The start of the academic year always brings with it opportunities to learn new subjects that match students' interests. The group formed by Miguel, Noé, Marc, Pascual and Alejandro was able to satisfy their curiosity last year, as will the new students this year, by creating a flight simulator as their final project for the Video Game Development course in the fourth year of the Multimedia Engineering degree at the University of Valencia (UV), taught by IRTIC professor and researcher Manuel Pérez.

The students designed the programme, which can be used alternately with the Hang Glider developed by the ARTEC group at the research institute, which for years has occupied the same classroom at the UV's School of Engineering.

The flight simulator, both what can be seen at first glance and the programme code that supports it, was the result of the students' work, with each one focusing on a specific aspect of the simulator in order to develop it as effectively as possible.

In this regard, Miguel Cuevas addressed the physics of flight and its various mechanics, while Noé Fernández dealt with implementing the game save function, as well as the appearance of elements such as the ocean and clouds.

To design the plane, Marc Guerrero separated the real model on which it was based into parts and delved into the interior of the cabin to make it as authentic as possible. The terrain that appears on screen, the particle system used, and the camera movement are also elements he concentrated on.

Pascual Barrera was responsible for ensuring that all these mechanics and, ultimately, the different parts that make up the simulator work together. Alejandro Medina, who was also a SICUE student during the course, worked on the user interface, that is, the space in which the user operates the machine.

Professor Manuel Pérez has emphasised that these projects are an opportunity for students to integrate and apply in a practical way the knowledge acquired throughout their Multimedia degree, covering disciplines ranging from Computer Graphics, Animation and Simulation to Software Engineering. He also stressed that they promote transversal skills such as collaborative planning, joint problem solving, and efficient teamwork management.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•