Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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Description
The original version of Helix, the one I pitched when first deciding to make a video game
for my thesis, is an action-platformer, with the intent of metroidvania-style progression
and an interconnected world map.

The current version of Helix is a turn based role-playing game, with the intent of roguelike
gameplay and a dark

The original version of Helix, the one I pitched when first deciding to make a video game
for my thesis, is an action-platformer, with the intent of metroidvania-style progression
and an interconnected world map.

The current version of Helix is a turn based role-playing game, with the intent of roguelike
gameplay and a dark fantasy theme. We will first be exploring the challenges that came
with programming my own game - not quite from scratch, but also without a prebuilt
engine - then transition into game design and how Helix has evolved from its original form
to what we see today.
ContributorsDiscipulo, Isaiah K (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Last Hymn was created by the team of Tyler Pinho, Jefferson Le, and Curtis Spence with the desire to create an eccentric Role Playing Game focused on the exploration of a strange, dying world. Battles in the game are based off of rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution using a

Last Hymn was created by the team of Tyler Pinho, Jefferson Le, and Curtis Spence with the desire to create an eccentric Role Playing Game focused on the exploration of a strange, dying world. Battles in the game are based off of rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution using a procedural generation algorithm that makes every encounter unique. This is then complemented with the path system where each enemy has unique rhythm patterns to give them different types of combat opportunities. In Last Hymn, the player arrives on a train at the World's End Train Station where they are greeted by a mysterious figure and guided to the Forest where they witness the end of the world and find themselves back at the train station before they left for the Forest. With only a limited amount of time per cycle of the world, the player must constantly weigh the opportunity cost of each decision, and only with careful thought, conviction, and tenacity will the player find a conclusion from the never ending cycle of rebirth. Blending both Shinto architecture and modern elements, Last Hymn used a "fantasy-chic" aesthetic in order to provide memorable locations and dissonant imagery. As the player explores they will struggle against puzzles and dynamic, rhythm based combat while trying to unravel the mystery of the world's looping time. Last Hymn was designed to develop innovative and dynamic new solutions for combat, exploration, and mapping. From this project all three team members were able to grow their software development and game design skills, achieving goals like improved level design, improved asset pipelines while simultaneously aiming to craft an experience that will be unforgettable for players everywhere.
ContributorsPinho, Tyler (Co-author) / Le, Jefferson (Co-author) / Spence, Curtis (Co-author) / Nelson, Brian (Thesis director) / Walker, Erin (Committee member) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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Description
Programming is quickly becoming as ubiquitous a tool as general mathematics. The technology field is progressing at an exponential rate and driving this constantly evolving field forward requires competent software developers. Elementary and high school educational facilities do not currently express the importance of the computer science field. Computer science

Programming is quickly becoming as ubiquitous a tool as general mathematics. The technology field is progressing at an exponential rate and driving this constantly evolving field forward requires competent software developers. Elementary and high school educational facilities do not currently express the importance of the computer science field. Computer science is not a required course in high school and nearly impossible to find at a middle school level. This lack of exposure to the field at a young age handicaps aspiring developers by not providing them with a foundation to build on when seeking a degree. This paper revolves around the development of a virtual world that encompasses principles of programming in a video game structure. The use of a virtual world-based game was chosen under the hypothesis that embedding programming instruction into a game through problem-based learning is more likely to engage young students than more traditional forms of instruction. Unlike the traditional method of instruction, a virtual world allows us to "deceive" the player into learning concepts by implicitly educating them through fun gameplay mechanics. In order to make our video game robust and self-sufficient, we have developed a predictive recursive descent parser that will validate any user-generated solutions to pre-defined logical platforming puzzles. Programming topics taught with these problems range from binary numbers to while and for loops.
ContributorsWest, Grant (Co-author) / Kury, Nizar (Co-author) / Nelson, Brian (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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Description
Formerly coined mathematical "monsters," fractals are a compelling concept that dates back hundreds of years. The idea that a shape or set of information could be infinitely deconstructed into multiple copies of itself is both confusing and brilliant. However, throughout its entire history, many scientists and mathematicians have repeatedly dismissed

Formerly coined mathematical "monsters," fractals are a compelling concept that dates back hundreds of years. The idea that a shape or set of information could be infinitely deconstructed into multiple copies of itself is both confusing and brilliant. However, throughout its entire history, many scientists and mathematicians have repeatedly dismissed the applicability of self-similarity. The purpose of this study is to explore the path of development of fractal geometry and demonstrate its widely-ignored usefulness. While many students and professionals are unaware of this alternate system for describing natural processes and shapes, several disciplines can benefit from applying fractal geometry to their work.
Created2017-05
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Description

Procedural content generation refers to the creation of data algorithmically using controlled randomness. These algorithms can be used to generate complex environments and geological formations as opposed to manually creating environments, using photogrammetry, or other means. Geological formations and the surrounding terrain can be created using noise based algorithms such

Procedural content generation refers to the creation of data algorithmically using controlled randomness. These algorithms can be used to generate complex environments and geological formations as opposed to manually creating environments, using photogrammetry, or other means. Geological formations and the surrounding terrain can be created using noise based algorithms such as Perlin noise. However, interpreting noise in this manner has a number of challenges due to the pseudo-random nature of noise. We will discuss how to generate noise, how to render noise, and the challenges in interpreting noise.

ContributorsLi, Michael L (Author) / Hansford, Dianne (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description

The goal of this thesis project was to develop a digital, quantitative assessment of executive functioning skills and problem solving abilities. This assessment was intended to serve as a relative measure of executive functions and problem solving abilities rather than a diagnosis; the main purpose was to identify areas for

The goal of this thesis project was to develop a digital, quantitative assessment of executive functioning skills and problem solving abilities. This assessment was intended to serve as a relative measure of executive functions and problem solving abilities rather than a diagnosis; the main purpose was to identify areas for improvement and provide individuals with an understanding of their current ability levels. To achieve this goal, we developed a web-based assessment through Unity that used gamelike modifications of Flanker, Antisaccade, Embedded Images, Raven’s Matrices, and Color / Order Memory tasks. Participants were invited to access the assessment at www.ExecutiveFunctionLevel.com to complete the assessment and their results were analyzed. The findings of this project indicate that these tasks accurately represent executive functioning skills, the Flanker Effect is present in the collected data, and there is a notable correlation between each of the REFLEX challenges. In conclusion, we successfully developed a short, gamelike, online assessment of executive functioning and problem solving abilities. Future developments of REFLEX could look into immediate scoring, developing a mobile application, and externally validating the results.

ContributorsAnderson, Gabriel (Co-author) / Anderson, Mikayla (Co-author) / Brewer, Gene (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Johnson, Mina (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description

Nowadays, kids are exposed to technology at an incredibly early age. According to a study by YouGov in the United Kingdom, 88% of 12-year-olds are entrusted with their own devices and 85% of children at age 6 have access to a tablet at home (YouGov). In the US, according to

Nowadays, kids are exposed to technology at an incredibly early age. According to a study by YouGov in the United Kingdom, 88% of 12-year-olds are entrusted with their own devices and 85% of children at age 6 have access to a tablet at home (YouGov). In the US, according to MarketingProfs 75% of children 8 and under have access to some type of smart device. In an ever-growing technological world, it is important to make sure that kids are enjoying entertainment that enhances their growth and protects them from inappropriate content (Nanji). I wanted to create a browser game that explains the importance of Security in a colorful, fun environment with a friendly playable character. The game I created is a 2D platformer in which the player learns about the importance of passwords and keeping them secure.

ContributorsMichalik, Jacob (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2023-05
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Description
The instruction of students in computer science concepts can be enhanced by creating programmable simulations and games. ASU VIPLE, which is a framework used to control simulations, robots, and for IoT applications, can be used as an educational tool. Further, the Unity engine allows the creation of 2D and 3D

The instruction of students in computer science concepts can be enhanced by creating programmable simulations and games. ASU VIPLE, which is a framework used to control simulations, robots, and for IoT applications, can be used as an educational tool. Further, the Unity engine allows the creation of 2D and 3D games. The development of basic minigames in Unity can provide simulations for students to program. One can run the Unity minigame and their corresponding VIPLE script to control them over a network connection as well as locally. The minigames conform to the robot output and robot input interfaces supported by VIPLE. With this goal in mind, a snake game, a space shooter game, and a runner game have been created as Unity simulations, which can be controlled by scripts made using VIPLE. These games represent simulated environments that, with movement output and sensor input, students can program simply and externally from VIPLE to help learn robotics and computer science principles.
ContributorsChristensen, Collin Riley (Author) / Chen, Yinong (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
This Barrett thesis seeks to analyze software design patterns’ effects on a software system. To achieve this, the author specified a game environment that lets users write their own artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for simulation in the environment. Afterwards, the author designed an architecture implementing the game system and designed

This Barrett thesis seeks to analyze software design patterns’ effects on a software system. To achieve this, the author specified a game environment that lets users write their own artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for simulation in the environment. Afterwards, the author designed an architecture implementing the game system and designed components implementing the architecture. In software design, engineers use design patterns to develop components since software patterns generally apply to object-to-object interactions; architecture patterns apply to component-to-component interactions, and while they greatly influence software design, they are out of this project’s scope. To design the objects comprising this thesis system's event-driven model-view-controller (MVC) architecture, the author used the Adapter pattern to interface with other libraries, the Publisher-Subscriber pattern to pass information between objects, the Singleton pattern to enforce the existence of single state objects, the Dependency Injection pattern to build generic and composable functions, the Observer pattern to directly alert objects of observed objects’ changes, the Factory pattern to abstract object initialization, the Monad pattern to express complex computations without explicit branch control logic, and the Facade pattern to unite the game objects’ disparate interfaces into a single interface for AI developers. The implementation, integration, and synthesis of these pre-existing design patterns is the primary contribution of this project. After designing the software system, the author implemented the design using the TypeScript programming language, the Babel transpiler, the Webpack code bundler, and the Babylon.js graphics library. The author then performed a static evaluation on the implemented game system files by describing the overall dependency hierarchy and measuring each file’s lines of code, maintainability index, cyclomatic complexity, and Halstead difficulty score. Furthermore, the author compared these measurements with those collected from the Babylon, Phaser, and Lodash JavaScript libraries. The goals for reporting these measurements were to help show the game’s design enabling the system’s maintainability, usability, and expandability quality attributes and underscore software development as a creative and artistic discipline grounded in computational science. This thesis highlights the need for further research including developing methods with tools for evaluating behavioral aspects of design patterns relative to their quality attributes.
ContributorsDuke, Thomas Carlin (Author) / Sarjoughian, Hessam (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Video games often feature agents that the human player interacts with to overcome.
Designing these agents to cover every case of human interaction is difficult, and usually
imperfect, as human players are capable of learning to overcome these agents in unintended
ways. Artificial intelligence is a growing field that seeks to solve problems

Video games often feature agents that the human player interacts with to overcome.
Designing these agents to cover every case of human interaction is difficult, and usually
imperfect, as human players are capable of learning to overcome these agents in unintended
ways. Artificial intelligence is a growing field that seeks to solve problems by simulating
learning in specific environments. The aim of this paper is to explore the applications that the
self play learning branch of artificial intelligence may pose on game development in the future,
and to attempt to implement a working version of a self play agent learning to play a Pokemon
battle. Originally designed Pokemon battle behavior is often suboptimal, getting stuck making
ineffective or incorrect choices, so training a self play model to learn the strategy and structure of
Pokemon battles from a clean slate would result in an organic agent that would outperform the
original behavior of the computer controlled agents. Though unsuccessful in my implementation,
this paper serves as a record of the exploration of this field, and a log of what worked and what
did not, in order to benefit any future person interested in the same topics.
ContributorsCiudad, Erick Marcel (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12