Recitation 9: Final Project Process
Instructor: Marcela
Partners: Bing, Jonathan, Kathy
Step 1:
Bing’s Project – Bing and Daniel decided to stray from their midterm project idea of a game and instead create something more purposeful in the way that it gives the user insight into themselves. They wanted to create a heart rate monitor that analyzes your heart rate when you see specific pictures to allow you to better understand what generates an unconscious reaction. After all the pictures are displayed, a graph would display the heart rate for each picture and show which picture impacted the user the most. We all thought this was a really cool idea and wanted to try it. I really enjoyed how this project would possibly reveal something about me I didn’t know and that I could walk away discovering something about myself. This project embodies a different kind of interaction than we are used to seeing (ie through games, etc.) This interaction was more education and strove to provide insight into somethings you may have not known was important to you. This is a great example of how we can begin to integrate technology into self-discovery and self-exploration.
I suggested creating a possible database that shows what the average for all the users so the user could compare what invoked them the most vs. others. Another person suggested having a live-time heart rate present on the screen while the pictures are being shown. I think this project has a lot of potential to be super awesome and I can’t wait to see it play out.
Kathy’s Project – Kathy wanted to create something that allows the user to become more aware of their electronic usage, particularly with computers. Her idea was to have something pop up on your screen after a certain amount of time that sets off a physical vehicle that drives around the table, forcing you to get up and chase the car around till you can stop it. Considering how prevalent electronics have become in our modern times, I believe this project would help us become more aware of the long hours we spend on our computer doing school work or leisurely scrolling through Facebook. The idea of disconnection fascinates me and I am a strong advocate of limiting your cellular/computer usage every day to live more in the present world. While some may think this kind of project is just plain annoying, I believe it helps bring awareness to sometimes disconnect from our digital world, and how ironic is it that technology would help us to do so!
I brought up a problem about having a messy desk, restricting the vehicle from moving around a lot, but we came up with a solution by having the vehicle somewhere stationed on the ground. We all also helped Kathy brainstorm some ideas about how to prolong the vehicle’s drive to make it more of a challenge for the user, and actually prompt the user to move and get up.
Jonathan’s Project – Jonathan’s project was modeled after the Labyrinth maze game with 2 players: the runner and the Minotaur. Using joysticks, the runner would try and find the exit and the Minotaur would try and catch up to the runner. When I first read about Jonathan’s game, I was absolutely confused as I has no experience ever playing a game like that. But, once he explained the concepts and the functionality, I began to see that it similarly resembled Pac Man and was excited to see where it could go. I liked the challenging aspect of being chased. This project brings together two users to explore an unknown maze world through the common medium of a computer. I believe this project will bring forth aspects of challenge and fun that create an enjoyable experience for players and watchers alike.
I suggested Jonathan to have some kind of introductory page that explains what Labyrinth and Minotaurs are (since I had no idea). Our group also suggested ways to make the maze more challenging, possible including aspects from Pac Man.
Interaction Reflection – After learning about my partner’s projects, I think it’s important to understand that there is more to interaction than just games. When we think of interaction, our mind typically floats to some kind of human-to-human interaction where they are doing something, but interaction has many different purposes. I feel that we all had a fairly similar definition of interaction, and our projects go to reinforce the different levels of depth interaction has. For example, the heart rate monitor may connect at a deeper level than the driving vehicle because it reveals something personal to you. Jonathan may also relate more to the Labyrinth game because he has been involved in that kind of mythology since he was a child, while me on the other hand, heard about what Labyrinth was for the first time in that class, indicating that I may not have as deep of a connection with the game than he does.
Step 2:
I received feedback to possible eliminate the competitive aspect (ie. eliminate the 80% advancement) and instead create a collaborative game where the two users work together to compose a song, adding an additional challenge of coordination. Leon suggested following the style of the game Overcooked, where the complexity of working together would create a challenging, exciting factor. Jonathan also suggested creating a quick initial tutorial for the users would know how to work the buttons and how the game works. I also received feedback on how to map out the lines that correspond to the tones. Leon suggested creating an initial mapping that Justin and I create ourselves, and have that as the mapping that the user would try and copy.
My partners felt that the musical aspect of my project would be the most fun, so they placed a lot of emphasis on the songs that would be chosen especially considering that some students with cultural difference may not know the songs that we deem as “popular” or “well-known”. They suggested having multiple songs to pick from. They thought that the competition would be fun, but is overplayed and too similarly resembling the already existing games. I can understand that, but I also believe competition sparks users to keep playing and is an important part of why those games were so successful.
I will definitely consider adding a tutorial and the collaborative aspect, but my partner Justin also had a lot of good feedback and ideas from his group that we also plan to implement. To improve our project proposal, we want to find a way to incorporate both competitive and collaborative modes into our game. I think the only thing we won’t be incorporating is having multiple songs to pick from, and that is based purely on time constrains. We want to make sure we have a working project before we expand our music library.