In week 5, we have done a lot of good ideation and thought mapping. It seems as though next week we will have enough resources for a paper playtest, which we hope to schedule before today, Friday, is through. We are excited to being prototyping. By today’s end, also, we hope to have a “hook” developed, game mechanics/interactions decided (as improved upon by VR), and, if necessary, a game/games itself/themselves to adapt to VR.
For Projects:
We had quarters this week, and it was the first time for all of us since we’re all first years. That was an illuminating experience into what we should expect for the future of the project. We’re grateful to all the faculty who took the time out of their day (and to those whose days were made significantly longer by quarters) to be with us during quarters to give us some honest first thoughts. While it would be impossible to truly summarize the thoughts and opinions of this diverse faculty, we did have some major takeaways. They are:
Research Paper Potential
This idea generated a lot of polarizing excitement. Faculty seemed to love it or really not like it for fear it would be too gimmicky. However, those faculty members that were more excited seemed really excited about its research potential. We were recommended to document everything very efficiently so that potential future projects could learn from what we’ve done and pick up from where we leave off, ultimately.
More Interaction w/ Environment Enhances Experience
Board games that are interactive still require a lot of waiting. We could play with how to make bodies, hands, or other things to make the environment interactive or reactive to the state or phase of the game on the board/playing space.
3 – 5 Minutes Likely Questionable
Lots of questions were raised about the limited time scope of this experience, as board games are typically longer. It was recommended by a few faculty members that we measure our time by actions than by chronological time.
Board Games then Interaction vs. Interaction then Board Games
Should we choose interactions we like and adapt it to a board game or choose a board game and then adapt it to interactions?
Could Draw from Digital Games Also
Lots of mobile games exist like this, and we might learn something from them.
Challenges this week:
We are still struggling to come together to decide on an appropriate prototype, though we hope to have one done and potentially scheduled by today, Friday. Additionally, we’ve been challenged on our use of VR instead of AR. We hope to justify our choice to faculty today during 1/4s sitdowns.
For Team:
In addition to quarters, we’ve started to transition into a more forward thinking prototype phase. We met with Dr. Jessica Hammer, who had a lot of useful information for us. Her recommendation was to take board games that exist and to reduce it, reassemble it to our needs, and rebuild it in VR. We’ve latched onto this idea as solid, and are excited to move forward with it.
Therefore, Jeremy and Audrey have begun deconstruction of digital and board games. Jiaxin, Xin, and Erika have begun research on the recommended readings by faculty, and have agreed to compile a document similar to the one we developed for SocialVR. Michael has built the basic networked infrastructure, has developed a Github, and has agreed to document his work thoroughly.
A chart we’ve developed comparing VR and Board Game strengths.
FOR NEXT WEEK:
- Schedule and run a paper playtest.
- Begin prototyping included interactions.
- Decide on game type.
- Begin development of theme and “hook.”