a4-Niko-Pelletier

.gitignore

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+node_modules/

README.md

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-Assignment 4 - Creative Coding: Interactive Multimedia Experiences
-===
+# boxes
 
-Due: October 4th, by 11:59 AM.
+https://a4-niko-pelletier.glitch.me/
 
-For this assignment we will focus on client-side development using popular audio/graphics/visualization technologies. The goal of this assignment is to refine our JavaScript knowledge while exploring the multimedia capabilities of the browser.
+This project is meant to allow a user to create some cool visuals with a bunch of random 3D boxes. I wanted to use three.js and a whole lot of randomness to create something that I thought looked interesting. However, I also wanted a mechanism to save and recreate past visuals despite the randomness, which is why I included a way to enter a seed.
 
-[WebAudio / Canvas / Three Tutorial](https://github.com/cs4241-21a/cs4241-21a.github.io/blob/main/webaudio_canvas_three.md)  
-[SVG + D3 tutorial](https://github.com/cs4241-21a/cs4241-21a.github.io/blob/main/using_svg_and_d3.md)  
+The first main problem I encountered was the desire to have a seeded random number generator, since JS does not provide a way to seed its random number generator natively. The solution to this was pretty simple though, since I was able to find a library for creating seeded random number generators.
 
-Baseline Requirements
----
+Another major problem I encountered was that, when the "Generate" button was clicked multiple times, the webpage would use more memory each time it was clicked. This issue was caused by a memory leak in the way I was using three.js. I used a helper method, `makeInstance`, to create each of the boxes. By using that method, a new material is made every time a new box is made, since each box can have a randomly generated color. However, I did not realize that, when a mesh is removed from the scene, the material it is using is not deleted, since one material can be used by multiple meshes. To solve this problem, I had to loop through all of the cubes and call `dispose()` on each of their materials at the beginning of the `generateScene` function, before the `cubes` array was emptied.
 
-Your application is required to implement the following functionalities:
-
-- A server created using Express. This server can be as simple as needed.
-- A client-side interactive experience using at least one of the following web technologies frameworks.
-  - [Three.js](https://threejs.org/): A library for 3D graphics / VR experiences
-  - [D3.js](https://d3js.org): A library that is primarily used for interactive data visualizations
-  - [Canvas](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Canvas_API): A 2D raster drawing API included in all modern browsers
-  - [SVG](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Canvas_API): A 2D vector drawing framework that enables shapes to be defined via XML.
-  - [Web Audio API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Audio_API): An API for audio synthesis, analysis, processing, and file playback.
-- A user interface for interaction with your project, which must expose at least four parameters for user control. [tweakpane](https://cocopon.github.io/tweakpane/) is highly recommended for this, but you can also use regular HTML `<input>` tags (the `range` type is useful to create sliders). You might also explore interaction by tracking mouse movement via the `window.onmousemove` event handler in tandem with the `event.clientX` and `event.clientY` properties. Consider using the [Pointer Events API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Pointer_events) to ensure that that both mouse and touch events will both be supported in your app.
-- Your application should display basic documentation for the user interface when the application first loads.
-
-The interactive experience should possess a reasonable level of complexity. Some examples:
-### Three.js
-- A generative algorithm creates simple agents that move through a virtual world. Your interface controls the behavior / appearance of these agents.
-- A simple 3D game... you really want this to be a simple as possible or it will be outside the scope of this assignment.
-- An 3D audio visualization of a song of your choosing. User interaction should control aspects of the visualization. 
-### Canvas
-- Implement a generative algorithm such as [Conway's Game of Life](https://bitstorm.org/gameoflife/) (or 1D cellular automata) and provide interactive controls. Note that the Game of Life has been created by 100s of people using <canvas>; we'll be checking to ensure that your implementation is not a copy of these.
-- Design a 2D audio visualizer of a song of your choosing. User interaction should control visual aspects of the experience. 
-### Web Audio API
-- Create a screen-based musical instrument using the Web Audio API. You can use projects such as [Interface.js](http://charlie-roberts.com/interface/) or [Nexus UI](https://nexus-js.github.io/ui/api/#Piano) to provide common musical interface elements, or use dat.GUI in combination with mouse/touch events (use the Pointer Events API). Your GUI should enable users to control aspects of sound synthesis. If you want to use higher-level instruments instead of the raw WebAudio API sounds, consider trying the instruments provided by [Tone.js]() or [Gibber](https://github.com/charlieroberts/gibber.audio.lib).
-### D3.js
-- Create visualizations using the datasets found at [Awesome JSON Datasets](https://github.com/jdorfman/Awesome-JSON-Datasets). Experiment with providing different visualizations of the same data set, and providing users interactive control over visualization parameters and/or data filtering. Alternatively, create a single visualization with using one of the more complicated techniques shown at [d3js.org](d3js.org) and provide meaningful points of interaction for users.
-
-Deliverables
----
-
-Do the following to complete this assignment:
-
-1. Implement your project with the above requirements.
-3. Test your project to make sure that when someone goes to your main page on Glitch/Heroku/etc., it displays correctly.
-4. Ensure that your project has the proper naming scheme `a4-firstname-lastname` so we can find it.
-5. Fork this repository and modify the README to the specifications below. *NOTE: If you don't use Glitch for hosting (where we can see the files) then you must include all project files that you author in your repo for this assignment*.
-6. Create and submit a Pull Request to the original repo. Name the pull request using the following template: `a4-firstname-lastname`.
-
-Sample Readme (delete the above when you're ready to submit, and modify the below so with your links and descriptions)
----
-
-## Your Web Application Title
-
-your hosting link e.g. http://a4-charlieroberts.glitch.me
-
-Include a very brief summary of your project here. Images are encouraged when needed, along with concise, high-level text. Be sure to include:
-
-- the goal of the application
-- challenges you faced in realizing the application
-- the instructions you present in the website should be clear enough to use the application, but if you feel any need to provide additional instructions please do so here.
+In addition to the webpage using more memory, it would also slow down as the "Generate" button was clicked more and more. This was because the `render` function was inside the `generateScene` function, in addition to the call to `requestAnimationFrame(render)` just outside the `render` function. This means that, every time the "Generate" button was clicked, it would create a new render loop without stopping the old one. This was fixed by moving the `render` function and the call to `requestAnimationFrame(render)` outside the `generateScene` function. This works because there only needs to be one render loop, since the scene and camera used never change. The only thing that changes when "Generate" is clicked are the objects in the scene, not the scene itself.