Scribd
Upload
40 views

Interaction & Scripting: 2009-10 Practical Assignment 2: Storming Minds

The document provides the aims, task, and subtasks for an assignment to create an interactive Flash application called "Storming Minds" that simulates programming for children ages 9-10. The application must allow children to program the movement of a robot through a 2D environment to collect rubbish and drop it in a bin, demonstrating programming concepts. It describes creating the environment, finding paths, navigating the robot, displaying paths, coding robot movement, and adding advanced features like obstacle avoidance. The document includes example systems, a marking scheme, and expects the application to use functions, parameters, and arrays to process multiple elements behind the scenes.

Uploaded by

mouseboy1
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
40 views

Interaction & Scripting: 2009-10 Practical Assignment 2: Storming Minds

The document provides the aims, task, and subtasks for an assignment to create an interactive Flash application called "Storming Minds" that simulates programming for children ages 9-10. The application must allow children to program the movement of a robot through a 2D environment to collect rubbish and drop it in a bin, demonstrating programming concepts. It describes creating the environment, finding paths, navigating the robot, displaying paths, coding robot movement, and adding advanced features like obstacle avoidance. The document includes example systems, a marking scheme, and expects the application to use functions, parameters, and arrays to process multiple elements behind the scenes.

Uploaded by

mouseboy1
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Interaction & Scripting: 2009-10;

Practical Assignment 2: Storming Minds.

Aim:
The aim of this assignment is to address the following module learning outcomes:
• Select and apply appropriate scripting techniques to create interactive and animated applications
using scripting languages.
• for this assignment you should be able to demonstrate improved understanding of
the basic concepts of semester1, and
• demonstrate your understanding of the use of functions, parameters and arrays.
• Make rich media content development decisions based on your analysis and interpretation of design
specifications
• Identify and use techniques for basic usability and accessibility tests.
• for this assignment you should demonstrate clear understanding of the principles on
usability and visual effects presented by Phil Hewson
• Evaluate the applications developed and identify areas of good practice and for improvement
within those applications.

Task:
Your task is to build an environment which demonstrates that programming is a challenging,
stimulating and fun activity for a target audience of 9 – 10 year old children (male or female).

The idea is that they have to learn how to develop a program which will allow a “cleaner-robot”,
Wall_EE, to move through a 2D-environment which contains a number of obstacles and bits of rubbish.
The robot must go around the obstacles, must collect the rubbish and when it has collected all the
rubbish, take it to a bin located somewhere in the environment.

There are a number of systems which allow you to do similar things. For example:
Turtle graphics using Logo
(eg MSWLogo http://www.softronix.com/logo.html or
NetLogo http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/),
Lego’s Mindstorms
http://www.ni.com/academic/mindstorms/works.htm,
Core Wars or RoboWars
http://www.corewars.org/information.html,
http://robowar.sourceforge.net/RoboWar5/index.html and
Greenfoot
http://www.greenfoot.org/

You should investigate these applications to see what they offer and you are allowed to use these
systems as a “model” for your application, but your implementation must be in Flash, use ActionScript
3 and satisfy the above requirements.

The environment you develop


should allow them to put together some of the basic building blocks of programming (such as sequence,
selection and repetition), but your programme must demonstrate that, behind the scenes, you have
processed a number of arrays and have developed many functions which use parameters.
SubTasks

The above swf gives an example of the expected environment you should be developing. Your world
doesn’t have to use isometric tiles; a normal top-down view is ok. This example is just designed to give
you a flavour of what is required. You should use your imagination and insight to make it more
appropriate and interesting for the target audience.
• Create & display the environment (20%):
Your programme should create a 2D-world which contains randomly distributed obstacles and items
of rubbish. Your application should contain a button which, when clicked, generates a new random
configuration of obstacles, rubbish and the bin BUT the robot must always start in the top-left cell.
All elements must be in different cells and there should always be a gap between the obstacles:

OK
NOT OK

NB: this is a simplifying assumption for some of the later tasks.

• Find the path (30%)


You should implement a programme which will allow the robot to systematically work through any
world
eg: start at top-left (0, 0) and move through the first row, then come back along the second row
etc etc. The robot should avoid obstacles and pick up rubbish. If it encounters the bin, it should
empty its current collection of rubbish in the bin, search the rest of the world for rubbish and then
return to the bin with the rest of the rubbish it has collected.

• Navigate the Robot (15%)


You should adapt the “challenge” programme from the lecture material so that a child can
navigate the robot through the maze using arrow keys. The robot shouldn’t be allowed to go
through obstacles, but should pick up any rubbish it encounters. The robot can only move vertically
and horizontally, NOT diagonally. When the robot gets to the bin, it should empty the contents of
its collection bin. This should be represented visually and a counter variable should show how many
bits of rubbish have been collected (& how many remain).

• Display Path (10%)


The challenge programme should be able to play back the sequence of moves the user has created
(but ignoring any blocks at obstacles) and display a “textual” representation of that sequence that
would appeal to the child (a boring version would be L, L, L, L, R, R, D, D, D etc)
Your application should also provide a button press to display a condensed form of the sequence of
moves the robot has taken eg [L,L,L,L,R,R,D,D,D] becomes [[L,4],[R,2],[D,3]]

• “Code” the Robot (15%)


You should then develop the application so that rather than clicking on the arrows successively to
move the robot, there is a text area. The user should be able to type in a sequence of commands
of the form [direction, numberOfSteps] in the text area, with each pair on a separate line. When a
button is pressed, that sequence of commands is executed by the robot.

• Advanced Features (30%)


You should introduce more advanced features which make “functions” like moveUpRoundObstacle,
moveDownRoundObstacle, nextCellContainsObstacle, canMoveUp etc available to the user.
You need to design and implement a mechanism which will allow a user to put together a set of
instructions that allows the robot to implement simple obstacle avoidance and rubbish pick-up
behaviours.
What you’re aiming at is to allow the child needs to be able to implement:
if (movingRight){
NB: THIS IS NOT COMPLETE
if (nextCellContainsObstacle){
if (canMoveUp ) moveUpRoundObstacle()
}
else moveRight }

MARKING SCHEME

Group Members:

0-40% 40-55% 55%-70% >70% Mark


Code Quality No real Corresponding levels Code can be well Explanations of
& understanding of functionality are explained, is well code and
Understanding evident working, explanations structured and algorithms are
(15%) for how the code makes excellent use clear and concise
works are satisfactory, of arrays, functions demonstrating a
but in places unclear and parameters. deep
or misusing Largely restricted to understanding.
terminology. techniques Introduced new
Some understanding of presented in course. techniques and
techniques required is those are also
evident. well understood
Code largely based on and used
lecture and tutorial appropriately.
examples.
Application Basic attempt, with Good attempt, with Excellent
Quality and limited focus on Look focus on Look & attempt, covering
Usability & Feel rather than Feel. Some attempt both Look & Feel
(15%) usability at addressing and usability
usability issues issues well
Functionality Limited or no An attempt with Good attempt very Task successfully
(70%) attempt partial success. close to success. completed. Aware
No real ideas on how Good suggestions for of success and
to improve improvement limitations of
code developed.
Create NOTE: marks also
world available for design…
ie group has got the
right ideas but can't
(quite) implement
them

Find Path

Navigation

Display
path
Code Path

Advanced
features
FINAL MARK

You might also like