4/13/2026 - Week 3 Alpha
- Apr 12
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 13
This week, we basically get the "cutting" module complete in both "Learn" and "Test" modes. Although minor bugs occasionally arise, the system currently allows users to complete the cutting tutorial in Learn mode by washing the cutting board; in Test mode, completion is marked by hanging the cutting board back on its hook.
When "bad actions" occur, specific instructions are provided based on the active mode, and in Test mode, the system correctly deducts points accordingly.
With the completion of the cutting module, the underlying frameworks for point deduction in Test mode—as well as for marking module completion—have now been fully established. These frameworks are now ready for other modules to call upon their functions or to integrate their own corresponding instructions.
We also developed a working microwave. The idea behind the microwave is that it will teach users what they are able to put in the microwave and what they shouldn’t. We started with a rigged microwave so we animated the door opening using the rig. Then we put the microwave place inside the microwave body separately so that we could rotate the plate simulating the microwave being on. In the center of the place we set up a socket so that we could rotate both the food and the plate together. We then set up a mechanism so that when the food is released within a certain distance of the microwave it snaps to the inner plate. If you place the wrong item inside the microwave (for example, the bowl with stainless steel silverware) the user will get a message that warns them it’s unsafe to microwave that. If the microwave isn’t opened in time, there will be an “explosion.” One thing that was difficult was that once the food was attached to the socket it wasn’t able to be grabbed. Even when collision was re-enabled on the food and it was disconnected from the socket it couldn’t be grabbed because of the way the actors were overlapped. Also, when we re-enabled the physics while the food was in the microwave it flew out, so that explained a little bit why the food wasn’t able to be grabbed while it was inside the microwave.
The oven section has improved functionality too - burning a hand will now change its color to red (implemented through dynamic materials), and running it under water in the sink will gradually revert the hand to its normal color. The latter functionality is implemented by the addition of a capsule collision component which only does anything with any registered collisions if the water Niagara system is activated. This creates an effect that does seem as if the water itself is changing the hand color.
The same sink collision component is used to register the cutting board’s presence to register if it had been cleaned. Additionally, the cutting board is now affected by physics (meaning, crucially, it is now affected by gravity), as is the cuttable item. The cutting board can also snap to (and stay on) the hook on the wall: when the grab component is released and it’s close enough to the hook, it turns off physics and moves to the correct on-hook position. Physics is ordinarily turned on whenever the grab component is released (it’s off by default) - the general effect of this is that the board is affected ordinarily by physics, but can also be put back on the hook.