Week 7.5 - The Toll (Troll) of Design

When drawing this, I pondered that in some ways, there isn't much difference between tolls and trolls :P

There where no lectures or tutorials for this week. However, my group did meet up this week for the group project. This was a very awful week for me in general. While I always feel creative, external forces can rob me of some of my motivation.

Group Project 2 - Future Echo's (Week 1.5 of 4)

We meet up on Monday, with one member not turning up, although they sent an email on Wednesday giving some individual thoughts. These where the suggestions of the other team members:

• One suggested a post apocalypse scenario, where the survivors have dramatically turned to religion, and persecute those that aren't religious. I must say I was not a fan of this idea. Last week, I said that a post apocalypse idea was my last choice.
• Another suggested a post apocalypse scenario (obviously my group has a rosy view of the future :P). There was no particular development of the idea beyond that.
• The last member had no ideas to put forward at all. They had no interest in any particular idea, didn't care what we did, and said that only creating a good presentation was what mattered. This view particularly annoyed me, especially since this was the person who seemed to have a good idea in the group brainstorming session.

I must say that from my own standpoint, every part of design matters. Creating something that looks spiffy, but that lacks substance and value, that is the kind of thing that plagues the industry. One of the main reason I aim towards becoming a indie developer is because I know that I can not accept being part of a project that I don't believe in. I would like to be part of a team (especially for VR development), but only if they are on the same page as myself, and share similar goals and standards.

Although the few ideas so far presented by the others are not my favourite, I'll back them 100%. We don't always get to do the things that we like.

This week I was also hit by a heavy blow at my work. So all in all, I felt very unmotivated this week. While I still drove myself to do some drawings for the above title picture, and for some birthday cards, I felt empty for this project. Sometimes events do take their toll. But I'll pick myself up and have something for the next project tutorial session.

Week 7 - The Rock/Paper/Scissors of Design

I've drawn the classic Spy vs Spy characters to illustrate my rock/paper/scissors point.  Explains why there are normally only two spys, since one seems very blue :D  :P

Lecture 7

The lecture ended with a short game development cycle by looking at changing the game of Paper/Scissors/Rock. But I'll mention it first. We looked at how if you increase the number of variables in the game, it greatly increases the complexity. The episode of the Big Bang Theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory) was mentioned, where Sheldon expands the game to Rock/Paper/Scissors/Lizard/Spock. That becomes complex enough, but adding more variables makes it almost impossible to remember all the inter-relationships for winning conditions without some kind of visual aid (which follows a simple formula). The beauty of computer games of course, is that you can have staggering complexity, yet still have relatively simple player input. But without a computer, I rather do the opposite as the cartoon kind of alludes to, and exclude a variable to the classic game. But oh drat... now it becomes 'Heads or Tails' :P

........

Group Project 1 Feedback

The lecture started with feed back on our first group project. I felt comfortable with what I did. I did not use Prezi, since someone else in the group had that task assigned to them. While it would have been nice if all of us had a hand in every facet of the project, that unfortunately would not have worked with our team.

Design Process and Iterative Design

We then when over the design process again, which I will not repeat.

Participatory Design

Participatory design was then discussed. Essentially, this is designing from the bottom up, which is to say that advice from the end user is a vital part of this design process. As I've commented before, the makers of Half Life 2 (a very popular game) were strongly focused on the end user. Even last weeks lecture about interfaces, focused on designing for the concerns of the user. So the message is clear, end users should be actively involved in the design process as much as is possible in order to obtain the best results.

However, in terms of games as art, I will not say that every aspect should be fuelled by what the end user wants. Artists tend to do things primarily for their own interests. So while in terms of accessing the experience, the user's needs should be heavily weighed, the story/experience itself may be another matter. In general, people want to experience something new or innovative; and that is likely going to be outside of their experience and known desires. Even for movies, Hollywood follows audience derived formulas that they know does sell, but that is not necessarily an ideal to emulate if quality is desired. Game design need not be the same as tool design, which some other kinds of design can be.

Game Design (in particular)

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Image from (http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/04/17). Bill Watterson's cartoons are one of my inspirations. The lecturer implied that 'Design' is the top over arching profession. Made me think of this.  :D

It was discussed how computer game design brings in many different facets of design, since there are the designing of stories, locations, characters, music, puzzles, game mechanics, networking, and many more. A game designer potentially has many designing hats to wear. A game designer may be like a producer or director. Or they may just take care of a specific domain.

Some topics from another unit (Computer Game Studies) were touched upon. I must say that I don't see the need to differentiate between toys and games. I see sandbox games like Minecraft (https://minecraft.net) as being every bit as much a game, even if it is used more freely like a toy.  A Maserati can be seen as a toy, but that doesn't stop it from being a beautifuly designed car. As I said back in week 1 when discussing the game Dear Ester, it's all just interactive entertainment to me, which is what I see computer games being all about. I have very strong issues with a number of things to do with the psychology/philosophy of games. Yet while those considerations are of importance for design, I will not go into it with this blog/journal.

Material Looked Up

• Meaningful Play - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaningful_play) Essentially, play that serves some purpose, such as learning life skills, rehabilitation, research, obtaining goals. The play in computer games has designed meaning, where individual actions work towards some larger purpose. While most often this may be just a purpose that exists only within the game; in simulation games for example, it can be educational. Salen and Zimmerman put forth that the goal of game design was 'Meaningful Play'.
• Gamasutra -  (http://www.gamasutra.com) A resource for Game Developers. I was not aware of it before, but I will monitor it now. Although I'll have to watch out for information overload.

Group Project 2 - Future Echo's (Week 1 of 4)

This second project was introduced in the lectures last week. The project requirement is to come up with some kind of 4min video narrative that examines how things might be 20 years from now. We would be in the same groups as last time, meaning my group has four members.

One of my ideas for the 2nd group project :P

This time, I started thinking of things straight away, before this weeks first group tutorial. Of course, I knew that we would be group brainstorming in the first class, and fully formed ideas were not necessary, but I couldn't wait. I came up with two ideas as follows:

Idea 1 - Lai of the Lizards - Twenty years from now the world has improved it's recycling and waste management. Less waste, no more landfills. This would be a comic story of the adverse effects this has on the rubbish bin ecology. The lizards don't eat the rubbish, but they do eat what is attracted to the rubbish. It could be done largely with a camera/phone, and doesn't require 'acting' (Maybe some voice acting only). Drawing is minimal (or just uses photo's of the animal characters). Now knowing my group better from the first project, I thought something like this would be the most realistic to achieve.

(http://xinying4882a.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/)

Idea 2 - "Welcome to Toola" - Twenty years from now, VR technology had finally improved to provide a world not unlike that shown in the anime 'Dennou Coil' (which I gave reference to back in week 2). I see Google Glass (http://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/) as being a current precursor to what may exist in 20 years, where a virtual world could be super-imposed on the real world, creating a combined world. This VR/AR tech area is actually what I would like to be involved in, on a professional basis, in the future. "Welcome to Toola" would be a black comedy (with gore) that flies face first into the negative criticism that such a combined world may provoke. The title coming from: "La La Land" = "Two La Land" = "Welcome to Toola". However, while this would make for a potentially high impact and relevant short story, I think if I pursued something like this, I would end up doing most of the heavy lifting within the group. It would require a lot of drawing to achieve the effect I envision. All the team would need to be highly motivated, which is a lot to ask.

But of course, these were just my independent thoughts. We must perform as a group. Prior to the first tutorial on this project, I also spoke with one of the team members that I thought could have done more in the first project. It became clear they were in survival mode, passing being their only concern. I can indeed understand that, dramas in life can take their toll (I have been there). Yet while I may understand, I myself would not be happy with just a 'pass' as my grade. So those who want more have to give and do more.

First Tutorial for Project 2

I didn't reveal the depth of my above ideas to the group or class (except to mention Dennou Coil). With the first project, I wondered if I may have unintentionally 'taken over'. So this time I decided to sit back and spectate more. I still shared general undeveloped thoughts, but I was more interested in what the others in my group had to say. I wanted to know what inspires each of them, what motivates them. I would prefer it if we end up using another group members ideas. I want to act more as a team, and there may be more investment from some others if it is their idea.

Page from my sketchbook with thoughts on 'Future Echo's"

After the previous project, I said that I would use four pages to explore ideas, with a corner of each page being a hub. Yet while I may have started with that premise, one page is all that was done. The first project was very abstract, it truly needed the exploration of many basic ideas. And from that brainstorming, the Lava design that our group used was born. This second project is not so abstract, and requires more developed concepts. Not to mention that I wanted to hear (and encouraged) the deeper thoughts of others. So the ideas were fewer, but with more depth. I didn't consider that a bad thing, although the topics from the page above a just mere 'reminders' of all that was said about each point.

I didn't take pictures of the other members brainstorming pages like I did the first time. But I certainly did examine them. Like last time, one person was all linked words, one had mostly just pictures, and one had not much. There was nothing drawn or written by others that stood out as far as I could see, beyond that which was already replicated on my own page above. However, there was one idea that was put forward by one other group member that I thought had great potential, but I'm leaving it alone for now and hoping that they will develop it a bit further. In general, I didn't feel that the others were sticking to 20 years into the future. A lot seemed much further into the future than that. I don't mind exaggeration, but it should still fit within that scope. Yes, I know, even the 'Perfect Recycling within 20 Years' idea I had is expecting too much :P  (But only because it's not a priority). But I guess todays trash tip is tomorrows archeological delight :P

My group is meeting up on Monday 22nd, since we know that we need a few strong concepts presented as a story board before the next tutorial. At that point, after the others give their ideas, I will let them know about my above two ideas. So far, of the ideas that were discussed in the group (excluding my own), the five most prominent for me are:

• Big-Brother/Propaganda - an untold wealth of inspiration here. I'm surprised no-one else in the group mentioned the Truman Show (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show) as an inspiration.
• Enhancement - the movie Gattaca (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca) comes to mind as a genetic example. The movie Limitless (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limitless) is drug enhancement. We discussed many more within the group.
• Mind Control - quite distinct from Big-Brother. One group member mentioned the serial Doll House (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollhouse_(TV_series)) as an inspiration. But once again, there are many sources of inspiration. I was surprised that we had all seen the movie Gamer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamer_(film)). Although I probably should not have been that surprised given the course I'm studying.
• Space Exploration - do I really need to list any of the untold themes in this area :P
• Apocalypse - The comedic video that the tutors showed about 'The Event' was entertaining. But I put such ideas like that last, since an apocalypse of any kind is not the kind of future that I'm striving for, even if it does make great subject matter.

However, what was not discussed by my team members in the tutorial session, was how to turn any of the wonderful ideas into something practical that we can do. In our meeting on Monday, I hope that the others will have given that some thought.

Just to finish, I'll mention some themes that other groups came up with:

• Profession Hats - essentially 'hats' that give you the skills of the professions encoded in them.
• Underground Religion - religion being outlawed and going underground (USSR style).
• One Currency - the world only has one united currency. A tutor said "like the Euro" :)
• Limited Resources - with increasing population and declining resources like oil, many options here. "Do you want cricket fries with your grubs?" (Although that's already the menu in some places).

Week 6 - Interfacing with Design

Once again, this week'e lecture will be discussed, before moving on to the final look at the first group project for this design unit.

Lecture 6

The lecture started off by talking about the second group design project. But I will not make any comments about this just yet. I'll leave this week to finishing off the first group project.

The rest of the lecture was all about Human-Computer interface.

No matter how good a system may potentially be, it might become worthless without a good human interface. So it's vital to consider the needs of the end user, even the needs that the end user may not be able to articulate. Many disciplines from Philosophy and Cognitive Psychology, to Design and Engineering, are all brought to bare to help devise the best kind of Human-Computer Interface.

The goals of this kind of research are to improve: Safety, Utility, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Usability, and Simplicity.

We also looked at the hype cycle, which I think everyone already knows (unless they live extremely sheltered lives).

It is also worth repeating Jakob Nielsens 5 'Quality Components':

• Learnability (for beginners)
• Efficiency (for experts)
• Memorability (for casual users)
• Errors (for everyone)
• Subjective Satisfaction (for everyone)

I think that the bottom line is that in these times, software/apps (or any piece of tech really) will live or die largely based on their interface. Even if doesn't have a rival, if another eventually comes along with a more sophisticated and well designed interface, the less 'friendly' model will gradually pay the price.

References from the lecture that I looked up:

• Marshall McLuhan - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_McLuhan) A philosopher of communication theory. I agree that new media can have great implications in cognitive thought. For example, games could be seen as time wasters that prevent better cultural development. Yet I feel that as gameplay becomes more incorporated in society, it itself becomes a culture worthy of developing. However, I don't agree with entirely with his Global Village view. I don't see it as moving away from individuality towards a collective, but rather as using collective resources to enhance individuality.
• Jakob Nielsen - (http://www.nngroup.com/people/jakob-nielsen/) The guru of Web usability. I also looked at his note on the top ten mistakes in web design. I note to myself that this is someone that is pertinent to remember, and do searches on in the future.

Group Project - Flow (Week 4 of 4)

Image from http://origamiancy.com/2010/09/paper-lanterns/ . I put this picture here, since on presentation day, I realised that our group design was not unlike a paper lantern (although with a different designed purpose).

This week, all the groups presented their final designs to their class, using Prezi (http://prezi.com) to help deliver the visual component. I'll start with our design before moving onto giving my thoughts about the other groups designs.

Our Design -Lava

Our group went last on presentation day. I ended up feeling quite nervous. I think I would have rather of went first. Maybe next time the tutors can do presentations in reverse order :P

I felt the team member in charge of putting everything together in Prezi did a good job. I liked how with each iteration of the design, a smaller deeper picture was zoomed in. Likewise, for the map of the site, a photo of the location was zoomed into on the spot on the map. Prezi does allow for visual flow.

Our presentation was last, and there was not much time left before class end, so feedback was limited. The main comment was about the durability of the design. The designs of other groups were generally large and robust. As the criteria of this project stated it as needing to be temporary, this design made no attempt at permanency. I told the tutors that it was effectively a form of paper lantern, and not meant to be stronger than that. It was not until that very moment that I fully consciously made that connection (even though it was always in the back of my mind). What had been discussed in the week 5 lecture came to mind. This was an invention, which combined new ideas with an existing design (in this case, a paper lantern). But I only saw that fully on reflection, and not while in the midst of the development. Seeing that aspect of it clearly now, would only improve any further development (and deployment) of this design. The tutors said that our design had the best reasons for its surrounding environment. However, that was partly because we had to think about that, given our designs inherent fragility.

All in all, I still considered our group design to be the best representation of 'Flow'. Ours was simple and elegant, and conjured the concept of flow in a highly discernible way. Yet other groups in our tutorial had great presentations, and some showed considerable ingenuity in realising what they put forward.

Other Group Designs
I'll discuss the groups in the same order as I did in week 5, although this does not match the order they were presented in on the day. My original initial comments from last time will be in red italics.

• Group 24. Flow of Time. Represented by a cube, with each of four walls having nine rotatable cubes representing the seasons (via changing/evolving pictures). Clear design, meets criteria, only needs refinement. This was a large person height construct. This design really didn't change. They refined it's construction as expected, stating its materials. Visual aids in Prezi complimented the presentation, yet the concept was clear even without it.

  

  Graphical representation by group 24.

• Group A. Flow in Perception. Represented by a series of arches with points of intersection that gradually shift as you walk along a path. Kind of like a distortion effect of a Fun House. Good idea, still a little vague in execution. This group belonged to another tutorial.
• Group 25 - Flow of Time. Represented by an hour glass. Idea defined, but execution needs to change due to using glass, which is not a material that can be used in this project. This was a large person height wooden hourglass. Given that they couldn't use glass, I thought this was a bad design that should be discarded. Yet the group persisted with it. As a display of Flow, I thought it remained a bad idea. The glowing algae used as a light source would only really be visible as a static pool. Also the design still had the problem of water loss when turning the hourglass over, since there was nothing between the two receptacles. However, this group showed plenty of inventiveness in making this design seem actually feasible. The ingenuity applied to its structure, the deep thought given to its materials, and the quality of the presentation, all made this a thought provoking design. If a patron just had to have a certain design that seems unworkable, then this is the team to put on the job. They deserved to be graded well.

  

  Just my own graphical representation of the wooden Hour Glass concept.

• Group 26 - Flow of Time/Space. Represented by circular maze with images of a tree going from sapling to maturity and back again as you go along path. A sundial is in the centre. Sound idea, vague on construction. A wormhole was their inspiration. This was presented as a simple circular maze at least 4 metres in diameter. The flow of time was partially presented by having a modern compass at the start, then a sundial (already existing in the botanical gardens), and then an ancient icelandic spar. I didn't think this was effective, as not many people would know much about icelandic spar and it's relation to time. The connection between the objects is perhaps too loose. The idea of a growing sapling was replaced by bamboo that increased in height going into the maze, and decreased going out. This does create a flowing design to the maze. The 3D animation that they created of the maze was very well done. This would be an impressive and interesting structure. As the tutors pointed out, other embellishments could be made to improve it's concept of flowing time. I could easily see it as a permanent garden feature rather than temporary.
• Group 29 - MY GROUP. Abstract Physical Flow. Already discussed above.
• Group 27 - Fibonacci Flow. Lots of ideas and potential, but no real design yet. This was presented as a large clay shell, light shining out from within. This group focused on both fibonacci design (shell structure), and flow of thought (contemplation). Unfortunately, the design came across as being more of a shelter than a design on flow. Also, I thought that they would have been better served focusing on the fibonacci element. As it was, the design seemed a bit lost in it's focus on 'tranquility'. Yet given that they had no real design beforehand, and that their concept was a very abstract idea to start with, the presentation was still interesting, if not convincing.
• Group 28. Abstract Physical Flow. Represented by the 'effect' that flowing water has on other objects. Kind of like the 'reminisce' of flow. Not yet set on a method of execution. This design was realised by a waist height, probably 1.5 metre diameter round maze in a bowl like structure. Titling the bowl to move a ball around the maze. This presentation also had a very good 3D animated presentation. I'm kind of disappointed they didn't stick to their 'reminisce of flow' idea, which would have been potentially a lot more artistic. Yet their final design would be a fun thing to play with. I'm really not sure I would get a sense of flow from this design, but it was well thought out in it's construction and design.

  

  3D design of group 28.

• Group B. Flow of Time. Represented by plants growing up a statue. Aided growth by flowing tears from the statue. A few powerful messages behind the design: Life-Death, Reclamation. Design is still evolving and not ready for refinement. This group belonged to another tutorial.
• Group C. Flow of Energy. Mentioned yin/yang and double helix. Still exploring ideas with no concrete design yet. This group belonged to another tutorial.

I obtained this image from http://activedirdeletedobjects.blogspot.com.au . The person on that blog site does not indicate where he/she got the image from. This first group project has now met it's end :)

Week 5.5 - Easter Break - Going with the 'Flow'

This picture was drawn to represent how our competing designs were set against each other like gladiators, with the one best representing 'Flow' emerging victorious. In the end, the group decided not to use this cartoon in the presentation. However, I never consider drawing a cartoon a waste :D

There were no lectures or tutorials this week. However, there was still the group project to work on.

Group Project - Flow (Week 3.5 of 4)

Lava Design - Third Iteration

The third iteration has a central spoke so as to further reduce friction when turning. The spoke stops the sides from touching. Also, a platform on the spoke supports the candles (light/heat source), so that they are not turning as well, like they would have been in the previous incarnation. I have left it to another team member to add the sail/blade design that generates the turning force. Someone told me that my final drawing of the design looked like some kind of dessert. Some people are just always thinking with their stomachs :P

This picture was added to further explain how the concept came into being. The first explanation is to say that the flowing lines of lava were reminiscent of the turning groves of a screw. The second explanation is to simply say that we looked at this project and said "We're Screwed" :D

Lava Design - 3D Prototype

For the group project, I wanted to have some kind of 3D animation of the design, even if it would only be basic. However, one person had a tiny bit of experience, and the rest of us had none. The one with at least a touch of experience said they would try to come up with something. Of course, out of my own interest, I thought I would see what I could do, even with no experience. I used the 3D utility called Blender, since it's free and seemed quite powerful. I came up with the following animation. Part of the reason I did this was also to be a back up to what the other member was doing. Luckily I did, since they didn't get very far, and mine's going to be used.

Following is a still image of the 3D animation, then the animation on You-Tube.

After making a simplistic representation of the Lava design, I did some exploration of what Blender can be used to make, and came across the following web page. My efforts seem quite embryonic by comparison, but we all have to start somewhere. In particular, Number 3 (Transformation) on that web page, seems like it's a design project ramped up to a highly polished level. But other animations had more emotional impact for me.

http://www.blenderguru.com/27-inspiring-blender-animations-that-will-make-your-jaw-drop/


transformation from Andre B on Vimeo.


Project Cartoons

"And we're sure that there is only one thing that will be brought to the minds of people who see our slowly turning dome..." :D . Sadly, while this cartoon was almost included in our presentation, it was pulled at the last minute. Maybe the next project will allow some of my humour to shine through :)

I drew a couple of cartoons for the presentation of the group project, which includes the title cartoon for this week. It was nice to find out that one of the other team member likes to draw, meaning that I'm not the only one who is a bit whimsical :) . The other team members seemed OK about adding a bit of humour to our presentation (or at least they did. In the end it ended up being a fairly 'straight' presentation).

These pictures were drawn for our project, by one of the other group members. They were considered safer 'section titles', and were included in the presentation.

Well, in the first week back after the break, it's time to present our designs. Destination approaching!