Presentation Type
Poster
Location
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
Start Date
5-12-2015 11:00 AM
End Date
5-12-2015 1:00 PM
Subjects
Video games -- Social aspects, Computer Interfaces, Instructional Design
Abstract
Developed in Python, Klein Space Fighter is an interactive learning tool and mathematically themed arcade game that allows the player to combat on different mathematical surfaces including a 2D Klein bottle. The app is available for Android and desktop devices, and will be made available for iOS in the future.
To receive an invitation to download the app through Google Play, contact me at HaleyoBourke@yahoo.com
Rights
© Copyright the author(s)
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Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15285
Included in
Geometry and Topology Commons, Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces Commons, Other Mathematics Commons, Software Engineering Commons
Non-Orientable Objects as Gaming Surfaces
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
Developed in Python, Klein Space Fighter is an interactive learning tool and mathematically themed arcade game that allows the player to combat on different mathematical surfaces including a 2D Klein bottle. The app is available for Android and desktop devices, and will be made available for iOS in the future.
To receive an invitation to download the app through Google Play, contact me at HaleyoBourke@yahoo.com
Comments/Description
The earliest computer games developers to utilize a graphical interface faced a number of limitations, including how to represent a complex world in as few as 560 pixels. One common solution was to use a two-dimensional torus as a gaming surface. This can be observed in the classic arcade game, “Asteroids.”
Under the advising of my topology professor, Dr. Paul Marion Latiolais, I have developed a mathematical spoof of the classic arcade game. In addition to the torus, players can experience piloting a spaceship on a 2D Klein bottle and Mobius strip.
Klein Space Fighter was developed from scratch exclusively in Python, using the Pygame extension library and the IDE Xcode and Git for version control.
The game is available as a desktop version for Mac, Linux, or Windows, and as a mobile application for Android phones and tablets, with an iOS version coming soon.
If we imagine what it is like to be a Flatlander, an inhabitant of the two-dimensional world created by Edwin Abbot in Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, mathematical surfaces which are otherwise difficult to grasp become concrete.
To have an intuitive understanding of topology it is necessary for mathematicians and students alike to develop mental, digital, and physical models and to see the surfaces they study from the perspective of a Flatlander.
In many ways, the video game medium, particularly the 2D arcade game, is the perfect learning tool to explore complex mathematical objects.
It is my hope that applications such as Klein Space Fighter, once available to the public, will be used as a free learning resource for children.