2017 State of Virtual Reality #1: Platforms & Content
This two-part article describes the state of virtual reality technology and research at the beginning of 2017. I'm writing it for a technical audience and will update it throughout January (but not...
View ArticleJust Add VR: Cameras
How can a game engine retrofit virtual reality in a near seamless way onto non-VR 3D content? How should a game engine's camera controller for a VR experience combine tracked data from the real world,...
View ArticleObscure and Intelligent Science Fiction Films and Television
History and drama fetishize only slight variations of the one possible world that we already know. There are infinite worlds that could be. I want to explore those and enjoy doing so through science...
View ArticlePosts by Topic
I'm Morgan McGuire. I teach technical elements of films and games at Williams College, create them both independently and for clients like Activision and NVIDIA through my company Casual Effects, and...
View ArticleStrategies for Avoiding Motion Sickness in VR Development
Image from The Lawnmower Man of how not todevelop in VR if you want to avoid motion sickness.Motion sickness occurs in virtual reality (VR) when an incorrectly-operating or poorly-designed experience...
View ArticleGraphics Lecture Videos
This blog post archives all of my video lectures on computational graphics, virtual reality, and film and media studies topics. I will add to the post as more talks are digitized. Links are to project...
View ArticleHer Story (Understanding Games #4)
This is the third article in a series documenting my Game Camp for Grownups at Williams College for introducing humanities faculty to the medium of video games. [Previous: #3: Inside]"Her Story"...
View ArticleMcGuire House Rules for Space Cadets: Dice Duel
Image by Stephen McPhersonSpace Cadets: Dice Duel is a team cooperative space ship combat game. Playing it feels like being on the bridge in Star Trek, but with laughter when things don't go your...
View ArticleInside (Understanding Games #3)
This is the third article in a series documenting my Game Camp for Grownups at Williams College for introducing humanities faculty to the medium of video games. [Previous: #2:Monaco]“Inside” (2016)...
View ArticleMonaco (Understanding Games #2)
This is the second article in a series documenting my "Game Camp for Grownups" at Williams College introducing humanities faculty to the medium of video games.Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine...
View ArticlePAC-MAN DX (Intro to Games #1)
This is the first in a series of articles describing my 2016 "Game Camp for Grownups" for introducing the medium of video games to colleagues in the humanities at Williams College.“PAC-MAN Championship...
View ArticleAnnecy 2016
Annecy is picture-perfectThe Annecy International Animated Film Festival is the oldest and largest regular animation festival. The program spans the gamut from blockbuster 3D films to avant garde indie...
View ArticleMcGuire House Rules for Coup
Coup is a new indie card game for 2-6 players. It enjoyed a successful Kickstarter and was the darling of PAX 2016.I describe it to hardcore board gamers as "Citadels meets Love Letterand played in...
View ArticleMcGuire House Rules for Love Letter
Love Letter is a simple card game for 2-4 players that takes about five minutes per round. I prefer it with at least three players. It is a great game to play with children as young as seven years, or...
View ArticleAn Hour of Code in 3rd Grade
Safari Match open source gameusing codeheart.jsI introduced twenty 3rd graders to programming in a special 75-minute session, using computer art and video games as motivation.We began with physical...
View ArticleGame Camp for Grownups
Axiom VergeA group of academic colleagues charged me with creating a series of video gaming sessions. Their goal is to understand the merit of games as cultural artifacts, and of game design and...
View ArticleWork with Prof. McGuire
The following are projects for which I'd hire or advise a Williams College undergraduate as a RA, TA, thesis, independent study, or Winter Study (depending on scope and topic). I'll update this list as...
View ArticlePixel Art Tech Tips
[Programmer!] pixel art from my recentgame jam projects. The portrait is derivedfrom licensed art by OryxThis article describes art tools and programming techniques I use for creating indie games with...
View ArticleComputational Graphics Pronunciation Guide
It is hard to know the accepted English pronunciation of technical terms that you've only read, or are either unfamiliar with the language from which they come or are not a native English speaker. (And...
View ArticleOpenGL Sample Code (including VR samples)
This article describes my minimal reference code for modern GPU-enabled real-time 3D graphics, which is both a sample program and a self-contained tutorial.This code is useful for programmers working...
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