An Item is not just an image on a stage. It is a container of contents and directions for creating spectacular effects. This information is stored as attributes in an item, and they are described below. Image - An item can be represented by various types of images such as animated, 3D, video, and etc., and it can change with time, event, or user interaction. All images are referenced by their file names and stored in a file list. Position - The position attribute is stored as vertical and horizontal coordinate values. Changing these values can move an item around the stage. Linking user interaction with a new position allows user to control the item's movement. Furthermore, a key position can be defined in an item for triggering events and creating effects. Size - This attribute is stored as a set of width and height values, and it can change responding to user interaction. Transparency - The transparency attribute is used to define visibility of an item. The range of the values is between 0 and 100. 0 indicates the subject item is fully visible, and 100 is fully invisible. It also can change responding to user interaction. Rotation - An item can rotate using this attribute, and the rotation value ranges between -180 and 180. -180 will rotate the item 180 degree counterclockwise, and 180 will rotate the subject item 180 degree clockwise. It also can change responding to user interaction. Value - An item has a single value representation. This value can be selected from a pre-defined list or referenced from another item or token. It can auto increment to a maximum setting, have a key to trigger events, and change responding to user interaction. One major function of value is used as an index to a list of objects, such as images, sounds, text, positions. Combining with other value attributes, this capability can create amazing effects. Text - An item also has a single text representation, and it can be selected from a pre-defined list or referenced from another item or token. The text attribute also can have a key to trigger events, and it can change from user interaction. The major applications of this attribute are instruction procedures, messages, and data storage. Gadget - Gadgets are added functionalities to an item, and they can be purchased by pressing the "Buy More Features" button on the library sections. Each gadget has its own unique features and configuration setup. They are described in the Select and Configure Gadgets Page. New gadgets will be added periodically to expand the capabilities of Wonders. Criteria - Criteria defines conditions required to execute specified user interaction. It is commonly used to create dependency among item's user interactions. It is a key element for making more intricate and mysterious Wonders. Gesture - Gesture defines the type of user interaction an item can accept. The current version of eWonders can accept three types of gestures, touch, move, and receive. More gesture will be added in the future version of eWonders. Response - Response defines changes in an item responding to an user gesture, and it is described in detail in Response Selection section below.
The majority of time spent in building a Wonder is probably in configuring the many interactive items on the stage. eWonders uses a series of navigation views to guide you through this process. These views have some common interface elements. Each view consists of a navigation bar and a content view that begins with the item identifier. The Title of the view appears at the center of the navigation bar, it summarizes the main function of this view. Two buttons on either side of the title take you to the previous view (Back), next view (Next), or exit the configuration process (Done). Each time one of these buttons is pressed, your existing view will be saved so you can go back to it anytime. Below the navigation bar is the item identifier. It is made up of an item Number and an item Name.
All the settings of an item are divided into four categories. They are Adjustment, Addition, Define, and Response. When you click on an item to start the configuration process, the category selection is the first page you will see. (as shown in the picture). Because each navigation panel is addressing a unique function, you may not need to use all the setting panels. By selecting a category, you can skip many unnecessary configuration steps. The following provides a general description for these four categories< Adjustment- This category contains settings for changing existing parameters of an item, such as image, size, position, transparency, rotation, etc. These parameters are also the initial settings for an item Add - This category contains settings for adding extra capabilities to an item. These capabilities include animation, text, number, gadget, and etc. Define - This category defines how user should interact with this item. The specific settings include user gestures and criteria for responding actions. Response- This category contains settings for how the item will respond when the user executed the defined gesture and passed the specified criteria.
This panel is used to modify existing or adding new images to the subject item. (See picture) Sliding the displayed image on the right to get the desired selection. Then press the "Add" or "Change" button to execute the change. There are four other settings on this panel, and they are described below.< Visible - This setting determines whether this item is visible or not initially. If an item is not visible, it is also not enabled. Enabled- This setting determines whether this item can interact with the user. Block- This setting determines whether this item can block movement or animation of another item. Transparency - Use the slider or input box to adjust transparency of the subject item. This setting will only take effect when the item is set to be visible.
This panel is used to change the existing position, size, and rotation of the subject item. (See picture) It can also be used to create a position table for animations. Please see the deatiled description below.< Origin- These two numerical input boxes are used to display and change the initial X and Y position of the subject item. Size- These two numerical input boxes are used to display and change the initial width and height of the subject item. Rotation- Use the slider or input box to display and change the rotation of the subject item. Animation Table - Use X and Y entry value to define a set of position or movement for item's animation action.
This panel is used to add animation capability to the subject item. (See picture) The animation functionality can be applied to image, size, position, or rotation. Any of these four options must be selected before the animation function can be activated. The animation action can be activated separately or synchronously with other objects. Its parameters including timer, start, end, speed, and rotation settings are described below. Timer- The timer setting determines whether the animation is running indepndently or simultaneously with another item. Start - The start setting determines whether the animation process will start immediately at scene start or wait for other items to trigger it. Stop - The stop setting will determine whether the animation will run indefinitely or stop after define number of cycles. Speed- This option determines the speed of the animation 0 is the slowest, 500 is the fastest Rotation- This setting is specifically for the animation's rotation function. It defines how many degrees the subject item can rotate on each animation cycle. The set range is from -180 degrees to 180 degrees
This panel is used to add numbers and text parameters to the subject item.(See picture) The added numbers has five parameters: initial value, increment value, maximum value, key value, and type selection. The added text has two parameters, the initial word and the key word. Below is a more detailed description of these seven parameters< Initial value- The initial value is the numerical value that the subject item will have at the start of the scene. If this is not specified, the default value is zero Increment Value - The increment value is the value added to the initial value each time the response is executed. If it is not specified, the default value is zero Maximum value- The maximum value is the highest value this item can accept. If the item's value increases beyond the maximum value, the value of the item will be reset to zero. If maximum value is not specified, this item will not have a maximum value Key value- The key value is used to evaluate whether the item has a correct or incorrect value. If it is not specified, the default value is zero Type Selection- Type selection is used to determine the usage of numerical values. It has five options - numerical, token, item, random, and bounded. Numerical selection is the default option. It means to uses the input number directly as the item's value. Token selection means the input number is an token index, and that token's value will be used as the subject item's initial value. Item selection means the input number is an item index, and that item's value will be used as the subject item's initial value. Ramdom selection means the subject item's value is a random value between the initial and the maximum value. Bounded selection means both the input number and maximum numbers are token indexes, and the two token's value will be used as the subject item's initial and maximum values respectively. Initial text- Initial text is the text that the subject item will have an objectat the start of the scene. If this is not specified, the subject item will not contain text Password word- Key text is used to evaluate whether the suject item has correct or incorrect text. If this is not specified, the key text is blank.
This panel is used to add gadget with additional capabilities to the subject item. (See picture) It has additional four parameters, top, left, width, and height to specify how the gadget will fit into the subject item. The current version of eWonders offers 14 gadgets. More gadgets will be available based on user demand. Each gadget has its own unique configuration panels. After you select a gadget, its configuration panels will automatically appear on the next page. The detailed instruction on how to configure gadgets is available on a separate Gadget Configuration linked pages.
The Change Gesture panel defines the user gesture needed to trigger a response. It also provides entries for the target position for the moving gesture (see screenshot). The target position can be entered directly by selecting "Target Position" and entering the screen coordinates, or by selecting "Target Item" and select the receiving item number. Check "Stop anywhere" if you allow the subject item to be placed anywhere on stage. Check "and Respond" if you want each placment of the subject item to trigger a response. All the gestures available for the subject item are listed in the left side picker. Currently, eWonders has three gestures, Touch, Move, and Receive. The Touch gesture responds to a single touch from the player. The move gesture drags the item from one location to another, and it will trigger a response only when the subject item is placed on its target location. The Receive gesture identifies a target position to receive a moving or inventory item. The miniature background image can be used to enter the target position directly. Touch any location on the miniature background image will generate a rough coordinates value at the bottom entries. You can then fine tune the position by adjusting the coordinate numeric values
This panel is used to add criteria required to trigger a response from the subject item. There can be multiple criteria, and they will be listed on the left table after each entry. There are two types of criteria, one is based on item, and the other is based on token.(See picture) When the item criteria is selected, the index wheel will display numbers of all the items on the screen. The "Required State" wheel will display all the possible states the item can have to establish the criteria. For example, selecting number one and "Completed" state means Item 1 must be completed before the subject item's response can be executed. When the token criteria is selected, the index wheel will display the 10 token number. The "Required State" wheel will display all the possible state for the token. For example, selecting number two and "Has Text" state means token 2 must contain text entry before the subject item's response can be executed. Each criteria listed in the left table has a red cross on the right side which can be used to delete this criteria.
This panel allows you to compose a set of actions responding to the defined user's gesture with satisfied criteria. You can select multiple responding actions from a list of available actions. (See picture) Because "Change Scene" will take the user to another scene, it can only be selected with "Changd State". "To Inventory" cannot be selected with "Change Location" because they conflict with each other. After responding action is selected, a check mark will appear to its right. Pressing it again will unselect the action. This version of eWonders has 9 responding actions. They are To Inventory, Change position, Change Image, Change State, Change Scene, Add Sound, Display Message, Update Token, and Do Computation. Each responding action has its own configuration panel, it will appear in sequence when the user press the "Next" button. The following paragraphs will describe configuration panel for each responding action in detail.
The "Set Up Item Drop-off Location" panel will appear only when "To Inventory" response was selected. There are two check boxes and two pickers for defining drop off scene, a Select button to view the drop off location, and one drop-off coordinate entry (see screenshot). The first checkbox is "Deliver to any location". When checked, the subject inventory item can be placed at any scene and any location, and the drop off scene and location settings are no longer applicable. The second checkbox is "Hide item after delivery". When checked, the subject inventory item will disappear after it is properly placed at its target scene and location. If the inventory item is not placed at its target location, it will automatically return back to its inventory placement. The two pickers are used to define the drop off scene and receiving item. The first picker titled "Scene" selects the scene to drop off the inventory item. If the drop off scene has not been created, use the last scene titled "Not Created" as a place holder. The second picker titled "Item" defines an item in the target scene to receive the inventory item. This target receiving item must have its gesture set to "Receive", and it must be enabled. The "Item" picker also has a "None" selection. When "None" is selected, the inventory item will not use a received item. Instead, it will use the coordinate entry on the right of the "Item" picker. The coordinate entry is consisted of a miniature grid image and two coordinate entries. Touch any place on the miniature scene image, and the coordinates of the touched point will be displayed at the bottom. The X and Y values of the coordinates can also be manually entered to fine-tune the exact drop off location.
The "Set Up Responding Position" panel will appear only if "Change Position" response was selected. Eight responding attributes can be defined in this panel (see screenshot), and they are movement, size, transparency, rotation, animated, sequential, contact and duration. Each attribute is described in detail below. Movement - This set of x and y values show vertical and horizontal movement in pixels. They can also link with item parameters using three special symbol characters. Enter %V to link movement with item value. Enter %T to link movement with item text in special "x value/y value" format. Enter %R to create a random entry between item value and item max value. Size - This set of width and height values define the new size of the item. Transparency - Use the slider or text entry to alter item's transparency. Rotation - Use the slide bar or text entry to rotate the item. Animated - Check this checkbox will create animated effects for movement and rotation. Sequential - Check this checkbox to execute animated response in sequence. Otherwise, all animated response will occur at the same time. The order of animation sequence will be determined based on the call sequence from the change state list. Contact - Check this checkbox will stop the item's movement when it intersect with a blocked item. In addition, it will identify the blocking item as an index value to the subject item. Duration - Use this field to specify the duration of animation. This selection range from 0.5 second to 5 seconds in 0.5 second increment.
The "Set Up Responding Image" panel will appear only if "Change Image" response was selected. (see screenshot) The left side of this panel is a list of selected images that can be used for changing image response. The right side of this panel contains a image selector of all the available item images. The bottom left has a usage selector which specify how the selected images are presented. It has three selections, sequential, value as index, and random. Sequential will cycle through the images as listed. Value as index will use item's value as an index to the image list. The image selector can go through all the item images by swiping the view panel. As each item image is shown, its size and file name will appear below the image. When a desired image is shown, press the "Add" button to add the image to selected image list. Or you can select an entry from the selected image list and press the "Change" button, it will replace that entry with the new desired new image. Each entry in the selected image list has a red x button on the right which can be used to delete that entry. There is an Item with picker selection on the bottom left side. Choosing this selection means the changed image will come from another item as specified by the picker.
The "Set Up Responding State" panel will appear only if "Change State" response was selected. This panel contains a list of changing state, two pickers, and an "Add" button. (see screenshot). The Index picker will list all the items currently on stage. The New State picker will list all the possible new states for an item. The "Add" button will add combined selection of item index and associated new state to the changing state list. For example, select Index Picker to 2, New State picker to "Hide", and press the "Add" button. A line of text stating "Item 2 - Hide" will appear on the List of New States. This means item 2 will disappear from the stage as a response to the user gesture on the subject item. The List of change States shows all the state changes for the subject item's response. Each line of change state has a red x button on the right which can be used to delete the change state. Special Note for "Animate" state change response. You can specify a sequence of animated images by placing %(n,n,n,....) in the subject item's text entry. You can also specify a sequence of animated movements/positions by placing %《n,n,n...》 in the in the subject item's text entry.
The "Set Up Responding New Scene" view will appear only if "Change Scene" response was selected. It contains a single picker listing all the scenes in the wonder (see screenshot). To select another scene to change into, just roll the picker to the desired scene. If the target scene has not been created, use the scene selection titled "Not Created" as a place holder. Later when the target scene is created, the setting will change automatically to the correct scene.
The "Set Up Responding Sound" panel will appear only if "Add Sound" response was selected. This panel contains a list of audio files, five buttons to adding audio files, three checkboxes and three radio buttons at bottom for audio file usage (see screenshot). The list of audio files displays all audio files used to generate sound for the subject item. The sound files will be played based on the usage selection at bottom of the panel. Sequential will cycle through the list in sequence. Random will randomly pick a file from the list. Item Value will use item's value as an index selection from the file list. Each line of sound file has a red x button on the right that can be pressed to delete the sound file. The three checkboxes below the List of Audio Files provides additional parameter to the sound play. Checking the "Stop At Next Scene" checkbox, will stop playing the sound files when the scene changes. Otherwise it will continue playing the sound at the new scene. Checking the "Stop Existing Sound" checkbox will stop all existing playing sound and immediately playing this new sound. Otherwise, it will just add this new sound to the playing sound queue. Checking the "loop" checkbox, will loop back to the beginning of the sound list when it finishes all the audio files. Otherwise, it will stop playing sound. A sound file can be added to the list of audio responses from five different sources, device audio library, device recording, device file exchange, download from internet, or Acework sound library. Just press the button under "Add Audio File" on the right side of the panel, and a new panel will guide you through the process. The paragraphs below will describe in detail how each panel for adding audio file works.
The Import Device Audio Library panel will show up when the "Library" button is pressed. First it shows a list on how your music library is organized, select "Songs" from this list. Then it lists all the audio files on the device with a plus button on the right. Scroll to the desired sound, and press the plus button will exit this view and add the sound to the list of audio files in the "Setup Responding Sound" panel (see screenshot). This file import process will work only if the audio file in the device audio library has compatible format with eWonders application. If the audio file format is not compatible with eWonders application, an error message stating "Cannot Import Audio File" will pop-up at the end of the importing operation. The current version of eWonders accepts "mp3", "m4a", "aif", "caf", and "wav" audio file format.
The Record Sound panel will appear when the "Record" button is pressed. It contains a graphic view of recorded sound, three recording control buttons, a file name entry box, and an "Add" button for adding the sound file to the list of audio files (see screenshot). Press the "Record" button to record sound into a file. The recording process can be viewed on the sound graph, and you can use it to check the volume of the recording. Press the "Stop" button to stop the recording. The maximum recording time is 2 minutes, and the recording process will stop automatically when reaching 2 minutes. The recorded sound can be played back using the "Play" button, and the play back process can be stopped by pressing the "Stop" button. Every time the recorded button is pressed, it overwrites the previous recording. When a recording has been successfully completed, it can be saved to a file and added to the list of audio files. Enter a filename and press Add. This will exit this panel and return back to "Setup Responding Sound" panel. Always save the recorded sound to an audio file when a satisfactory recording has been achieved. You can always delete excess recorded files later.
The Import Sound from Shared Local Files panel will appear when the "File" is pressed. It contains a picker with three action buttons on the bottom which are Delete, Play, and Add. (see screenshot). You can use "File" app from Apple to copy sound files from various sources to On My iPad (iPhone)/eWonders/Sound folder. The files copied into this folder will appear on the picker in the panel. You can then use "Play" button to play the sound, "Delete" button to delete this file, or "Add" button to add this file to the list of Audio Files in the "Setup Responding Sound" panel. When you finished adding all the desired sound file, press the "Done" button on the upper left corner, this panel will exit and return back to "Setup Responding Sound" panel.
The Download Audio Files panel appear when the "Download" button is pressed. It contains an URL text entry, a mini-WEB viewer, four browsing control buttons, a file name entry box, a "Play" button for playing the sound file, and an "Add" button for adding the sound file to the list of audio files (see screenshot). The audio file downloading process is started by entering the URL in the URL text entry. Press the blue list button to view our recommended downloading sites. Press the magnify glass "Browse" button to use the URL entry for searching the WEB. The result of the search will be displayed in the mini-WEB viewer. Press the Left or Right arrows to browse backward or forward on the WEB viewer. Once an audio file is shown or linked on the WEB viewer, the speaker "Play" button will be enabled, and you can use it to play the sound file. After you find the desired sound file, use the red plus "Add" button to download the audio file. When the "Add" button is pressed, this panel will exit and return back to "Setup Responding Sound" panel. If this audio file is compatible with eWonders application, it will appear in the List of Audio Files.
The Get Acework Audio Files view panel appear when the "Acework" button is pressed. It contains a mini-WEB viewer with link to our web server for searching sound files. (see screenshot). You can search our archive of sound files using seven search parameters which are Name, Source, Count, Category, Subcategory, Description, and Keywords. You can enter partial text into the search parameters, and the search engine will find the best match for you. We recommend you use Name, Category, and Keywords as your primary search parameters. Without entering any parameter, the search engine will list all the audio files we have. After submiting the search parameters, the available sound files will be shown on a list with a speaker icon in front to play the sound and a select button in the end to add the file to the List of Audio Files. When you finished adding all the desired sound file, press the "Done" button on the upper left corner, this panel will exit and return back to "Setup Responding Sound" panel.
The "Set Up Responding Message" panel will appear when "Display Message" response was selected. It contains a main text entry box and three font pickers beneath it. Simply type the text using the device keyboard to enter the display message, If the text entered is longer than the textbox can accommodate, it will be clipped. The three font pickers are Font Type, Font Style, and Font Size. Scroll the picker to the desired selections, and they will be applied to the display message (see screenshot). The display message can use special character sets to embed value or text stored in the subject item or global tokens. Place them in the message, and they will be replaced by their corresponding stored parameters during play time. The list below describes all the special characters that can be used in the display message. %V - Subject item stored value. %T - Subject item stored text. #n - Global token n stored value. For example, #1 means value stored in global token 1. $n - Global token n stored text. For example, $1 means text stored in global token 1.
The "Update Global Token" panel will appear when "Update Token" response was selected. It contains a picker for selecting token number, three sets of radio buttons for setting token entries. and five entries for setting parameters (see screenshot). There are ten tokens allocated for each Wonder. These tokens are accessible to all scenes, and they are used to pass data among scenes. A builder can use a token to store information in one scene and use that information in another scene. The "Update Global Token" process is a response to store information in the token. . The picker on the left selects one of the ten tokens. Once a token is selected to store information, it is considered "Activated", and it will remain so for the remaining duration of the Wonder. A token has five major storage containers, a switch, a number, a text string, a key number, and a key text string. A switch has two possible values, on or off. A number container can accept an integer numerical value. A string container can accept any string of characters. The three sets of radio buttons determines how these containers can receive their contents. The text and number containers can be entered directly or from item's number and text values. Also, the new values can add to or replace the existing token values. The five parameter entries are for entering values directly to the five token storage containers. The State Entry is entering on/off value to the switch container. The Value and Key Value entries are direct numerical entries tp the number and key number containers. The Text and Key Text entries are direct text entries to the text and key text containers.
The Configuration Summary panel is the last view of item configuration navigator. There is a text box summarizing the configuration tasks performed on the subject item (see screenshot). There are three paragraphs of text in the configuration summary. The first paragraph describes the item's initial state and setup with embedded gadget. The second paragraph describes the item's gesture and lists any criteria for triggering responses. The thirdparagraph lists all the responses created for the item.