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Production schedule

Between March 27 – April 3: I want to create an initial design for what the affirmation site could look and feel like, then I want to send out that design to see what people think about it and how it makes them feel.

April 4 – April 16: I want to work on what makes a technically “good” affirmation and look more into why people think of manifesting the same way they think of affirmations because they are very different.

From April 17 – April 24 I want to begin synthesizing the data I’ve collected and maybe make a few mock “pages” or “submissions” to use for my presentation as a proof of concept. I’ll wait to build out the site until summer.

After that I’ll need to start prepping my presentation and finalize all of my research. I also want to start practicing the presentation and make sure that all of the research and the mock up work smoothly together.

Mentor Meeting with Greg

Had my first meeting with my mentor Greg. It was really helpful to get the perspective of someone who does game design full time and runs a company that designs game. He was able to share a bit of his process and it was very insightful.

I was getting a bit into the rabbit hole of what altruism is/means to different people, and realized it’s actually like a big philosophical debate. In fact, just looking up the definition of altruism I saw different “requirements” as to what altruism actually means, like on a scale. And I talked about this a bit with Sarah and Mimi, where depending what the definition is, it’s not very clear what is considered “selflessness”.

Talking with Greg made me realize (even more) how important it is for me to narrow scope and determine what I actually want to make. I was feeling like I had to “figure out” altruism before I decided my final game, but he encouraged me to figure out what kind of game I wanted to make, and then find ways to create altruism (generosity,kindness,etc) within that. And then even more narrowly, figure out one key mechanic (ie in Mario the main one is jumping). I think the reason I was feeling overwhelmed prototyping is because I hadn’t nailed down the framework of the game, or any mechanics. Therefore there were too many variables on how it would go. Feeling a lot more excited to prototype now.

He also said FOLLOW THE FUN which I love!

2023-03-01 -> 2023-03-10: Miro Boards!

Miro Boards:

4th 1-1 with Sarah

3/29 had a conversation with Sarah to provide some current updates – my response to proposal feedback, interview progress, some visuals I made, survey questions, and production schedule. Sarah offered suggestions to my survey questions and also added things to my production schedule.

Here are additional notes:

  1. focus on 1 technology input (narrow down to an area to focus). Could be voice interface, remote control on tv screen or projector, etc. Like before I had a clear path which is AR/VR, although now I’m switching the path, need to decide on another asap.
  2. define the 1 goal and multiple sub-goals surrounding it. Don’t mix up.
  3. Think about which approach: are you using an existing design methodology (like design thinking, inclusive design, or universal design) to create a product? OR, are you creating a protoype in order to develop a new methodology (for the specific use case of the technologies for aging populations)

5th group meeting w/ Beth (March 28)

During the second half of class time today, we broke into our thesis peer meeting group with Beth, I was able to test my prototype a little bit.

It was a Miro board with several questions for students to vote on.

 

Beth and my peers were super supportive of the idea and helped ease my doubt about the format of the project a little bit. Using an everyday digital tool to make conduct live polls like this is actually an interesting contrast.

 

My main concern being I don’t really have a time and space where I can “force” classmates to participate.

 

Meeting #3 with Sarah

During this meeting with Sarah, I described to her about how stuck I have been lately with my thesis. I felt that I’ve been procrastinating working on it because I had too many thoughts and ideas about which way my project could go. I think I was also hung up over the feedback I had gotten for my proposal, and felt that I needed to think more deeply and theorize more.

Sarah encouraged me to not think too much about theory and meaning, and that by doing, I could find the meaning I’m trying to convey. We talked about my next steps, and what I should complete in the next week.

My next steps:

  1. Create a storyboard of how a user would use my project. I have a clear idea in my head on how this will work, but have yet to document it
  2. Build the hybrid digital-analog camera, use it, and list its affordances
  3. Prep your meeting with my mentor: share the project first, get feedback, then talk about your theorizing and see if it matches how my mentor interpreted it
  4. Create a production schedule

This really helped me to let go of the idea itself, and get started on actually building/making it. Knowing things can and will change made me feel better about moving forward with my project.

Workable Prototype/Production Schedule/Update

After submitting my original proposal (or maybe even a little before), I was starting to lose sight of what I wanted to say or do with my project; what its form or focus should be. I don’t feel as though I had a lot to individually say in the poetry work I was doing, and wasn’t finding avenues of research that I enjoyed. The ask to resubmit due to lack of specificity came as no surprise. So, to reconcile, I decided it was best to lean on my background in theatre to come up with a project both that I could more passionately pursue, and that falls more in line with my take on “interactive art” in general. What’s followed is an extrapolation on the idea that I shared with Jason and Sehmon in Berlin; an exploration into the techniques and theories of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Theatre of the Oppressed is the larger umbrella for various forms of theatre that seek to question the hierarchical power structures present in art and society, the foremost of which is Forum Theatre. Forum Theatre seeks to engage the audience in the performance, challenging their role as spectators and encouraging them to become “spect-actors;” using their critical thinking and problem solving skills to change the course of the established scene towards a more desireable (or less “oppressive”) outcome. The current focus of my research is on this, and how this technique can be relevant in different locales. I’m working on a workshop that I can lead, one that–I hope–succinctly teaches of the history behind Boal’s theories/techniques, and challenges people to get up on their feet and participate in the exercises and discourse. This is what I have so far.

Rough Production Schedule: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16Rv93tiiCCGc0cKmJZ_ka161NmDJo4tgnwQ_t7hlZd8

Workshop Prototype: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ynbwIscAvDy_miwYKCM_vPQO49pS42sGbogxBuso308

 

Open question: As I move forward with this research towards the summer, how can I make it my own? I want to make this relevant to the IMA/ITP-sphere, but am at a bit of a loss as to the form my final project could take. Sehmon proposed digital tools that facilitate performing Theatre of the Oppressed/Forum Theatre–which I love but don’t know how to feasibly do. Maybe it’s an exploration on the term “forum” theatre and what that could mean, a la online chat forums? IDK. HELP.