Finding a solution to a social problem, specifically human behavior can be trivial, yet so obscure at the same time. The solution is not derived via quantitative means alone, perhaps it has something to do with how consumers define utility.
And so I continued my search to define what is utility in terms of our product line. Is it the product itself that consumers buy, or is it satisfaction derived from the use of our products define what utility is? If it is true, then how do I connect the dots in such a way the messaging is always in tune to its utility?
3D Game
After painfully emerging from the great unknown in figuring out the latest-n-greatest GPU shaders, it seems that the next exercise would be to mimic a commercial released 3D game, simple enough to do yet not too easy to be considered nihil. New shader features implementing skin shading via subsurface scattering and cloth shading, another is hair shading where hair is affected by several forces acting on it.
Two gametypes came up right away, the first was Taekwondo (TKD), the way of fast kick and punch, made a good impression. Modeling the terrain is simple, a scene having a place where two opponents fight. The actor having several animated sequences, often derived from standard Taekwondo forms. The objective is to implement said features to an actor with proper skin shading, good enough to render realistic skin showing the oily (sweaty) part of skin. Facial expressions are tackled as well, making sure the proper vertices are shaded to show the correct expression. Cloth shading referring to the kimono (Grandmaster Uniform) should show cloth tension and gravity. The mechanics of hair will also be studied and implemented if possible, yes hair mechanics is hard.
The second gametype is to basically resurrect my favorite Apple II game that we played, known as Karateka. This is basically a fallback of the first, in the case TKD turns out to be complicated.
