If we are going to create realistic virtual environments we first need to understand the environments around us.  Choose an active environment that you would like to study, maybe a coffee shop, the union, the mall, your room, etc. and describe this environment in such a way so that someone else could create a virtual representation of it.  The representation need not be a recipe to make an exact duplicate, but rather should be a description of attributes needed to recreate the “feel” of the environment.  You just need to describe the environment itself, not the actions taking place (think PI and not Psi).  Please write this up via sentences and paragraphs as opposed to a bullet point list.

Things you should include:

• What kind of objects are in the environment (chairs, tables, books, etc)
• How are these objects placed (neat, messy, randomly, etc)
• What kinds of ambient sounds are naturally occurring in the environment (buzzing fluorescent tubes, computer fans, etc)
• What kinds of colors and textures are present in this environment (wood grains, magazine covers, plastic labels, etc)
• How is the environment lit (sun light, floor lamps, overhead fluorescent tubes, etc)

Also at the end of your write up I would like you to single out what characteristic you believe would be the most difficult to model and briefly explain why.

This assignment is not meant to be difficult, but is an exercise to get you thinking about what factors you need to account for when making virtual scenarios.

Please write up at least 1 page worth of information (4-5 paragraphs) but you can do more if you feel like it.  This assignment is to be done individually (almost all other assignments will be done in groups).

Send me an email with the assignment either being the content or as a pdf by 2/10/2013 at 11:59pm