The MAGELLAN project is a 4 year project aiming at designing, developing and implementing an authoring gaming platform which introduces innovative processes and methods for designing location-based games. Visual authoring principles, natural user interfaces and the latest interactive mobile and geo-location technologies, for single player and multi-player games, have been adopted as means to immerse players into a fun and educative gaming experience.
MAGELLAN1 delivers a gaming authoring environment based on visual and authoring principles in order to help novice and experienced users to cost-effectively, swiftly and seamlessly to author and publish individual and collaborative authoring experiences. The project delivers also a scalable webplatform featuring social networking means and supporting search, retrieve, share and execute location-based games. Furthermore, Magellan produces a series of guides for authors of designing and implementing their own location-based experiences that will help them familiarise with the features of the Magellan Authoring Platform (MAT) thus serve as a reference for creative people to use the MAT in their own settings and context.
Aim of this 2nd handbook version is to facilitate end user’s efforts to understand the overarching principles and practical features of the (Pre)- Beta MAT release. Specifically, it aims to present activities, actions, conditions, groups and entities used in conjunction for creating a location-driven experience based on the 3 levels of authoring: Scenario, Behavioural and Visual Scripting. It also aims to offer support and guide in terms of how these tools and features can be combined into practice while using the tool for each different level.
The 2nd version of the handbook describes the different levels of authoring in associated chapters.
Chapter 1 describes the scenario level along with all basic activities (i.e. activities that were already included in the Alpha release along with the activities that have just been introduced in the beta MAT). A brief introduction on the Magellan Application User Interface is also provided particularly focused on the editing / controlling and scenario level features.
Chapter 2 describes the behavioural level features, explaining in depth the entity browser, for modifying and manipulating 3D objects, creating paths, zones, and placing cameras. Chapter 3 presents the scripting level instantiated with the synapse editor. We further describe script tasks, synchronisation tasks, compound tasks, system tasks and task cloning. We also explain how the task library is accessed, searched and initiated as well as adding customised tasks. Lua and QML coding is then described for creating complex behaviours. This is the second version of the Magellan Handbook. Iterative updated versions of training content in the form of a handbook will be produced omnipresent to the continuous development of the MAT for helping end users and practitioners alike to use future versions of the MAT (beta and final) during workshops and pilots across Europe.