Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Degree Project Update

So since my last update, I've made some considerable changes. I'm revising the interface by simplifying it down to 3 main buttons and some basic in game status indicators in the bottom of the HUD. There will be the amount of money indicated as well as a "joy meter" that shows the general happiness level of the campus. This will be a multiplier applied to bonus in game cash awarded for longer play time each day.

The buttons will be the social and real world application such as donation, news, and bios, there will also be a button to access the building/upgrade menu. The trash button is for getting rid of unwanted elements on the grid.


The interaction between the menu and the campus field will be simple. Tap on an item you want, the menu will disappear allowing you to tap on the area on the grid where you'd like to place the item.



Tapping on an item once it's on the grid gives you basic info about that specific thing. You can then tap away or tap the trash icon to get rid of it. There will be no confirmation messages given to these actions as I feel it will make people consider their choices more.



Monday, March 11, 2013

[AR]ams

Update on our Dieter Rams exhibit. We've officially nailed down our modes of interaction for the screen based AR experiences revolving around our first floor exhibit wall. The experience will run the length of the wall in the first gallery space and will contain extruded forms that show everyday products that coincide with Rams products.  About 7-8 feet away from the wall, there will be installed tablets/screens where the viewer can interact with the product in virtual space. There will be 3 modes of interaction. The first is a schematic view of the product's outer design. This will be a moment in which the viewer can observe anti-dieter moments such as excess/busy functionality and form. The second mode will allow the viewer to pick the product apart and reshape it into a cleaner and unobtrusive design. This mode might include principles to consider whilst manipulating the form. The final mode will be a side by side comparison of the original product, the edited product, and the coinciding Rams product.


from this
---------------------
to this



Saturday, March 9, 2013

Degree Project Update

Moving into skinning my wireframes, I'm taking some things into consideration. One, that added perspective makes for a more interesting playing field. Two, that there needs to be careful consideration when it comes to the placement of the donation options. The news feed and the kid bios screens need to be something altogether separate from the donations screen in order to maintain the divide between the joyful outlook on real world changes and testimonials, education in knowing the processes and considerations that go into running an orphanage, and the ability to donate to the cause. The latter should be made more natural by the prior two. Other future considerations will include potentially moving to a horizontal orientation to allow for a wider landscape to view, and making a push for greater color contrast. The wheel navigation may also take a backseat when the game starts to introduce it as a mode of interaction. This could clear up how the user should interact with it.









Sunday, March 3, 2013

SX: Dieter Rams

The essence of Dieter Rams lies within his ten principles. In collaboration with Jessica, we've decided that while it is the goal to reflect these principles in our spatial design of the H&R space, it is also one of our goals to transform it into a space that can provide a new experience for these principles.

The underlying concept of our proposed exhibition is the idea of:

perspective     reduction     transformation     deconstruction

Floor One
The first floor of the H&R space will house the introduction to this exhibit. This introduction will include standard bio information and a summary of the exhibition, but it will also have a wall gridded with a mixture of products design by Rams and products not designed by the man himself, in order to showcase the comparison of the success of the form and function of these products.

The second gallery will incorporate augmented reality to provide a new perspective on the forms and processes of Rams. This will be made possible by having a white structure attached to the wall that mimics a few select Rams products and a free standing tablet/viewfinder that the user can interact with in order to gain knowledge about the product.




Floor Two
The second floor will include a viewing room. This room will have a curated cue of products, commercials, videos that are inspired by Dieter Rams. This is a way to get the viewer to understand just how influential Rams' products are in the world of design. 


The larger gallery will be a breakdown/deconstruction of everyday products into a product designed by Rams. The space will have two additional walls providing a linear pathway for the users to follow. One side of each wall will showcase the beginning and ending of this transformation. When the viewer stands at a certain point they can see the before and after side by side.

Degree Project Update

Currently I'm in the process of creating wireframes for my content. As it stands this includes the gameplay, sponsorship, and newsfeed related scenarios. In the gameplay I've laid out a basic rough interface. The landscape could also be in perspective, though this would not change the content or the overlaying interface structure. I have covered the gameplay for what I imagine would be the first 5 to 10 minutes. The game structure begins in with notifications on how to get started, though it doesn't tell you every little thing. It should cause for some natural exploration through the interface. The navigation primarily exists on both the main nav wheel and in above icon pop-ups. When certain objects on the wheel are pressed, it expands to reveal a new layer of info.



The user will be able to raise funds not only through the game but also through sponsoring businesses. When they check in to these businesses a notification will pop up on their facebook, advertising the business, and doing so in a positive light. This will also give friends an opportunity to check in on the user's campus and possibly sponsor it themselves.


When the user taps on the star (likely to change) they will be taken to a screen where they can look at a news feed with information regarding positive changes in real world orphanages, see staff and orphan bios, sponsor kids, and donate. Donation gives the user a large portion of in game points and also achievements that they can collect/show off.