This page includes interactive resources for use in my STEM talks to math students.

A* Pathfinding

A* Pathfinding Demo

In games, behavior of non-player entities is controlled by an artificial intelligence (AI), and an important component of any game’s AI is Pathfinding. Pathfinding allows for the AI controlled entities to efficiently find the shortest path to for one place to another. One common Pathfinding algorithm is named A* (A-Star). This talk will introduce and discuss the A* Pathfinding algorithm. The students will utilize an example project to experiment with A* Pathfinding to direct and alter the A* Pathfinding’s behavior to meet a particular goal.

The A* Pathfinding talk focuses on Computer Science and math concepts to procedurally create 3D planets. Concepts include:

• Pythagorean Theorm
• Heuristics
• A* algorithm
• Movement costs

Procedural Generation

Procedural Planet Generation Demo

In games, procedural generation is utilized to create infinite content for levels, maps, worlds, animals, sounds, images, etc. Minecraft is a prime example of a game that uses procedural generation to create the worlds for the player to explore. Minecraft generates the world using a “Seed” entered by the player. In this talk, the students will learn how procedural generation works, and will experiment with using a seed to set parameters for generating a 3D planet.

The Procedural Generation talk focuses on Computer Science and math concepts to procedurally create 3D planets. Concepts include:

• Linear Algebra
• Trigonometry
• Euclidean Geometry
• Analytic Geometry