From an early age, Thomas Pring 麻豆精品 S�20 loved video games 麻豆精品 S� but he never thought he 麻豆精品 S檇 end up where he did.
麻豆精品 S淚 was always the kid who would stay in his room playing video games growing up, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淎 lot of those games left an impression on me and I thought 麻豆精品 S榃hat kind of video games could I make? 麻豆精品 S� But, I always assumed I 麻豆精品 S檇 be an engineer. 麻豆精品 S�
At 12 years old, Pring attended a summer camp for coding and game development. He was immediately hooked. He worked for the camp every summer after that teaching kids programming, programming languages and software to make video games. He would later move to private lessons and online tutoring, where he started to appreciate how much kids like to learn.
麻豆精品 S淚 realized this is something fun and is both a creative outlet and art form. 麻豆精品 S� – Thomas Pring 麻豆精品 S�20
麻豆精品 S淚 realized this is something fun and is both a creative outlet and art form, 麻豆精品 S� he says. When it was time to go to college, he told his parents he wanted to make video games. 麻豆精品 S淏oth of my parents work in incredibly different fields than anything I 麻豆精品 S檝e ever been interested in. But they were quick to say 麻豆精品 S楪o for it! We 麻豆精品 S檒l help however we can to try to make sure you can do what you want to do. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
Pring transferred to UCF his sophomore year and eventually settled on a game design major and computer science minor. Today, Pring is working at two research labs at UCF.
At , Pring works on the Video Game Training Team and is advised by assistant professor of Game Design Peter Smith 麻豆精品 S�05MS 麻豆精品 S�12PhD. The team develops video games to assist bionic kids as they learn the mechanics of their new prosthetic arm. Unlike purely entertainment games, Pring says these games 麻豆精品 S渉elp kids learn to react to the game and flex their hands or make gestures through video games. It 麻豆精品 S檚 all about making their reactions natural or second nature. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭homas has been one of our most accomplished game design students and has been a big part of the new training games arriving in both Android and Apple app stores as well as our bluetooth flex controller for the phones, 麻豆精品 S� says Albert Manero 麻豆精品 S�12 麻豆精品 S�14MS 麻豆精品 S�16PhD, co-founder and chief executive officer of Limbitless Solutions. 麻豆精品 S淲e are really proud of his accomplishments. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭homas has been one of our most accomplished game design students. 麻豆精品 S� – Albert Manero 麻豆精品 S�12 麻豆精品 S�14MS 麻豆精品 S�16PhD
The second lab would fulfill Pring 麻豆精品 S檚 interest in virtual reality 麻豆精品 S� and would help push him professionally. He applied to participate in The Harrington Lab, which investigates Virtual Nature, using augmented reality and virtual reality as a technical artifact to better understand perceptual phenomenon as it relates to human-computing-environment interactions that cause emotional, learning and aesthetic outcomes. Pring 麻豆精品 S檚 work hinged on discovering how people learn best, using a virtual recreation of the UCF Arboretum as the classroom. The idea is to understand how people can learn about nature and plants in a virtual environment.
麻豆精品 S淚f you want to learn about plants, you could do a virtual walk and get information from a pop-up window, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淥r you could go out into the environment with a phone and get information on your device. Or you could be sitting in a classroom and watching the tour on a screen. 麻豆精品 S�
He and his fellow researchers started with a first-person version of the project to test how it worked. The team then moved on to VR to create a more immersive experience.
麻豆精品 S淚n March, we developed a controller to work with a treadmill desk so you could literally take a walk through the Arboretum with a projector, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
Pring is complimentary of the artwork in the game, which was worked on by others before he joined the team. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 not an artist in any way, shape or form but that art is amazing. The plants are as real as you can get. The team went out and took photos of the leaves and what they look like up close 麻豆精品 S� same for the water, sand, even tree bark 麻豆精品 S� and they made those in game as real images. It 麻豆精品 S檚 really impressive. 麻豆精品 S�
Pring says he could see VR experiences like Virtual Nature useful in a variety of formats.
麻豆精品 S淔or people who live in northern areas where you can 麻豆精品 S檛 go outside in the winter, imagine being able to go out and have a walk in nature, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淥r even on the International Space Station. Astronauts are sitting in metal all day and night. They could use this to be around plants again, which is good for emotional and mental health. It 麻豆精品 S檚 also good for learning about plants and learning overall. I 麻豆精品 S檓 an experiential learner, so staring at a screen all day 麻豆精品 S� I can 麻豆精品 S檛 take that in. But if I can interact, I can learn a lot more about the subject, enjoy the experience and retain more detail. 麻豆精品 S�
Of all the projects he 麻豆精品 S檚 worked on, Pring says he 麻豆精品 S檚 most proud of his contributions to Virtual Nature, which both challenged him and allowed him to expand his skills among several disciplines. He credits Assistant Professor Maria Harrington, who directs the Harrington Lab, for mentoring him.
麻豆精品 S淪he has guided me professionally, taught me, and gave me so many opportunities, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚 wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 be here today if it wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 for her. 麻豆精品 S�
He says an important lesson he learned from Harrington was getting over Imposter Syndrome, which he says is prevalent among game-design majors. 麻豆精品 S淪he taught me to be proud of my own work, not to downplay myself and believe that I can program and make products 麻豆精品 S� he says.
麻豆精品 S淚 always wanted to help others 麻豆精品 S� it 麻豆精品 S檚 a lot of fun to teach people. At some point in my life, I 麻豆精品 S檇 like to be a professor. 麻豆精品 S� – Thomas Pring 麻豆精品 S�20
麻豆精品 S淭homas is an amazing undergraduate student whose work rivals what I have seen Ph.D. students do. He could easily make contributions to projects at NASA, 麻豆精品 S� says Harrington. 麻豆精品 S淭homas has taken advantage of opportunities at UCF to help advance his studies. I know he will go on to do great things in this field. 麻豆精品 S�
As for what 麻豆精品 S檚 next, Pring says he hopes to land a job in the gaming industry.
麻豆精品 S淲orking for a VR company would be ideal for me, but whoever has availability, 麻豆精品 S� he says. Ultimately, Pring says he wants to continue giving back and helping others learn. 麻豆精品 S淚 always wanted to help others 麻豆精品 S� it 麻豆精品 S檚 a lot of fun to teach people. At some point in my life, I 麻豆精品 S檇 like to be a professor. 麻豆精品 S�
