3) Reflection and Future Development

 

Overall, I am not really satisfied with the final result. I am decently satisfied with what I was able to accomplish in the time that I had, but I really did not dedicate enough time to this project, which I think the final work is indicative of. 

 

What worked well/what I learned

• Defining and using functions with more flexibility
  • I honestly really enjoyed making everything come together in the end, once I was able to see and understand how it worked (declaring variables, creating custom functions, using if and else statements). After I got started, I was able to see everything as separate building blocks and the pattern involved.
• Successfully using Translate
  • This is something I learned thanks to Carrot, but I think my execution of it was a little rough/flawed. I would’ve struggled to figure out the main motion without her help.

What I struggled with

• Time management and work I prioritized
  • As stated, I struggled in getting past the intimidation I felt to get started with this project, and in the end I only had a limited amount of time to complete it. I was also reminded while working on it, things I could do better on/should change. Coding the primitive sketches of the different forms of the warawara was an example of this: While I still think it was necessary, I don’t think I went about it in the best way considering I had to redraw them just to size them down eventually. I still strongly believe that re-reviewing code that to me, feels more advanced or code that I don’t feel adept or confident in, is necessary to save time and create more complex sketches.
• Maintaining consistency throughout the code with regards to Translate, push and pop, and the origin
• Using an image as a custom cursor

What I can improve

• Adding a greater variety of interactivity
  • I wasn’t able to incorporate parts of the interaction I envisioned from the beginning, such as user-generated fireworks, simply because I ran out of time. If I could add to this sketch, I would add fireworks that can maybe be generated with keyPressed, as well as the different success/failure scenarios I envisioned.
• Overall aesthetics to improve fluidity of sketch
  • Again, due to the sketch being simple, I don’t think it is very interesting to look at or interact with.
• Creativity and imagination.
  • This was a big thing that came up for me as I was reflecting–on one end I don’t think I really succeeded in capturing the magic of the world of Studio Ghibli and the film, but I also wish I prioritized brainstorming more and going outside of my comfort zone. I think on a basic level, the sketch I have is faithful to the original source of inspiration, but I should’ve challenged myself by making something more inspired by it and not something that already exists.

Guest Critique

Azalia: graphics are cute and recognizable as the characters from the film.

Jae: current sketch runtime is short, and movement is kind of linear (warawara flies up and out). Suggested adding more elements to make the runtime longer (like making it fly around) and make the sketch more interesting.

Torico: suggested adding a replay button or another way to restart the code, as currently you need to re-run the code/refresh the page to get back to the starting point.

Prof. Eric: also thinks the sketch ends too soon, and a user would want to see more of it. suggests adding more variation

Carrot: consider some details that will make the narrative stronger– for ex., I have the warawara “inflating,” but the size of the warawara really becomes smaller than it was when it was standing.