press-release-1 – CS4784: Human-Computer Interaction Capstone

Press release #1: Gaming Social Network Brings Gamers Together

February 17, 2015April 1, 2015 Kurt Luther Leave a comment

Blacksburg, Va., Feb. 12, 2015 – Four Seniors studying Computer Science begin development on a Social Networking app that aims to “bring gamers together.”

With video games on the rise, the size of online communities based around them are increasing dramatically each day. Today we have so many different avenues for people to play such as mobile gaming, PC gaming through Steam and League of Legends, and console games for the Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U. We also have many more people playing these games. For instance, League of Legends has a playerbase of 27 million people. In addition, mobile gaming has taken the world by storm, with over 152 million people in North America and 742 million people in the Asian/Pacific area playing mobile games. With these statistics in mind, it is safe to say that gaming is now a more socially acceptable hobby.

Gaming communities are made up of people of all ages, all over the world. But despite the increase in popularity, some still associate gamers with certain personality quirks like being anti-social or “nerdy.” Therefore, it is not the most common talking point among strangers.

J5 Team member Iyaz Shaikh, hopes that the team can work around that stereotype.

“People tend not to talk about gaming because of the stigma associated with it. We want to give people an easy way to meet other gamers with similar interests without having to feel weird about asking if they game.”

The team seeks to blend the social aspect of online games with local day-to-day relationships. With the internet being so readily available to everyone, interacting online has become a popular way to meet new people. J5 wants to harness this power to help gamers connect to each other.

Team member Lucas Eckert sees the potential to bring the friendships from the internet to your door; so you are not only playing games with new people, but meeting up and having dinner with them too.

“Usually gamers meet solely over the internet but they are still developing real friendships. The nature of a team based game lends itself to be the perfect ice breaker: Members of the team have a topic of discussion, a common goal and are doing something together they enjoy.”

With this in mind, J5 is developing a new application that will make it easier than ever for local gamers to find each other and play. The Gaming Social Network is new mobile application that will find other people in your area that are interested in the same games.

Team member Daniel Rusz believes “This is a great way for gamers to be social”.

Users will be able to make new friends in their area with the same interests, leading to a better gaming and social experience for everyone.

Team member Parham Ghazanfari stated “All of the J5 members are gamers and we want to make an application that even we would use.”

J5 have currently formed a group of highly interested, motivated computer science students to begin development. The team has shared ideas and researched what features the application will need to entice their audience and motivate new people to use it. The next step in the process will be constructing the design plan for the layout of the specific features in the application.

When this application is complete, people will find it easier than ever before to find friends in their area to game with.

J5 – “Let’s Play Together”

Contact person: Lucas Eckert <lucase93@vt.edu>

http://www.statista.com/statistics/297874/number-mobile-gamers-region/

Press release #1: PixelPusher Begins Work on Lane Stadium Innovation

February 17, 2015April 1, 2015 Kurt Luther Leave a comment

BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 13, 2015 – PixelPushers is a group of Computer Science students taking their Human-Computer Interaction capstone project to a massive scale. They begun working on a massive crowdsourced display in Lane Stadium, using all the attendees mobile device screens as pixels. This type of project, mobile phone mosaics, has been attempted by several companies before, including Sony, HTC, and Blinkendroid. “The current guinness world record is 400 devices, we’re optimistically looking at 50,000.” said PixelPusher developer Michael Peter. The current record belongs to China Unicom, Sohu IT and HTC which used 400 HTC One devices in July of 2013, playing a one minute advertisement. This project could beat that record by over a hundred times the amount of screens.

Updates from PixelPusher:

This week we have begun project research. In a place as crowded as Lane Stadium, it becomes tough for multiple smart phones to quickly communicate information. We have a number of open options that we have been discussing in regards to the connection problems the application might face. Possible solutions include using BlueTooth, tethering, among other options.

This past Friday, 2/13/2015, we met with our sponsor, Benjamin Knapp, who will be guiding us and giving us insight into the specifics involved with developing the application as well as the current state of the project up to this point. We also met with Matthew Favero, the original project developer, and got insight into where he succeeded, and had trouble.

Our team is very excited to bring this project to fruition and look forward to releasing updates in the near future. “It is very rare to be able to work on a project like this that will affect so many in our community at Virginia Tech” said developer Christopher Wood. Look for us in the next few weeks to keep up to date on what is happening at PixelPusher Studios.

A Look Into the Future:

We have been and will continue to research solutions and possible ideas for our implementation. With projects the size of this one, the solution comes in many different shapes and sizes so we will thoroughly research as many angles as possible before starting development in the next couple weeks.

As this project takes shape, look forward to exciting new updates and potential beta test events where we can demo and test out our software to gain feedback. We are excited at where this project is heading and hope you feel the same.

Mission Statement:

PixelPusher will allow football fans in Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech to display individual pixels on their phones which are part of a larger image. In this way PixelPusher acts as a crowd-sourced collaboration application that will bring together football fans everywhere. PixelPusher also aims to break the current world record of 400 connected devices. The application will be developed with the idea of simplicity and efficiency at heart, providing a lightweight, seamless user interface to football fans at Virginia Tech.

“PixelPusher Studios is an up and coming software development initiative aimed at revolutionizing how a single member of a crowd can have a huge impact on an event. ”

Contact Person: Christopher Wood cmw2379@vt.edu

Press release #1: War of Ages

February 17, 2015April 1, 2015 Kurt Luther Leave a comment

Blacksburg, VA; February 13, 2015 – Joe Wileman, Vasily Prokhorov, Scott Fraser, and AJ Fritsch announced the development of their new mobile game, War of Ages. Inspired by games like Stratego, Chess, and Minesweeper, War of Ages is a 1v1 turn based strategy game where you must reach your opponents base before they reach yours.

Use your 10-unit army to protect your base and destroy your opponent! As the warmongering player you are, you have units such as mortars, scouts, and mines at your disposal. Plant mines to protect your territory, but beware….You are fighting on an ancient battlefield littered with hidden traps from battles past. The Fields of Ruin, once home of an ancient race, this land has been manipulated by war and grief, until all that remained is the promise of battle.

Choose to ally with one of three races, each with their own abilities. Create custom landscapes to challenge your friends and rival guilds across distant lands. “It will be the most explosive turn-based game on the app store… literally!” said Joe Wileman, one of the head developers on this project. “We are really excited about our next project and can’t wait to start production”.

War of Ages is a turn-based grid strategy game where players do battle on ancient playgrounds of war, conquest, and blowing crap up! You, the player, have a mission to conquer your opponent’s base before they conquer yours. With three races to choose as your ally and an army at your disposal, the world is yours to take in War of Ages!

For more information contact Joe Wileman.

Press release #1: Programmers, developers gather for HCI class to discuss upcoming project

February 17, 2015April 1, 2015 Kurt Luther Leave a comment

BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 13, 2015 — A couple students, Laura Avakian, Ryan Kiel, and Seth Cannon, in Kurt Luther’s Human-Computer Interaction Capstone class gathered for class to discuss an upcoming project. They are going to be developing a driving tour for Civil War places in southwest Virginia.

They have settled with creating an iOS app. This is mainly because the bulk of the group’s skillset that is relevant to what the project requires is experience with Swift, Apple’s programming language for apps.

“I’m so excited for this project,” exclaims team member Ryan Kiel. “I think it will be fun to develop and fun to use. I love history,” says team member Laura Avakian.

At the moment, the team has begun to discuss ideas surrounding what features this project will be focused on providing to the consumer. They are focused on being innovative while fulfilling the client’s needs. The members have decided to name their team “Kool Katz.”

This project is important because it will provide Civil War enthusiasts, as well as the general public, with an opportunity to learn more about the Blacksburg area and its relevance to the Civil War, a major historical turning point.

The next steps involve contacting the client, Paul Quigley, the Directory of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, as well as meeting outside of class to further discuss the plan for the project’s development.

Contact Laura Avakian for any further inquiries.

Press release #1: New Social Platform Unveiled by Pass It On! Group

February 17, 2015April 1, 2015 Kurt Luther Leave a comment

BLACKSBURG, VA, February 13th, 2015 - Pass It On! of Blacksburg, VA is an online marketplace that uses an unconventional form of currency, favors. It will provide a digital platform where users can confidently help others and be sure that their time was not wasted. A small fledgling company, it is driven forward by the energy and creativity by its young development team. All members of the development team are confident young individuals with experience in user experience and software development.

Pass It On! Group is comprised of a small team of four: Minahm Kim, CEO and project manager. Alex Ciccone, marketing coordinator and software engineer. Matthew Chittum, Lead UI developer. and Joshua White, lead UX designer.

The mission of Pass It On! is to provide a friendly and safe environment where people can showcase their abilities and be able to help their neighbors with an assurance that their efforts do not go unnoticed and unrecognized. We hope to bring back a sense of comradery among communities.

Our team is in the process of market research and competitive analysis to determine the viability of our product, as well as how to establish our position into the market. This is an important step to producing a successful product as it allows us to see what it will take to establish ourselves within the market. In the upcoming weeks we will continue to develop our concept and begin selecting our framework and software to begin prototyping.

If you would like to keep up to date with our progress or have any questions please send an email to Alex Ciccone at acicconne@vt.edu.

“This is a revolutionary idea that has never been explored before. It’s a project that I’m very excited to be a part of and I am looking forward to sharing our work with everyone.” -Matthew Chittum

“The Pass It On! system will change the way we interact with and give back to with our community by encouraging people to help others. The world needs a system like Pass It On!” -Alex Ciccone

“I am excited to be working with this team to bring a fantastic idea into reality. It is a unique idea that can really change how things work once it gains traction. Keep an eye out for us!” -Minahm Kim

Press release #1: A Storm of Clouds

February 17, 2015April 1, 2015 Kurt Luther Leave a comment

Blacksburg, VA., Feb 13, 2015 In the Human-Computer Interaction Capstone class, students formed teams based on project interests. Matt, Tyler, and Romico will be working on a “Photo Clouds” project this semester.

Visualize a day during summertime. Clear skies, a cool summer breeze, and a bright sun overlay outside. Ten minutes later, the atmosphere changes dramatically. Clouds suddenly fill the sky into an overcast. That’s when everyone knows that a storm is coming. Rain falls on the ground and it brings up newness and life. Matt, Tyler, and Romico are these clouds forming together. Their plan is to bring something new to the field.

Matt Bock pitched this idea to the class. “This idea came up when I my extended family came over one time. I realized that many photos were being taken through smartphones. Then, family members would ask to send them certain photos and I noticed that process took a while,” said Matt. “The basic idea is to set up a cloud during an event and have all photos taken during the event to be stored in that cloud.”

We noticed during a scouting assessment that this idea isn’t new. Applications already exist with most of the features that we desired. It was discouraging but only for a few minutes. Our next idea is to find ways to bring a new concept to the idea. Questions to ask would be, “What are those applications lacking? Is there a new creative idea that us 3 can figure out?”

The Photo Clouds Team is a team of three senior level computer science students at Virginia Tech: Matthew Bock, Romico Macatula, and Tyler Haines. All three of them have extensive skill sets in computer science after their years of study. With several semesters of experience in the field of humancomputer interaction at their disposal, the team is dedicated to creating the best experience possible for their users through rigorous testing and design iteration.