Capstone Interview/Semester Reflection 12-9-11

Capstone Interviews

I've asked four or five capstone presenters if I could interview them. The ones I have chosen to interview are as follows:

• Tim Andrick-"Reformation"
• Jacob Daniels
• Jake Richardson-"Western Expanse"
  
• Joel Bergman/Dustin Ostrum-"Homeland-Elements of Chaos"
  

1. What has this week been like for you?

• Tim Andrick: Easygoing, had work done beforehand
  
• Jacob Daniels: Busy finishing up the project
  
• Jake Richardson: Not that bad or stressful, had most work done beforehand
  
• Joel Bergman/Dustin Ostrum: Crazy, sleepless, just trying to get everything done
  

2. If you could change anything in how you did your capstone, what would it be?

• Tim Andrick: More integration with social media/more promotion
  
• Jacob Daniels: Wouldn't have procrastinated
  
• Jake Richardson: Lower Poly Count, More interactivity
  
• Joel Bergman/Dustin Ostrum: Starting earlier
  

3. How close is the outcome to what you originally thought it would be?

• Tim Andrick: Pretty close; first issue and printed issue completed
  
• Jacob Daniels: Smaller than expected
  
• Jake Richardson: Close; happy with how it turned out
  
• Joel Bergman/Dustin Ostrum: Ended up changing a lot of things, including look of the game
  

4. If you had one more month to work on the project, what would you do?

• Tim Andrick: Comment integration with Facebook
  
• Jacob Daniels: Fix all of the Shape Tweens
  
• Jake Richardson: More buildings into which you can enter
• Joel Bergman/Dustin Ostrum: Start Earlier
  

5. What advice do you have for me about working on my capstone?

• Tim Andrick: Start Early
  
• Jacob Daniels: Start Early
  
• Jake Richardson: Start Early
  
• Joel Bergman/Dustin Ostrum: Spend a lot of time planning everything
  

Semester Reflection

1. Address the efficacy of the approach we took in this class.
In conjunction with the N490 class, I was able to finalize the best idea for my capstone and study the tools needed for the capstone.

2. Discuss whether the breakdown of the project development was advantageous.
It was advantageous because I could get a better idea of what capstone idea to use and what resources to use and how much my budget would be.

3. Discuss the advantages and/or disadvantages of the student guest speakers for forming your own approach to capstone.
• Advantages - I could get a perspective of what it's like to work on a capstone

• Disadvantages-Their experiences and projects may not exactly fit what I am personally doing on a capstone

4. Were there any assignments that you thought were particularly helpful? Please elaborate.

• The Project Development Issues assignment, because we were able to get into teams. I was able to get some resources that I may need for my project and some people that would help me on my capstone.

5. Were there any assignments that you thought were particularly useless? Please elaborate.

• Mentor Profile: I had already chosen Lykins as my mentor, and I had already taken classes with most of the MAS faculty.

• Budget: It may not be in stone, and I might not know what else I may need as I work on the project.
  

Disappointment and Lethargy 11-28-11

I hadn't gotten any farther into my project since I met with Chauncey the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

I hadn't searched for sounds, I hadn't written any scripts, I hadn't made any storyboards, not that much.

I felt like I was supposed to do that over the weekend, but I failed in doing so. I hope that I can catch up over the next few weeks before Spring Semester starts.

Project Update 11-24-11

On Tuesday, Chauncey and I had tested the SWF file again.

Everything worked well enough, so Chauncey had told me to focus on the art and story at this point in the project.

It's just too bad that I somewhat procrastinated and didn't add more interactivity to the SWF before then. The skeleton that appears when I click on the chair was somewhat last minute.

Other than that, there are no major changes to the timeline, though I did end up re-learning Actionscript a little ahead of time.

Progress Report 11-18-2011

1. What concrete progress have you made on your capstone project since you submitted your proposal and timeline?

Towards the end of October, we had taken a tour of the AVL to see how we could use the technologies in there to create the Interactive Haunted House. We had looked at the Super High Definition Monitor and the Virtual Reality Theater and discussed the idea of using what is called a “gyro-mouse” to interact with the environment.

In November, we had started testing the aspect ratio of a test sketch of one of the rooms of the Interactive Haunted House project in the Virtual Reality Theater. As it turns out, the width of the aspect ratio was slightly narrower than expected. While the original template (the largest available) was 5750 X 1050, the VR Theater’s aspect ratio was 5600 x 1050. I have started working on a SWF in Flash that could be used in the VR Theater. Currently, I’m experiencing problems with the testing ActionScript, but hopefully, I can fix it before the week of Thanksgiving Break. Thankfully, with Brian Graham's help and from what I'm learning from Polly Baker's N221 clas, I might be able to fix the Actionscript.

2. How many times have you been in contact with your mentor?

I have been in contact with my mentor almost every week since I submitted the proposal and timeline. We have discussed plans of action regarding the use of the Virtual Reality Theater for the capstone and this November, we have focused on how to make the VRT Cave work for the project.

3. How has your timeline changed thus far?

So far, I seem to be on track, except that I hadn’t made an official script, nor have I done any real storyboards for the project. I have focused on testing the VR theater to see how my interactive haunted house would work. Right now, I’m trying to create an early prototype of the project involving a Flash SWF file and ActionScript, which I had been testing earlier than usual. I was not supposed to delve into programming until next semester.

4. What do you still need to complete in preparation for the beginning of your N499 course?

I still need to make some thumbnail storyboards for the rest of the haunted house, gather sounds and record voices, and attempt to refine the art of the project. Unfortunately, I don’t truly have quite a concrete art style in mind, since few to none of my surveys earlier last month were completed and returned.

5. If there have been significant changes to your project since your proposal, please discuss them.

The only real significant difference to the project is that I am already trying to program a prototype of a room for the Haunted House capstone, when I had scheduled myself to get reacquainted with Actionscript next semester.

Haunted House project status 10-20-11

So far, I'm having a bit of trouble with the project.

1. I can't decide what to start the interactive haunted house story with:

• It takes place from the user's point of view(first-person)

• Here is a possible opening: The user's car breaks down at night in the middle of nowhere during a bad storm and his/her cell phone has no reception. He/she tries to find shelter for the night, and comes across an old (mansion/house/plantation).
  

• I don't know if I need to go further or if I need to develop it more.

2. I'm having trouble deciding whether to use a mansion, a house, or plantation. Most of the horror stories I'm familiar with contain a mansion of some sort, Addams Family, Luigi's Mansion, Casper, even the Haunted Mansion(I hadn't watched the film or gone to the attraction yet).

3. Other than the following rooms:

• Bedroom
• Bathroom
• Kitchen
• Dining Room
• Front Entrance
• Attic
• Ballroom
• Wine Cellar
• Living Room
• Library
• Garden Maze
  

I don't know what else to add. I also can't think of how to make each room scary enough for the target demographic(18-34 years old). That's mainly what I worry about: keeping target demographic in mind.

If anyone knows of any recommended viewing of horror movies or can help me get an idea on how to make specific rooms "scary" or "spooky"...maybe along the lines of Vincent Price or something like that, please let me know.

Any help on this will be appreciated.

Project Timeline 10-8-11

This timeline is as follows:

• Week of October 10:Turn in Capstone Proposal and Timeline
• Weeks of October 17-31:Script Development
• November: Learn how to program with the VR Cave Theater
• Weeks of November 7-14: Storyboarding from Finalized Script
• Week of November 21: Develop Art Direction
• Weeks of November 28-December 19: Create Art/Find Sounds and Music/Record Voices
• December 24-25: Christmas
  
• Week of December 26: Possible break
  
• January through March: Programming/Testing
• Week of March 12th: Spring Break
  
• Weeks of March 26th-April 17th: Make Promotional Materials for the Capstone
• April 29th: Day of Capstone Presentation

I started off with the script, because it is the backbone of any project. Whether I assigned myself enough time for it is the real question mark.

Storyboarding and Art Direction help decide the look and feel of the project. So that comes afterwards. I may have to consult Beth and speak with her regarding this stage, though, as not many of my Oncourse surveys have returned as of yet. They are important as they will help decide the target audience and thus the look and feel of the project.

As you may notice, the Programming and Testing takes up the bulk of the capstone process. This is because a lot of things might go wrong in the Programming stage: Glitches, misspellings, and also getting reacquainted with Actionscript, since I had not done that much with it since Mat Powers' S355 course last year.

Also, I'll have to learn how to use the VR Cave technology throughout the month of November. However, actually making a Script for it might be harder than the actual programming, since I don't currently know how the "story" of the interactive V.R. Haunted House will turn out.

Project Development Issues 9-24-11

Capstone: I'm trying to make an interactive Haunted House drawn in Flash and using the VR Cave.

• time management issues
• Not sure what she means by this...but if she means "make a schedule for this project", then I can't think that far in advance.
• I’ll need time for making a “script” for the haunted house and planning on what rooms to navigate in the haunted house
• Need time to make the art and code
• Need time to test the haunted house and check for errors
• Need time to get music and sounds
• Need time to complete business cards
• Need time to complete promo materials such as posters, flyers, etc.
• skills needed to complete the project
• I might need help getting reacquainted with Flash and ActionScript and learning some new things on Actionscript(Brian Graham said he has moderate knowledge of Actionscript)
• I need help on how to use the Cave and/or program for it
• Animation(though Beth Lykins says that I could just use limited animation)
• Scriptwriting
  
• resources needed (people and technology/materials)
• I'll need the AVL Cave, but I don't know how far in advance I need to reserve it
• I'll need Flash, of course
• I'll need royalty-free sound effects and music
• Not sure what else I'd need though.
• budget(don't know what I'd need to buy for this project)
• Business Cards
• Making promo materials for the Capstone project
• Buying CD-Rs or DVD-Rs
• team issues (even if it is just you and your mentor, that forms a team)
• I'd need someone who knows how to make Flash work with the Cave(not sure if Chauncey can do that)
• I'll need feedback after every week, so I need someone for that(Beth Lykins and maybe Mat Powers on ActionScript)
  
• other issues
• Unsure about what target audience I should shoot for.