Blog 19: Third Answer

1. EQ:
How can we maximize player learning experience in educational video games with minimal expense to the entertainment? 

2. Answer #3: 

Having a narrative is an essential factor to the both the entertainment and effectiveness of an educational/learning game.

3. 3 details to support the answer:
- Narratives give the emotional glue that connects the audience to the message. Much of what people remember from a learning experience are the feelings of the underlying message rather than a multitude of small facts (which are better reserved for job aids).
- Stories motivate target audiences toward learning goals. They are also ideal for attitudinal training because when an audience is motivated, they no longer need to be persuaded. An encouraging story will inspire someone to take action. Motivation is one the top of the list of "important factors" in making educational video games successful.
- Storytelling offers a cognitive frame for reflecting experiences and activities being done by the player, thus making things easier to comprehend while adding an entertaining dimension to the game.

4. The research source(s) to support your details and answer:

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijcgt/2015/549684/ 

http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning2-0/why-you-need-to-use-storytelling-for-learning/ 

http://www.narratology.net/sites/www.narratology.net/files/ENN%202011%20Sanna-Mari%20%C3%84yr%C3%A4m%C3%B6%20-%20Narrative%20in%20Serious%20or%20Learning%20Game%20Design%20Reseach.pdf 

5. Concluding Sentence:
Stories were the building blocks of childhoods, and are some of the things we remember most; they are tools that we should not take for granted, and educational video games would do well in taking advantage of them.

Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?
Part of the pre-production of any video game is the prototyping, which come as both physical drafts and rough computer models. So, even though I won't have to actually develop the game until my second independent component, my first IC still requires me to familiarize with the software. I haven't logged these hours yet, but so far, I've have begun and playtested on the some files on the RPGMaker software. In particular, I've learned how to implement the dialogue of the characters (which is going to be really fun since I really hope to include cameos of students/teachers in the final product). I've also learned how to import portraits.  I've yet to actually log these hours.

I have done some minor documenting of the game's premise and puzzles, as well some physical drafts sketched on graph paper on one of the maps that this game will be taking place, which is the I-Poly Quad. But they're very, very primitive and have no place to stand before the eyes of the world yet.



2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

Specifically for learning how to use the software, I have been watching tutorials on Youtube by the channel known as Obrusine1 (who has been renamed as Novem). I've gotten the hang of one of the most fundamental "events" - a type of action in the RPGMaker - which is how to give dialogue to the characters. I can either do static dialogue for the non-player characters (NPCs), where the lines will be repeated every time you as the player character speak to them. Or, I can make the dialogue have options of choices and have conversations branch out differently (though nevertheless also be repeated).





While doing this I also personally learned also how to import character graphics (AKA the portrait that appears alongside the dialogue to signify who the speaker is). One of the available character sprites to use is Santa Claus, which I thought was funny, but there wasn't an image of his face in the current RPG Maker database to go along the dialogue. As a result, I decided to find one and add it myself. Each character face graphic is exactly 96x96 pixels; any larger would cut the face off. 

(this is the original image that was used. I did crop it and reduce the size to the designated area of pixels.)


(above Santa Claus's dialogue are the two optional routes the player could take with the conversation, with one being "...fine." and the other being "Please. Your family misses you. Go home." Santa clearly needs an intervention with his life, considering he seems to be trapped on an island as of now.)

The map, as you can see in the above image, is very basic; it's basically an island in the middle of the sea, but this is all for playtesting. The actual game will definitely not be taking place here.



3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

Out of the three mentors Clerisse and I currently have, I have actually only interviewed one of them. Sean Bouchard and Elizabeth Swensen are both viable candidates for interviews for me, and either way would be an excellent option. Not only are they my mentors, but both also specialize in educational games/game-based learning and were actually part of the inspiration to the EQ, which asks how we can maximize a player's learning experience in the game without making it boring. 

Blog 1 – Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

1.  What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?

Digital Publishing, Sarah Regan's lesson, had been the first of the Senior presentations I had seen, and for me, it was an example as what not to do when it is time for my own presentation. Regan's Hook Activity opened up with a bad impression; she tried to engage us by having us weave a story with sentences that began with, "And then there was...". It was an interesting concept, but she had mistakenly written it as, "An then there was...". The error would have been overlooked if it weren't for the fact that she kept insisting it was correct when someone in the audience tried to correct her, leading the rest of the Hook activity without realizing what was wrong. Her topic was about publishing, the mistake stuck out like a sore thumb. Her later activity was one that could not be completed with the time she allotted, and so we were rushed. Moreover, whenever her assistant would accidentally skip a slide, a wholly understandable mistake that occurs often in slideshow presentations, Regan would dwell on it excessively, aggressively criticizing the assistant. Not only would it completely draw us from the presentation, it was extremely rude and embarrassing for her assistant. And, in general, she relied too much on the slide texts.

Two other lessons, Security and Editorial Publishing, were more positive examples of Senior presentations. Mike Rivera (Security) had an extremely unique Hook activity by having a staged robbery happen outside the class. Our activity was to describe the robber's appearance that we managed to glimpse. In addition, during the presentation, Rivera physically demonstrated a security guard's techniques of defense against people, and our other activities were to mimic those techniques. In Editorial Publishing, we were put into groups, given materials, and told to design a yearbook cover of a fictional school based on a few random key words. The results were very entertaining, and the presenter, Elijah Garcia, later cleverly tied the details of the activity together to one of the answers to his EQ. Both seniors were very articulate in their presentations, relying only on a few words every slide to convey a lot of interesting and relevant information.

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?

Getting an early start in finding mentorships was emphasized in every interview with the Seniors I recorded. Most talked about how many of their mentorships eventually fell apart due to distance and scheduling, and so they would lose time in pursuing another. Some had ex-mentors that broke off from them simply because they had become disinterested, so I was further advised that, when I find a mentor, they should be from someone who will most likely form a strong bond with me.

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

Bio-medical engineering has been one of my first choices, not only for its interesting subject of prosthetics but also because of my own interest in it as a prospective career. I've always believed that I would most likely pursue engineering in college, but my parents have always felt strongly in me being in the medical field. Bio-medical engineering, to me, is almost like a compromise, one that I am happily for; one of my idols happens to be a bio-medical engineer, a fact that first sparked my interest.

Game Development has been another one of my considerations, which is an interest that has increased recently. In the past few years, I have become very fascinated by programming, and I've always enjoyed video games. The video game industry has also rapidly grown in the past years, now being an extremely competitive field. I would love to get a glimpse of what it would be like through a mentor in this topic, but I feel it might be too ambitious. At the very least, I've already talked to some Seniors and teachers about connections of this relevance, and responses are pending.

Software Engineering, Tissue Engineering, or Biodegradable Plastics have been other considerations.

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? 

What is the most effective way in closing the gap between the engineering and medicine fields?

or

What aspect of a video game is most essential to develop one that is successful/engaging?

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?

I mentioned before that I have talked to some Seniors and a few teachers regarding any connections they may have that are in Game Development. Some have said yes and will contact them about my interest for their mentorship, and I am currently waiting on those responses. 

A mentorship for Bio-medical engineering has been more difficult to pinpoint, given that I know almost no connections in the general medical field at all. I will be regularly volunteering at a hospital soon, so I plan on asking around there. But, as of now, prospects are bleak. I will also be touring in some college campuses this summer, so I will also be seeking some connections there.