As for the various projects, I am very interested in the representation of the masses, as in the demos you showed us of the dance party. I find that so many games suffer when all of their dancers dance the same, their characters all have the same response animations, etc. etc. etc.
Also, I hope it is not too late to sign up for the trip to MoMA. I'm very interetsed in seeing the working of a Museum.
Also, I'd absolutely be interested in taking a field trip to the Met. Count me in.
I added a few project ideas to the WIKI.
I am most interested in working on the AI/personalities of the virtual actors. I am also interested in integrating a physics engine into the project if that is needed.Douglas StayOne idea I had for creating personalities:
Give each actor 1) a perceived persona, 2) an actual personality traits, and 3) a memory of other actors. So, each actor could have traits such as charism, looks, etc. that would be broadcast to other actors that are within visual range. Additionally, each actor would have personality traits that influence their behavior but are not projected (less superficial). Finally, each actor should retain a memory of the individuals that he/she comes in contact with.
Since people don't remember everyone they meet our virtual memory of another actor should be fleeting based upon frequency of contact or impactfulness of the contact (e.g. the other actor hurt or helped this actor). Hopefully, this could result in a charismatic, good looking actor that is a complete jerk. Other actors would react favorably to this individual except for those that actually KNOW the actor. It will be interesting to see if superficial or actual personality traits determine the actors social status over the long term.
I also really like the idea of creating a playing field that each human opponent views differently based upon the terrain, position of their actors, etc. This could lead to individuals having to make decisions based upon the reactions of their virtual actors. People who create more perceptive, adaptable virtual actors would end up getting a better sense for the areas of the board that they cannot see. (I can explain this better in class if it is an idea worth exploring.)
I would also like to be included in a trip to the art museum.