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Alan Zucconi

@AlanZucconi

19 Mar

This is a list of the FIVE (plus one!) measures of distance that every #gamedev should know!

🧵👇

Starting from the most well-known one...

1⃣ EUCLIDEAN DISTANCE 📏

Measures the distance between two points, using the Pythagorean theorem.

In Unity: Vector3.Distance(A,B).

2⃣ VECTOR DISTANCE 📐

Is a vector that starts from 🅰️ and goes to 🅱️.
It is pretty handy in LINEAR ALGEBRA, as it can avoid Trigonometry.

It has a DIRECTION, meaning that 🅰️-🅱️ is not the same of 🅱️-🅰️!

In Unity, you can calculate it by simply subtracting the two vectors!

3⃣ COSINE DISTANCE 💡

It measures the alignment of two UNIT VECTORS, as the cosine of the angle between them:

🔹 A • B = +1 → fully aligned
🔹 A • B = 0 → orthogonal
🔹 A • B = -1 → opposite direction

Also known as DOT PRODUCT, it is very useful for shaders!

Read 7 tweets

Alan Zucconi

@AlanZucconi

8 Mar

@unity3d

Let's talk about @unity3d, and the execution order of its event functions—such as 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 and 𝚄𝚙𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎.

Trust me when I say that ...IT'S WAY MORE COMPLICATED THAN YOU THINK. 😬

#gamedev #unitytips #madewithunity

🧵👇

🔹𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱

1⃣ 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎: always called before any 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 & after a prefab is instantiated

2⃣ 𝙾𝚗𝙴𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎: called just after a 𝙶𝚊𝚖𝚎𝙾𝚋𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝 is enabled (including when loaded, created, or a 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚘𝙱𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚛 script is added)

🔹𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

3⃣ 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝: called before the first frame update. This happens only if the script is enabled. 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 can also be made into a coroutine by changing its return type to 𝙸𝙴𝚗𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛

Read 13 tweets

Alan Zucconi

@AlanZucconi

22 Feb

Let's talk about NEURAL NETWORKS. 🧠

Most of you are probably familiar with them. 🧑‍💻

But not many know HOW they actually work and—even more importantly—WHY they work. 🔧

So, let's take a journey to understand what makes Neural Networks so effective... 📊

#ML #AI #NN

🧵👇

Let's start with a simple question...

❓ What problem are NNs trying to solve? 🤔

Generally speaking, NNs are trained on examples, to produce predictions based on some input values.

The example data (input + desired output) draws a curve that the NN is trying to fit.

In a nutshell, NNs are—like most ML tools—a fancy way to fit the curves inherently generated by the examples used to train it.

The more inputs it needs, and the more outputs it produces, the higher the dimension of the curve.

The simplest curve we can fit is ...a line! 😅

Read 21 tweets

Alan Zucconi

@AlanZucconi

10 Feb

This is a list of TEN (plus one) games that are "accidentally" TURING COMPLETE. 🖥️

In a nutshell, when a game is Turing Complete you can use it to build a WORKING COMPUTER. 🤯

If you are a parent: please don't underestimate games as a creative medium.

Let's start with...

🧵👇

@Minecraft

1⃣ Minecraft ⛏️

Unsurprisingly, @Minecraft is indeed Turing Complete. 🖥️

This is possible thanks to the so-called REDSTONE CIRCUITS, which allow to build simple logic gates. 🟥

And if you are really, REALLY committed ...you can even build a computer!

@anklejbiter

2⃣ Portal 2 🟠🔵

Yes. Everybody's favourite game is Turing Complete! 🥰

@anklejbiter used Portal 2 level editor to create a 3-Digit Binary Calculator. De-facto proving it can be used for arbitrary computation.

steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/fi…

Read 14 tweets

Alan Zucconi

@AlanZucconi

2 Feb

@unity3d

After using @unity3d for almost 10 years, I want to share the TEN small features that are really helping me develop games faster.

Starting with my favourite... 😎

1⃣ Inspector Maths

You can write ACTUAL mathematical expressions in the inspector! 🤯

Check the other ones!

🧵👇

2⃣ Animation Curves

Unity supports a super easy way to create smooth paths through ANIMATION CURVES. Perfect for blending & animating properties.

Creation:
public AnimationCurve Curve;

Usage:
float x = Curve.Evaluate(t);

#unitytips

docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReferenc…

3⃣ Gradients

The equivalent of AnimationCurve for colours is Gradient. You can use it to create and sample smooth gradients.

Creation:
public Gradient Gradient;

Usage:
Color c = Gradient.Evaluate(t);

#unitytips

docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReferenc…

Read 10 tweets

Alan Zucconi

@AlanZucconi

25 Jan

These are FIVE TRICKS that my colleagues and I have learnt from one academic year or REMOTE TEACHING in HIGHER EDUCATION. 📚🎓

Every class is different, and every lecture has their own teaching style. But feel free to share this thread if you think it might help someone!

🧵👇

1⃣ 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽 🖥️

If you are using PowerPoint with a second monitor, you can actually resize the "Presenter View" window:

1⃣🖥️
🔴Shared screen with slides

2⃣🖥️
🔵Presenter view with notes
🟢MS Teams chat

So you can share your screen, see your notes & read questions!

2⃣ 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗦 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 👏

Every time a student present their work in front of the class, I invite everyone to clap. 👏

A remote alternative is to encourage students to raise and lower their hands on MS Teams quickly.

Read 7 tweets

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