heine started working in the game industry in 2000. He has worked with multiple genres and platforms – from small, online children’s games to full scale AAA PC and console games - and has a broad knowledge of the many facets in game programming, covering 3D visualization, sound, networking, scripting, game logic and user-interfaces.

Heine founded Digital Out in 2005, after spending years in both the dotcom- and the game development industry. He has worked for Kiloo, Guppyworks, Full-Fat Productions, MediaMobsters, Signal Digital (Grey), gr3 and Studio1-2 and has developed many game titles, among others Gangland (PC), Pixeline (PC/Mac) and Advent Shadow (PSP).

Friday

Talks to be announced...

Saturday

00:01 to 23:59 - Intense OE Hacking

The entire day is dedicated to getting things done.

Sunday

12:15 - Tech Demos

Open slot to show off all of the wonderful features that have been implemented during the week.

14:15 - OE Talk: BeatenTraxX

Speaker:

Anders Nissen

Abstract:

BeatenTraxX is the first game demo powered by OpenEngine. It is meant to show that a "real" game can be created on top of OpenEngine. The project has been the main drive for development of new features and is the binding part between all the various project teams. This talk covers the concept of the game and the current status of the game.

15:15 - Beaten TraxX Contest

If the game demo permits it we will end with a final battle of Beaten TraxX!
Be sure to come - There will be fabulous prizes!!!