Home Sweet Cubicle

GRANT APP

A.  Introduction

The goal of this project is to create a game that will address conservationism to children, and to use their capacity for empathy, to impact how they view animals and the environment. The board game will inform of the disappearance of animals by visually making the pieces “disappear” through trap doors. These will be constantly pushed around the board to represent the destruction of their habitats and resources. I am experimenting with scale, and at this point I have settled on it being larger than a normal board game. The game then could be taken outside and played in more active way than the previous versions size. The pieces will be 3D printed animals, combined with laminated chipboard tiles, and used on an interactive structure that will be collapsible into a carrying case. All of the parts of the game will be environmentally friendly, and can either be compostable or even just recycled. The final presentation of this project will be on a table, which is open for play by viewers, and a section of the wall that will display not only the directions, but also information for game producers to learn more about the game.

  B.  Timeline

Working Backwards from the Final Thesis April 23

-  Week of April 21st --- Write Final Thesis, Website

-  Week of April 14th --- Work on Website for Project

-  Week of April 7th --- Everything Due to Gallery

-  Week of March 31st --- Completion of Materials, Extra Time for Printing

-  Week of March 24th --- Printing 3D and 2D

-  Week of March 17th --- Printing 3D and 2D

-  Week of March 10th --- 3D Modeling and Graphic Work

-  Week of March 3rd --- Spring Break, 3D Modeling and Graphic Work

-  Week of February 24th --- 3D Modeling and Graphic Work

-  Week of February 17th --- Second Draft of Thesis Due, 3D Modeling and Graphics

-  Week of February 10th --- Second Thesis, 3D Modeling and Graphic Work

-  Week of February 3rd --- Decide on Packaging, Contact Business for Printing

-  Week of January 27th --- Decide on Promotional Packaging, Call Stores, 3D Models

-  Week of January 20th --- Postcard Images Due, Start Work On Final Graphics

-  Week of January 13th --- Postcard, Aesthetic Needs to be Decided/Title, 3D Models

-  Week of January 8th --- Thesis Draft Due, Rework Graphics, 3D Model Test Prints

-  Week of December 16th --- Winter Break, Almost Finished Models, Test Graphics

-  Week of December 9th --- Consulting Materials Due, Material Consideration

-  Week of December 2nd --- Game Mechanics Decided, Nice First Version of Game

-  Week of November 25th --- Game Testing

-  Week of November 18th --- Game Testing, Show Kids Some Test Graphics

-  Week of November 11th --- Game Testing

  I would like to have everything that is needed for the gallery at least a week prior, so that I could tie up some loose ends, if need be. The photos included on the attached CD show the first version of a test game, and some sketches of projected work.

Budget

    Gas, $17 x 8 = $136                                                     

TOTAL: $136

3D Prototyping/Finishing Materials, Cube PLA Plastic Material Cartridges; $49 x 8 = $294, http://www.staples.com/Cube-PLA-Plastic-Cartridges/product_SS2051257#id='swatch_747800'

TOTAL: $392

2D Prototyping Materials (chipboard, paint, foamcoare, etc.); chipboard - $1.16 x 20 = $23.20 ( http://www.dickblick.com/products/all-purpose-chipboard/), foamcore - $6.41 x 7 = $44.87 (http://www.dickblick.com/products/elmers-black-foamboard/ ), spray adhesive - $4.79 x 2 = $9.58 (http://www.dickblick.com/items/23704-1000/?clickTracking=true&wmcp=google&wmcid=items&wmckw=23704-1000&CAWELAID=520010530000048777&catargetid=520010530000185412&cadevice={device}&gclid=CP2f1d2k0boCFStgMgodTzIAbA ), luster photo paper $24.29 (http://www.amazon.com/Epson-Premium-LUSTER-8-5x11-S041405/dp/B00006B7P4/ref=pd_sim_e_3)

 TOTAL: $101.94

Printing Services for Packaging and Promotional Items; proofs, cards, final prints, lamination - $350 ( http://www.ulitho.com/ )

TOTAL: $350

  TOTAL of ALL: $979.94

Budget Justifications

  1.  Driving back and forth from my elementary school for the next 2 months is going to be very taxing on my gas. I need this so that I can afford to see my test subjects.

2.  The cube is not only my mode for prototyping, but my final printing tool because it allows me to use compostable PLA plastic. The cartridges are easily got, but they cost 49 dollars each, but I need enough to cover the both the beginning and final stages.

3.  The 2D materials are what I need to make the prototypes for the tiles and the chipboard specifically is also going to be used in the final product. I need these supplies so that I can accurately see my designs on the board.

THIRD POST : WHAT I AM DOING THIS WEEK

So as you might remember I am in the play testing games right now. I kind of scrapped my first one, so I am trying to come up with some new ideas, that more apprporiately convey my idea and conservationism. But, the more I talk to my teachers, and watch the kids, I think that my board game, needs to be at a larger scale and more interactive. Then, I had to decide, idea-wise, how expansive I want to be? Should it be situational, or something that models the whole idea.

  Here's the plan:

One game I am going to make shows the situation at whole, and is going to be a small board game, and then a larger version of the same game. Let's call this "DA BEARS".

The other game is going to be a completely active running around game (don't know the technical term for this) and it deals with a more "local" issue, bees. Let's call this "HONEY HUNT".

Currently I am still working on making test models for both, but luckily I got 2 days this week to go see the kids. 

  FOR MONDAY

I am going to bring in a video camera, and *hopefully* they will let me video tape. Anyways, I am going to ask them individually some general questions about what games they like plays, about conservationism, and what they think they can do about it.

  FOR THURSDAY

I will have both games to test. I am going to once again, *hopefully* video tape them playing and then ask them some questions afterwards.

SECOND POST : TALKING TO SARA

  If you remember awhile back I said I was going to talk to a woman that was a professor in the Enviornmental dept at U of M. Finally, we had the opportunity to meet. She told me that she was really interested in my game because she found the lack of things for children talking about Environmentalism appalling. She is doing a thesis project on environmentalism in children's books. It all started when she was going to send her grandaughter in mexico a book. But, the lack of children's books that talk about environementalism was stopping her. Even the ones she found with environmental topics, still didn't really dicuss the idea properly. At the end of her research last year, with the help of many students, she found that approximately 10 percent of University of Michigan's children's literature had an environmental subject. Even out of those, not many actually talked about what was actually going on with conserving nature. Most books only touched on the idea of replanting trees and etc. She shares the same idea that this topic needs to be more heavily addressed to younger children. Sara warned me that I should stay away from "mandating" the ideas, less on education, she said, I should be focusing on inspiring them to find more info themselves. In this way, I can remind them of the responsibility that they have because they are a part of nature. Show them that it comes back to them in the end, that caring and making good decisions pays off for them as well. To say the least, it was a very good talk. It was nice to hear that someone else had found this a problem in childhood learning. She also connected me to a group on campus that deals with art and the environment, and a lot of the time involving children. Also here are some links that she gave me to look at. (below).

  Links:

  Ana Maria Vliengenthart, Short Animation on Forest Destruction 

Day 58, wow...ok that makes me a little scared. Anyways I have many things to update you on. Many, MANY things. Well I will seperate them out, this first post will be about the things I have learned from my first day playing with the kids. The second will be what I plan to do for Monday and Thursday when I go over to the elementary school. Then the second to last post will be about my talk with Sara, a professor at my school in the Environmentalism and Sustainability college. At last the final post will be my grant proposal that I just finished. Hopefully I make some money off of it.

    FIRST POST: WHAT I LEARNED FROM KIDS

It was great getting to talk to the kids in the class about who I am, and what I do. Of course they were very interested in me because I am a college student, and were astounded by my hours of work. They asked me pretty simple questions about what work I do, why do I want to do this, have I ever made video games, do I want to be a teacher and so on. But the best part was that I got to ask them a bunch of questions about what they know. Astoundingly, they understood what conservationism means, and were able to give me a pretty accurate definistion. That was suprising, but it's worthwile to note that I was doubting them, and 3rd graders are a lot smarter than I give them credit for. Here are the main points that I took notes on while watching them interact with their teacher:

Simon Says

Played in between long periods of sitting, so they focus better and not get so agitated staying still for so long

Active > Less Fidgeting > More Focus

Activity of Creating A Poem About Themselves (with certain syllable count)

using story to get them to think about math

personalize it

uses bigger words then explains them

pictures are fantastic for explaining

"chunking" is a term for the style of teaching large in small amounts

the real trick is keeping their attention

keep their hands busy with sticky tack

small ideas combine to bigger ideas

this is where metaphors really come into play

silly words like "evil" when describing oneself, garners a lot of attention

making metaphors with things that they see often or already know

show examples DON'T TELL 

paint a picture, don't just tell them what to do, make a situation in which they can extrapolate that themselves

Ok so I have been trying and trying to get my own thoughts in order for awhile, because I keep confusing myself. I am trying to find a way to explain what I want to accomplish, and why, but I feel like the way that I am presenting it is just confusing and throws people off. I want to work with children, not because somewhere down the line I want to be a teacher and not because I want to necessarily "educate" them in the stereotypical sense. They are at the age where they have enough empathy to learn conservationism, where as they grow older it would just turn to apathy. They are just starting to explore this world, and are just breaking out of their egocentric ideas, and starting to be inutitative and consider the things in a bigger picture sense. This is where they start to make physical objects into deeper meaning and understand symbolism. I think that "educational games" are missing out on this because they are trying to force feed information, rather than give an impression of their concept and let the child interpret the "rights" and "wrongs" themselves. Jean Piaget said at this age, no one is a better teacher than themselves, for them to take in meaning, they need to be able to interpret it in their own right. Now I feel like my game, and what I want to do is being forced into a "design and fun focused" category or a "educational focused" one. Let me be clear, when I originally said that I wanted to do education, I didn't mean in the way that spouts of information. What I really meant, and I realize this now, is that I want to inform them. It's not about me telling them how many oil spills a year happen and how it effects our ocean. Yes, they will take this info in, but what will they do with it? Nothing. But, if instead I set up a game, to mock the scenarios of the habitat being slowly taken away and animals disappearing, the physical loss of those two things will make a deeper impression. Why? To them it becomes more than the fact that the animals died because their trees were being up rooted, it becomes the symbolized idea "these animals are disappearing and losing their homes". The symbol is always stronger than the laid out idea. The symbol is something that allows them to interpret and deal with the idea in their own way. Inform doesn't equal educate, new information might be the bi-product, but it doesn't mean that I am sitting here telling them what's wrong and how they can fix it. That's exactly why I wanted to do a game in the first place, because it's not me whose saying that, it's something that they glen from the game play. You might think at this age that they can't understand things like symbolism. Yes they can, they just need more simple ones. If a kid takes away it's home and resources, then it falls through a trap door in the game board. They are going to get the idea of cause and effect. They will understand this as a linear idea, then it can be applied to real world situations. I got so worried about my crit that I forgot what I was aiming for. I don't want this to be a large outdoor game. Yes I lose something by not having them connect with nature, but if I have it set up like a large outdoor game, I lose some of the structure that I wanted to put into the game. Their connection with nature is important, but I don't think that it effects the game play as much as less structure would. I know I am being wishy washy, but I have to choose one over the other, and I choose feasibility and structure over environment and the idea of nature deficiency disorder. I think it also just makes me talk about too much, and I stop focusing on the idea that I want my board game to portray. I do agree that I would like to make it bigger though, then feasibly it could also be an outdoor game if they would like, nothing is stopping them, it might even be more appropriate as an outdoor game. There are those bigger checkers games with carpets and the larger connect four game, why? Because the physicality of an object is important. The scale, playing into the physicality, can lend itself to being something a child can connect with more, and place a "role" upon. 

Here is a quote to explain exactly how I feel, it's from that book Gamification by Design:

"...Civilaztion and SimCity have taught millions of people history lessons and the basics of urban planning. These are not pedagogical games. They weren't designed to be educational. But they use history and real city schema as a backdrop to explain ideas; thus, education becomes a byproduct of fun." (4)

I am not making an educational game, not in the sense that I believe everyone assumes that an educational game must be. I am making a game that informs using conservationism and fun, and education is the byproduct.  

So we had in progress, mid-term, 3-on-1 reviews. Long title, but basically we went otu and talked about project on a more personal level. When I went out here are the things that were said to me:

"We feel like you don't really want to do education, you don't need to do education."

This is true. I want to inform, not ditacte informtation. I got carried away with the word "education" and lost sight of what I wanted

"Is this something that is going to help you further down the road, why are you doing work with children?"

This is going to help me to my future through the items it produces, not about the concept. I want to be a graphic designer, not particularly a game designer. If I could pick a company it would likely do some work with children, but I do not want to work with kids because that's what I want my future career to solely focus on. I design for things/people/ideas that I enjoy, and I love working with kids. Simply that, at any level, friend to teacher, I have fun just interacting with them, and seeing their insight on the world that they have just met. I have the opportunity to get them thinking about topics that might affect them further down the road.

"Why is this game inside? If you are talking about how kids are really disconnected from these animals and environments, shouldn't it be outside?

true. yes it should. I admit I was ridiculous in not considering this.

So based on this lovely review, I have stopped thinking of it as a board game. Originally, I hadn't wanted it to be one, but I felt like I needed to move in that direction to get the products (the 3D models) that I wanted in my project. But, I see now that it as a form was hindering me a lot from actually explaining the concept the way I wanted to. 

  Update on Progress:

I have gotten in contact with my friend's mother, the third grade teacher, and I am going over there tomorrow to introduce myself to the kids. Mrs. A seems like she is going to be a very valuable resource because she is really willing to help me. She already has a grad student learning from her, so I think that she is going to be well suited to me being in the classroom. I'm really excited. Apparently they have their own section on conservationism, in which they play this adorable game Oh Deer! (a lot like what I am looking to produce) and go to the zoo that is close by their school. Anyways, it should be a very interesting day, I am going to leave my lovely cubicle for a bunch of kids, I think that is a fantastic trade off. 

  Kenny, the guy from IP a couple years ago that I skyped, is going to get me in contact with the woman that made Flip 2 B Fit. Apparently it's a game that promotes kids getting up and running around. It's won a bunch of awards, and the way that she uses active play to engage them is something that I am definitely looking into. I'll link below.

  Links:

  Oh Deer!

Short Update: 

  Out of the people that I emailed. I have gotten back 2 responses, which I think is fairly decent. The first one being from my high school psychology professor, Bernie, and she said as long as I pick a time we should meet up. BONUS she has a kid in my age range. Her name is Lily and she is adorable. The second is from a college friend's mother. She's a third grade teacher, and she said she would love to have me. 

So we gave presentations to class this week. They are called Pecha Kuchas, they are basically presentations that are structured to have 20 slides, and you have 20 seconds for each. It's supposed to promote people getting to the point in their presentations. (I'll link to the website explaining it below) Anyways, we were giving these presentations, which totally stress me out because I am not the best at public speaking. I have a lot of work to do on presenting, because they either laughed at me or I was too nervous to get my ideas out properly. But, their comments struck a cord with me. I had spent so much time worrying about gathering data that I had:

 Forgotten to talk to teachers

Lost the point of my project, to make them realize the idea of conservationism emotionally, rather than having facts thrown in their face

I am not thinking like a child

So after coming to this realization, I had all the stages of grief. Yes I mourned for my own stupidity. But, you know what got me out of my funk? I finally had a chance to talk to Kenny, a person that used to be in IP with my teacher. For one of his projects he made a modular children's toy, and he's now trying to get it funded. Anyways, I was talking to him, and I discussed the problems that I was having, where I wasn't able to properly address my topics, because I felt there was just so much to cover. That I was confused about the direction that my test game as leading me. It was devoid of actual emotion, and just filled to the brim with facts. He told me that I shouldn't worry, because I was headed in the right direction. Even though I had many mistakes, I had found my problems and I was prepared to address them. He said I am in the right position at this point in my IP, because I am still working out the game mechanics. Which was really worrying me, because I am going to have a lot of things that need to get produced. Anyways, he gave me some advice; get the teachers now, simplify it and then over simplify it, sometimes you just need to make decisions and figure out things in the process. I am now in the process of emailing a bunch of teachers to talk to them. Also, I am working on the best way to get the idea that they will be gone, for that reason, the figures should probably actually disappear from the board. (This was my duh moment). I am going to work on my next test game, talk to some children teachers, and one that specifically deals with environmental children issues. Anyways, it's kind of a back to the drawing board. But, I'm looking at bears. I know that is pretty abstract to say. But, they represent animals well, and children already have exposure to them through "teddy bears" and such. Also many varieties of bears are effected by the different problems caused by conservationism issues. Polar bears, grizzlies, pandas...etc. If I could just get a "sea bear" to be effected by water pollution. Anyways I'm looking into it. Well that's it for now. I'll probably have some more links later!

  Links:

We had our mini-crits last Wednesday. Here is the list of the comments that I got:

Somehow the humans have to be a bit worse off than the animals, because the point you are trying to get across is how it's the humans doing this

Landfills shouldn't be a set number, there should be some game mechanic that allows them to occur whenever

Maybe flipping and placing the piece in the center can lock the tile

Although the humans also struggle from the landfills, is there some way to make it so that the landfills are a problem caused by them

There is no equivalent to some of the tiles between human and animal

Maybe you should think about using more distinct scenarios

Should there be more 3D objects in it? (this was me)

SO BASICALLY back to the drawing board. Overall, they really liked my game, saying that trying to get such a huge concept into a game is very hard. I really need to study more game mechanics. Therefore, my goal for this week is to produce a second test game. This one taking into account all the things stated above. I'm getting a little worried because I feel as though my project won't look as impressive as everyone else's. Yes, I know it's about what you want to do. But, I have never really been in a gallery show, and it's making me nervous that mine isn't going to stand out as much as everyone else's. I've got to find a way to really connect with the audience at the gallery, because it's not the typical place for my project. It reminds me of the chess exhibit that the DIA had a couple of years ago. Looking at the old chess pieces was exciting, but the really fun part was playing the test games with my dad for 2 hours. I really need to use my space to the fullest, and create somewhere where people will come over and play my game.There is something special when you make something that people want to interact with. Especially in a space renown for it's no touching rules.

The Objective

To gain the most points through getting territory and resources, do this by flipping and collecting spaces until neither player can move. 

Starting the Game

Comes with...

One game board

36 tiles/resources

64 pieces/characters

Setup

Place the tiles randomly in a 6 x 6 pattern with the grass facing up, on top of the 8 x 8 board. Each player picks one character, the animals or the humans, to play with. Both start with 32 pieces and places one of their pieces across from the other, like the formation found below.

Rules

Basic

The game is split up into gaining territory and gaining resources. A  territory move is when you place one piece of yours on an empty space. A resource gain happens only if the space that you land on, during the territory move, has a tile.

Gaining Territory

Each piece has an “animal” side and a “human” side. 

On your turn, you will put the piece with your character face up on an empty space. 

To capture, the piece must be placed next to your opponent piece, or row of pieces.

You can capture the opponent vertically, horizontally, and diagonally by sandwiching their piece with yours. 

You are also allowed to capture more than one at a time. 

After capturing them, all of your opponent’s pieces are flipped to show your character.

Tiles/Resources

Pick up the tile and collect them on your side of the board. 

Beware of the resources, if the tile says you took too much, it counts for negative points.

If the tile you flipped over says landfill, the spot has been destroyed by waste, and the person that lands there must put their piece in the hole and wait. These tiles are dead spaces on the board, meaning that you cannot move them or jump the other player’s pieces through them.

If you want to fix the landfill, you must use one of the resources that you gained. Then both tiles are removed from play, and the space goes to whosever piece was stuck waiting in the hole. 

How to Win

Due Tomorrow: Stuff

Here's a copy of my proposal that I turned in on Wednesday

Proposal // molly lester

I am exploring how to promote thoughtful reflection of current global issues in children. I will do this by making an educational game that will pose conservationism in an accessible and tangible way.

It is difficult to get children to think about environmental problems on a large scope. This is simply because they are young to comprehend such issues. The solution is play. Play is an important part of learning, allowing children to take in information and relate it to themselves. Using the guise of a board game, I will place conservationism at a more manageable scale. The game expresses the struggle of keeping the world a viable place for both humans and animals. It will deal with the limitations of our environment both through land and resources. All the while, still touching on how waste has pushed the tensions even farther. This approach has sprouted from the ideas of Jared Diamond, Aldo Leopold, and Hayao Miyazaki. Their work expresses the use of environmental ethics, and how society must change to make a more sustainable world. 

This game is not only for the children, but for me. I am trying to address issues that I was improperly exposed to as a child. This is especially true in the case of conservationism and environmental awareness, a subject that was never brought up in our household. By the time that I did discover the issues involved, I was too old, and the ideas were roughly thrust upon me. It lead me to have a strong sense of apathy towards the environment. I’m hoping that by presenting it at a younger age, through game play, I will be able to start a connection for the child.  An early introduction will give them the ability to consider their role in conservation and the shared responsibility to keep nature thriving. While many other games have touched on this subject, 20th Century being one of the better examples, they have the tendency to move towards pushing ideals rather than letting the child explore through game play. This approach needs to be remedied because the child is more apt to refusing the information when it comes from an outside source.

My strengths lie in graphic design and 3D modeling, but less so fabrication. This project gives me the opportunity to explore the physical side of design, more than I have done in the past. The board game will include the designing of the pieces, the board, the box and a press kit to introduce it to potential manufacturers. I am also taking this an opportunity to delve back into child psychology. Part of my process has not only been gaining information on environmental issues, but on how to express them properly to children. I am currently enrolled in packaging design with Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo, where we are going over methods for product design. The other places that I will look to for resources/advice are: the 3D lab, TJ Moran in the Architecture School, Sara Alderstein-Gonzalez a teacher interested in environmental children's literature and ULitho. The funding for this project will begin with grant money, and after it’s depletion I will have to look into more grants and/or start paying out of pocket 

I plan to display this work at Slusser gallery, as it gives my project enough room to setup for people to play. I will also bring it into a classroom, and I am currently seeking children’s stores around the area where I can display it as well.  

References

Cherry, Lynne. The great kapok tree: a tale of the Amazon rain forest. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990. Print.

Diamond, Jared M.. Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Viking, 2005. Print.

Jackson, Tim. Prosperity without growth: economics for a finite planet. London: Earthscan, 2009. Print.

Leopold, Aldo, and Charles Walsh Schwartz. A Sand County almanac, and sketches here and there. New York: Oxford University Press, 19871949. Print.

McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press, 2002. Print.

  Piaget, Jean. Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton, 1962. Print.

Piaget, Jean. Science of education and the psychology of the child. New York: Orion Press, 1970. Print.

Princess Mononoke. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Perf. Billy Crudup, Claire Danes. Studio Ghibli, 2002. DVD.

Suchý, Vladimír. 20th Century 2010. BoardGameGeeks.

Kramer, Wolfgang. Wildlife 2002. BoardGameGeeks.

Hasbro. Don't Break The Ice 1965. BoardGameGeeks.

Timeline

Week of September 30th

Due // October 2 - Proposal Draft

Get in contact with teacher with plastic extruder; determine if it will work 

Draft a proposal

Get the skeleton of game mechanics out

Make basic set to play test

Week of October 7th

Due // October 10 - Final Draft

Play Test; rework; come up with more game mechanics, push to get a couple example games

Start ideas for aesthetics

Final Proposal

Week of October 14th

Study Break //

Playing around with the aesthetics

Go look at plastic methods/printing methods

Figure out how to go about creating it; materials, money, sketches, etc.

Make nicer test models

Week of October 21st

Work //

Still work on aesthetics - pieces, board, stickers?

Finish nicer test models

Have a definite idea of how going to produce it; calculate costs

Week of October 28th

Due // November 7 - IP Grants

Basic Modeling 

Draft of IP Grant

Aesthetics - pieces, board, stickers?

Week of November 4th

Due // November 7 - IP Grants

Modeling 

Final of IP Grant

Aesthetics - title, color scheme, etc.

Start printing smaller pieces

Week of November 11th

Work // 

Modeling 

Aesthetics - everything

Extra time in case cannot start printing week before

Week of November 18th

Work // 

Modeling 

Aesthetics - everything, start on basic packaging ideas

Extra time for printing

Week of November 25th

Due // December 3 - Materials for Consulting  

Modeling 

Aesthetics - everything, start on basic packaging ideas

Extra time for printing, molding if necessary

Week of December 2nd

Due // December 3 - Materials for Consulting 

Modeling 

Aesthetics - everything, start on basic packaging ideas and graphics

Extra time for printing, molding if necessary

Get everything ready for consulting

Week of December 9th

Classes End // December 12-15 - Consulting 

Finish Modeling 

Be ready for consulting

Aesthetics - everything, start on basic packaging ideas and graphics

Extra time for printing, molding if necessary

Week of December 16th

Classes End // Winter Break

Aesthetics - pieces?; packaging ideas and graphics; logo

Extra time for printing, molding if necessary; finish it

Research printing options for packaging/graphics

Draft idea of project space

Write thesis draft

Week of January 8th

Due // January 8 - Thesis Draft

Extra time in case not done with making of pieces/board/actual game

Packaging models; paper/cardboard

Begin sketching of logos, packaging graphics, branding images

Plan for what branding objects I am going to produce; portray company’s product

Week of January 13th

Due // January 21-25 - Postcard Image

Sketching logo; started with actual production of logo

Postcard Image

Packaging models; figure out materials and step by step creation

Week of January 20th

Due // January 21-25 - Postcard Image

Production of logo

Postcard Image

Start on creation of packaging

Sketching of the other parts of the branding

Week of January 27th

Work // 

Creation of packaging

Sketching of the other parts of the branding; begin layout

Extra time if by some case I am not done with pieces/board/actual game

Week of February 3rd

Due // Mid Feb - Second Draft of Thesis

Creation of packaging

Sketching of the other parts of the branding; begin layout

Extra time if by some case I am not done with pieces/board/actual game

Revise thesis draft

Week of February 10th

Due // Mid Feb - Second Draft of Thesis

Creation of packaging

Sketching of the other parts of the branding; begin layout

Extra time if by some case I am not done with pieces/board/actual game

Revise thesis draft

Week of February 17th

Due // Mid Feb - Second Draft of Thesis

Creation of packaging; almost finished

Start production of other parts of branding

Extra time if by some case I am not done with pieces/board/actual game

Revise thesis draft

Week of February 24th

Work // 

Creation of packaging; finish it

Production of other parts of branding; 1/3 done

Extra time if by some case I am not done with pieces/board/actual game

Week of March 3rd

Spring Break // 

Extra time if by some case I am not done with pieces/board/actual game

Extra time for packaging

Week of March 10th

Work // 

Production of other parts of branding; 2/3 done

Extra time for packaging and pieces/board/actual game if somehow not done

Week of March 17th

Work // 

Production of other parts of branding; done

Extra time for packaging and pieces/board/actual game if somehow not done

Week of March 24th

Due // April 7 - All Work For Galleries 

More time for branding just in case; printing starts

Find table for gallery space

Website work for project; extra branding that I need

Extra time for packaging and pieces/board/actual game if somehow not done

Week of March 31st

Due // April 7 - All Work For Galleries 

More time for branding just in case; printing done

Sketch out website for project

Extra time for packaging and pieces/board/actual game if somehow not done

Week of April 7th

Due // April 7 - All Work For Galleries 

Website work for project

Work on final thesis 

Week of April 14th

Due // April 23 - Final Thesis

Website work for project

Work on final thesis

Week of April 21st

Due // April 23 - Final Thesis

Website work for project

There is this thing at U of M called Study Break. Basically, it was created so students wouldn't go suicidal before Mid Terms. Well us art students use it to catch up on work. So this fall break, after a healthy amount of doing things for my 21st, I will be working my butt off. Especially since "stuff" is due on next Wednesday, like real "stuff", no Catan pieces. The rundown of what has happened since I last blogged: 

I got an email from Kenny (a former IP student that made toys)

I decided that I might need to make my game about a more specific example like the population game (link below). Why? I think that even though the game that I have set up, sets a pretty realistic example of the back and forth of humans and environment (animals). It doesn't get all the ideas that I want to get across properly. The problem is, when you actually do it across right, it's very in favor of the humans to win. Which is a problem. I have been looking at games like Triple Town (app link below), that although talks about taking animal territory, you don't think about the act of killing them until later in the game. I believe this to be a more subtle approach, and I am looking into doing more with this idea in mind. I was trying to figure out if it was a better option to then have it human vs human and the animals/environment be the obstacles to your progress. Therefore, I have decided to come up with a couple options for games. I really need to figure out which one puts my point across the best, and I don't think I can figure that out until I do it.

It was my birthday and I got a cat named Angus Lupin

I did the materials test on the PLA plastic. I got trained and printed a octopus cell phone holder. It took awhile, but it let me see the extent of details I could get, and how the material actually works. It is completely biodegradable  and I am good with that. The only problem is that it after long term exposure to wet, it begins to break down. We will see if that is actually a long-term problem.

I started a tumblr as well for this and I will link it on the main page of the blogspot

I also turned in my proposal and I will put that up in another post

LINKS

  Kenny, Independent Toy Maker

Predator-Prey Model