This is just a heads up that 2 of our MSPs (www.microsoftstudentpartners.com) , Jonathan Ginn and Matt Crouch will be showing off their Kinect projects this weekend (June 2nd and 3rd) at their Grad Show in London.
Jonathan will be showing off his Unity 3D and Kinect powered game SLUGFEST, and Matt will be showing his excellent Kinect music experience Moto. There'll be plenty of other grad projects on show, too!
It's being held at Dare Digital's office in the heart of London, near Regent's Park.
All are welcome to go along or invite anyone else if you like!
More details at: orbit2012.co.uk – click on projects and scroll down to see theirs or go along at the weekend and investigate them all!
Enjoy!
Period 2 of the Windows Phone Incentive closed at midnight on Friday and we are just doing the analysis of the winners – so up to 30 students will be receiving a new Nokia Lumia 800 Widows Phone if they get selected in the the draw….GOOD LUCK!!! Winners will be notified on Monday at the latest.
It doesn’t stop now though, Period 3 is already underway so keep publishing apps and we’ll do the rest. If you haven’t registered then go here, register, publish an app and we will check validity and enter you into the Period 3 draw.
As a recap for those who may not be aware we have put together a competition for those people who like writing Apps for mobile devices. Available to students aged 16 or over in the UK, we want to encourage you to write lots of Apps and submit them via App Hub into the Marketplace.
For EVERY app you write, during the periods of the competition, (see the detailed terms and conditions here) you’ll have a chance to win one of 100 Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phones. We also want to reward those who write top quality Apps so we are complimenting the random prize draw with a judged competition, the top prize being a trip to our offices to spend a day honing your skills and your Apps with our deep technical experts.
We have also got a Developer Rewards Scheme going as well so you can win even more – check that out here.
Hi there, my name is Lucas Courtney and I’m a student of Gameplay design and Production at Staffordshire University. Entering into my third year at the university I came to the point where I had to decide what subject or problem my dissertation would look to focus on – which in an industry as varied as that of Games can be quite a daunting task. So I began looking back and thinking what developments have excited me most over the years and came up with the release of Microsoft’s Kinect.
This technology promised whole new methods of human-computer interaction, theoretically allowing designers such as myself to help bend and break the boundaries further and further with whole new arrays of mechanics and features. Over time however, I felt it proved less and less with its catalogue of sports and party games how far the system was able to show us new ground, creating that all important question –what’s causing the problem? Thinking about this I came up with a theory, by relying only on gesture based mechanics for gameplay the boundaries pushed forward become coupled with new ones being erected directly behind. So this is how I came to the topic of my study, I aimed to show that by introducing a traditional controller to the motion capture system of the Kinect we can further increase the levels of interactivity available with the system.
This is how I found myself in early September of 2011 downloading Microsoft’s Kinect SDK with a concerned expression on my face. Having only tinkered with XNA the previous summer for a few weeks and with no formal education on the language I felt that I was in for a steep learning curve if I wanted to tinker around with this complicated array of sensors. I quickly discovered however, that the tools provided by Microsoft and the support of the communities surrounding the development of the sensor made this task far easier than I was originally expecting. With only a few lines of code in the provided Visual Studio IDE I was able to pull out skeletal information from the sensors wonderful NUI library and begin designing the test procedures that I would put subjects through. My tests were relatively simple, asking users to take part in an increasingly difficult target shooting exercise and then a tracing exercise which asked subjects to trace over simple images displayed on the screen. Each of these tests were completed with three different control schemes, one where the user used only gesture based controls, another where the subject used only a controller and a third where the subject used a combination of each to complete the tasks. The recorded results for each test were then compared to show which system proves the easiest and most accurate to use.
As you can probably guess yourselves, I’m expecting the standard control system to prove the better control method of the three but more importantly that the combination system proves more effective than that of gestures alone- the preliminary results I’ve recorded so far currently supporting these hypotheses. By showing traditional controllers provide a more accurate interface I hope to show that this system rather than being forgotten, should be better integrated- perhaps with a redesigned controller similar to Nintendo’s Wii Nunchuck which will allow designers for the system more options and leave players less exasperated when trying to perform simple actions such as moving around an environment.
Upon completion of my research I intend on creating an application which better displays the possibilities inherent in combining the two methodologies in the way of a simple first person shooter – the player being able to move around the environment using the controller’s right analogue stick whilst being able to look around the world by locking the player’s camera to a crosshair defined by where the player points at on the screen – similar to that of a light gun. Within this framework I intend on implementing further systems which will display the possibilities created by gesture based mechanics when movement controls are taken away and placed on the controller – such as menu systems, shotgun cocking and possibly even swordplay.
I finish my degree later this year and plan on pursuing a career in the industry as a gameplay designer and scripter. I’m a believer that above all else designers in the games industry must be willing to explore and provide captivating and intuitive mechanics coupled with narratives which better explain and explore the world around us. If you wish to get in touch or follow my research, feel free to find me at www.Codemonkey87.co.uk where I’ll be glad to explain my research further and answer any questions.
Do you want to be one of the first students to help create an amazing experience for Microsoft’s next generation operating system?
Register now for our London Windows 8 Camp for students HERE
Windows 8 offers unparalleled new opportunities for application developers to build and sell apps world-wide via the Windows Store. In this Student Windows 8 event, we'll deliver developer-level, demo-driven sessions that give you an accelerated entry into what it means to design, develop and publish exciting, modern, polished, world-ready applications for next-generation devices running Windows 8.
Bringing your own laptop to the event is optional - if you do bring one then remember to download and run the latest build of the consumer preview: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows-8/consumer-preview
Level of knowledge required for the event:
1. Beginners Welcome.
2. A familiarity with .NET development and Visual Studio would be advantageous but not required.
Register as soon as possible to avoid disappointment
Agenda (subject to change):
Registration Opens
Windows 8 for Modern App Development
Metro Design Language
Lunch
"Metro Style" Apps - The Power of the Device
“Metro Style" Apps - The Power of the Cloud
From Idea to Store – Next Steps on the Journey
On Wednesday 25th April at 16:00 BST, the UK hosted its local Imagine Cup finals webcast at the Microsoft Campus in Reading. The 6 finalists from the Software Design competition who were chosen from a round of preliminary judging were whittled down to the two top teams on 19th April through 5 hours of judging in a sealed room at our Microsoft offices in London Victoria. Through much deliberation over the next few days, we chose one team to represent the UK at the Imagine Cup worldwide finals in Sydney, Australia!
Imagine Cup Software Design in the UK this year: A Few Stats
· We had 991 registrations for the Imagine Cup UK this year
· 374 of them signed up to the Software Design competition
· 49 teams were formed for the Software Design competition
· 26 teams submitted a Round 1 entry
· 6 teams were selected for the UK final
· 1 team won and will go to the worldwide finals in Sydney to represent the UK
The Judges
The Teams
Bazinga! From Motherwell College – were inspired to use smartphone technology to inspire students all about Science! “Professor Duffy’s Interactive Labs app” is a complete science Lab on the phone utilising various sensors on the phone to demonstrate the practical side of science in a fun and interactive way.
Teesside 0x32: From Teesside University was inspired to develop Cloud Doctor – In Ethiopia for example there is 1 doctor to 50,000 patients. Cloud Doctor, as the name implies, harnesses Windows Azure and Cloud technologies combined with Windows Phone and Windows 8 tablets to deliver an on-demand, flexible and intelligent collaboration system – connecting healthcare workers in the developing world with specialists and doctors all over the world who volunteer their time to help patients on the ground.
Team EyeWorks: From Northumbria University and Newcastle College were inspired to develop MIRA (a Mobile Intelligent Retinal Analysis platform). MIRA is a cloud based platform that utilises Smartphone technology coupled with a specialist lens attachment developed at Northumbria University to identify early stage sight loss in the developing world.
WykeWare: From the University of Hull were inspired to develop a smartphone application to assist those people with a risk of falling be it the elderly or people prone to fainting. Their submission embraced cloud technology to match emergencies and responders to identify how to prioritise how best to help.
Sentient Systems: From the University of Reading were inspired to develop “Sentience” a cost effective software solution designed to run affordable , advanced and customizable robot systems utilising cloud based distribution, plug-in architectures, commodity frameworks and low cost hardware specifically Kinect!
Team Loading: From The University of Manchester were inspired to develop Project Sky High. Project Sky High is a Windows Phone application combined with a netduino hardware sensor to allow aid workers in the developing world to transform a smartphone into a cost effective portable ultrasound scanner and mobile blood pressure monitor. The patient data will be recorded in the cloud in Windows Azure and accessible by a medical professional.
The Winners
In 3rd place and winners of a pocket digital video camcorder each were…
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In 2nd place and winners of a Windows Phone each were…
Teesside 0x32 (Teesside uni)
In 1st place and winners of a Windows Phone each, a trip to the Microsoft Technology Center in Reading to spend a day with the
experts and also the grand prize of a trip to Sydney, Australia to compete in the worldwide finals were…
Team EyeWorks (Newcastle uni and Northumbria uni)
A huge congratulation to all teams who competed and this year, the decision was made much harder than ever before as the entries this year far surpassed previous years.
All teams who submitted a Round 2 video entry will be receiving feedback and teams who have won prizes will be hearing from the Academic Team very soon! Congratulations to Team EyeWorks and we will be seeing you in Sydney!
We’ve notified all winners in Period 1 who won one of the bright shiny Nokia Lumias. We did have people register with invalid Publisher Names. We are doing a sanity check to see if there are any obvious typos but some people registered with a “made up name” .
If you have already registered here all you have to do is publish an app and we will check validity and enter you into Period 2 draw.
Putting it simply
To enter the competition you simply need to register with your LiveID, App Hub Publisher name, preferred contact email address and mobile phone number and that’s it. Obviously you then need to publish Apps to have a chance of winning.
Good luck!
Imagine you want to build your own house; you’ve managed to acquire your piece of land, got your planning permission and grabbed a few raw materials. Now, do you grab your trowel and bricks cementing away with just a vague idea of what you want your finished house to look like? Of course you wouldn’t. Or at least I hope you wouldn’t. A similar concept applies to creating websites, applications and software, although there is obviously a much better chance of your website development succeeding than your house building endeavours without design. There is a distinct reason that my university lecturer created an entire module around design patterns and why Facebook considers designers the ‘key to the company’s long-term strategic success’.
Design is important.
Good applications, websites and software start at the design stage. We understand how important design is in the process of creating something that is going to lead the market by being beautiful, user-friendly, ground-breaking and unique, so we’ll tell you about something that may lead you in that direction. But firstly, let me ask you the same question that I ask at all of the presentations that I give, to all of the audiences that I encounter; have you heard of DreamSpark?
DreamSpark is a comprehensive selection of the tools that professionals use to build real apps, real games and real solutions and it is absolutely FREE for students. If you’re a budding designer or you’re an avid software developer then download the Microsoft Expression Studio 4 Ultimate suite which gives you access to:
· Expression Web 4 for creating compelling websites visually
· Expression Blend 4 for creating rich web experiences, games, desktop apps and more
· Expression Design 4 for creating sophisticated vector graphics
· Expression Encoder 4 Pro for your video production needs
If you need a little inspiration or help in getting started and using these tools there are lots of resources available for you.
To learn how to use Expression Studio there are courses and tutorials available for you to get stuck into once you’ve downloaded the tools.
Windows Phone is an amazing technology to start developing with if you’ve not done much development before or even if you’re a seasoned developer. Expression Blend is a great accompaniment to developing for Windows Phone as it enables you to do most of the design easily in an intuitive and simple user interface, especially using tools such as SketchFlow which comes included in the Expression suite. To learn how to use the Expression suite to design Windows Phone apps take a look at this video featuring Celso Gomes and Peter Blois.
If it’s a bit of inspiration you’re after then have a look at ubelly’s interviews with designers who’ve worked on our top phone apps including IMDB, Twitter, Facebook and Shazam. There’s plenty more where that came from if that’s not enough here.
Start designing some amazing stuff today!
Written by Kush Depala - Microsoft Student Partner and advocate of Coding for Kids.
Big things are happening at Microsoft. With the release of Windows 8 Consumer Preview, and Windows Phone gaining traction, there has never been a better time to start developing for the two Operating Systems. The Windows Phone Application Marketplace is taking off, and creating an application that is well received could lead to thousands of downloads, and student developers can even win a free Windows Phone for their effort. And with the release of the Windows 8 Store in the Consumer Preview, you could be one of the first people in the country to have a fully-fledged Windows 8 application, for people to download, especially when the new edition of Windows releases.
But where should you begin? Well, as students, you have the ability to download professional-grade, industry-standard development tools for free. That’s right, for free. Microsoft DreamSpark provides these tools to students. All you need is your ISIC card, a .ac.uk email address or an activation code from your school/college/university IT department, then go to www.dreamspark.com/ and sign up. There are countless tools available, from Windows Server Editions, Kodu Game Studio, to Expression Studio, to Visual Studio, and so much more.
As developers, Visual Studio is the place to be, and not just for the reasons aforementioned. Visual Studio is a brilliant place to start application development, due to the speed and simplicity of its User Interface, and the base coding provided by the software. With pre-built templates for Windows Phone applications, and now, Windows 8 applications, transforming ideas into reality has never been so easy. You can even have the choice of a plethora of languages to code in. And cross-software interaction with Expression Studio is a joy to use.
And, with your DreamSpark account, membership to AppHub is free as well, meaning that Windows Phone applications (as well as independent X-Box games) can be put onto the marketplace at no cost! Resources for developers are rich and numerous as well, from MSDN posts, to Channel 9 tutorials help is at hand for almost every query possible.
The tools are free, the software is simple, all we need is you.
Nokia and Microsoft have launched a new programme seeking innovative Windows Phone 7.5 apps to feature in their latest advertising campaign. Now whilst this is open to all developers it would be great to see some UK Student apps featured! If you fancy the chance to promote your app to consumers throughout the UK for free then why not give it a shot!
What’s involved? We’re looking for innovative apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace that have recently been published by UK developers (especially students) to feature in the latest advertising campaigns. We want to see your amazing apps that will delight UK consumers in the following categories: casual games, kids, family, health and fitness, shopping, social, travel, and utilities.
Submit your app and it could be featured in an upcoming promotion – plus selected apps will be showcased in our Windows Phone & Nokia ad campaigns, including online banner ads, featured placement in the Windows Phone Marketplace, public relations and media outreach and in upcoming events and social media activities.
Microsoft and Nokia will review and choose new apps each month to feature in the campaigns but you'll have to be quick – the deadline for the next two months is fast approaching.
Deadline for submission*:
Find out how easy it is to get started, and apply today.
* New submissions are reviewed monthly. Not all apps submitted will be selected for the campaign.
We know a lot of you will have thought about Windows 8, maybe downloaded the Consumer Preview from here, and few of you will have taken on the idea of writing an app for Windows 8. We love you all BUT if you are one of the people who want to write an app for Windows 8 we would love to hear from you.
You can email us on ukstu@microsoft.com so we can discuss your idea, help you get started and get you involved in our programme for people who are writing apps before the product is released. If you’d rather just get started then Mike Taulty’s blog article here gives you a simple step by step guide.