Week 7 Newsletter

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Cranking Away
The development phase of the project is officially underway! This week, the team solidified the experience design in the form of a web feature list and site map flowchart, while establishing a server to develop the web site and setting the foundation for a database. Having a clear schematic of the site’s features and the flow of user experience allows for a compilation of all of the data structures that the back end must be working with at any given point in the experience. To that end, a data structures list has been established, and work on completing it is in progress. The visual design of the various pages for the web site is also underway. Concepts for the design of the Gears in the Machine have been produced, as well as a home page design:

[Gear style concept]

[Home page layout concept]

[Home page style concept]

The team has also addressed the challenge of logically displaying Gears within the Machine. The current plan is to treat Gear art assets as adjacent tiles, each containing some incidental art in the form of smaller connecting gears that will line up with the smaller incidental gear art on the adjacent tiles. This paradigm would necessitate a maximum adjacent Gear limit of eight, but it would provide a neat visual and logical framework for managing the space in the Machine. The team is also considering how best to apply border glow and other visual effects to highlight connectivity between Gears.

Finally, manufacturing of an initial batch of Gear Card prototypes has been undertaken – this week the team printed approximately one hundred Gear Cards on multi-colored construction paper for distribution. Each card features a QR Code link to the Glatitude project web site and the kindworks logo, and is cut into the shape of a simple gear with defined edges and teeth. Several have already been posted around the ETC building, and some web site hits have been recorded. Over the next week, the team will be placing them in public places around Pittsburgh, as well as utilizing spring travel plans to post cards in areas such as Boston. The QR codes on the cards will allow the team to track how many times each card is scanned, as well as where the scan took place. The next step in testing the appeal of these cards is to experiment with different content and stylistic designs to see which type of approach is best received.

[The team hard at work]

Next Steps
This coming week is the week of the Game Developer’s Conference, and so a significant portion of the team will be away. Because the following week is the CMU spring break period, the team has decided to swap that period with this week, taking leave simultaneously with those already away at GDC, and returning to work during the scheduled spring break week.

While away, the team will be working on completing the design documentation and distributing Gear cards, as well as beginning to prepare the mid-semester project presentation. Once everyone has returned, there will be one week of work before the Halves presentation on Monday (3/19), during which the focus will be on developing a working web prototype, setting up the database, content design, art asset production, and Gear Card testing.