Project IV: Finally, Fly Me to the Moon
For this final project, titled “Fly Me to the Moon“, I am creating 3D visuals of the galaxy surrounding the rotating moon, and embedding information about the Moon in forms of texts and audios. The general goal was to have fun with it because I have wanted to create a moon related project since the beginning of the course. I am very happy to say that I have accomplished my goal.
Here is the link to my Live Project Page: https://ccl-final-selina.glitch.me
For the opening screen of this project, I borrowed codes from Spacekit.js which contains code to build 3D models of the universe. The orbits of the common planets such as Jupiter, Mars, etc. are created upon default. Then I used the functions to create the moon and an in-motion “Tesla Roadster”.
As the user zoom in closer to the moon, they can see more clearly the texture of the moon and other objects. And if one gets close enough, the program would take one to the next page which I created with P5.JS. I have also embedded a video of information about the moon that I achieved from NASA. I created the video myself using FinalCut.
There are few interactive functions on this page:
The mysterious box on the upper right corner. If you click on it, a distorted moon and “tornado” particles will show up as a representation of the paralleled universe. And another click would bring you back to the ordinary state.
If the user press the ESC key, the program would bring them back to the first visual again.
Besides the visual, I have also included audios. The first is a NASA tour of the Moon Audio, playing when the user is on the first screen. The other is the song “Fly me To the Moon” covered by The Macarons Project, playing when the user enters the second screen as well as after exiting it.
Reflection:
In general, I feel pretty confident of my project and I feel like I have used the knowledge I learned in this semester effectively. I am able to accomplish the goal I set for myself at the beginning of the semester, and I am quite proud of that.
If I would have more time to work on this project, I would create a introduction page with detailed instructions. Plus, I would also add more screens to make this program more educational and informative.