#final reflection

To the ready...

This is my last devlog and final reflection before Band Camp Boyfriend releases. We started working on the game in 2015. We released the demo on Itch.io in 2018. We got our Steam page up in 2022. Now here we are in 2023, almost eight years later. We’ve been working towards this moment for eight years.

To be honest, it’s a little bit scary. My anxiety can’t help but whisper, “What if they hate it?” but thankfully logic growls back, “They won’t.” The most important thing is…I love it. I love it and I’m proud of it, and I’m here to reflect on everything and thank everyone for their hard work. Band Camp Boyfriend was once an idea in an instrument truck and today it is a reality thanks to you.

I may use “I” and speak from my perspective here, but I am only one half of the soul of this game. My sister’s heart, creativity, memories, and talents also make up Band Camp Boyfriend. She is just the shyer of the two of us and not as present on social media. So while I speak from my heart, know that it also comes from Alex’s.

Alex and I came up with the characters and stories together. We bounced ideas on band fields, long walks, and over coffee. There are so many warm moments of us barely able to detail our scene ideas in between peals of laughter. Together, we crafted it into better versions, constantly improving on it. As we worked, we covered for each other’s flaws. Alex is the perfectionist between the two of us and she is the more knowledgeable one when it comes to music, as she majored in it. She also was able to do the math and figure out the tough programming. Then she taught me—I am not the perfectionist, but I am the workhorse, the motivator. I am obsessed with checking things off my list and constantly working to whittle it down. And while her writing style is to carefully hone each paragraph, mine is to just devour. I sit down and I just write—though I like to say the characters write themselves. I’m just an invisible presence within the story, writing the scene as it plays out. If you know the characters deeply enough, you always know what they’re going to say next and your fingers fly across the keyboard just to keep up. But enough about me.

Band Camp Boyfriend is the kind of game that absolutely needs an original soundtrack and by God did Alex create an incredible one. The themes, the motifs, the fine details. She has put so much thought and hard work into the music of this game. I have no idea how she does it. It’s magical to me. It adds so much to the game and heightens the emotion by tenfold, and I can’t wait for you to hear each song—from “Let It Slide” to “Swan Song” to the full band performance of the alma mater and that final song in the credits. Every single song brims with Alex’s talent, passion, and hard work.

And honestly, I am blessed to have her as my sister and my best friend. Thank you, Alex, for sharing this journey with me.

One talent my sister and I do not share between us is digital art. We write, we program, she composes…but sprites, CGs, backgrounds, GUI? That’s not something we can do. So we commissioned artists we found on Lemmasoft Forum and I’m so grateful to have found them when we did.

Bunny, our background artist, created the entire world of Band Camp Boyfriend! She worked with us closely to make sure the details were right and was so sweet. It was so cool to be able to move around the world she created and help capture the shots that we wanted. Potouto (now Khoaisama) was also wonderful to work with. She is so full of talent and creates amazing, unique GUI for many different visual novels! Also, I love her enthusiasm. And our chibi artist, Mayunnaise, has created some of the most adorable chibis I’ve ever seen! Thank you all!

I want to say a special thanks to Flora, our sprite/CG artist who was so incredible to work with. She was patient, devoted, talented, and granted us art even better than we imagined…seriously, I would lose my mind over everything she sent us…but one of the best things we attained on this journey was certainly her friendship. Flora, you are a fantastic human being with a wonderful sense of humor! I’m glad you will finally, finally get to see your stunning art in action. Thank you for sticking with us as we kept spinning in circles. “Okay last round of CGs…actually, can you do one more round? Actually, just one more CG. I swear this time it’s the last one, I swear!” She also needs to be commended for her dedication to nailing all the detail on the instruments. That’s not easy to do. Flora, you rock. I hope you love the game.

Next, our stunning voice cast. They brought these characters to life in a way no one else could, better than we ever could have envisioned. Seriously. Their talent made me love these characters even more, which I didn’t realize was possible. I’m sorry for making you all wait for the game so long and I’m thankful you continued to reprise your roles throughout the years when we asked for more lines. Joe, Jonathan, Wish, Jared, Richard, Joseph, Mark, Emily, Melody, Daisy, Daniel, Lasli, Angelo, Riley, Sara, and Steve…thank you from the bottom of my heart for lending us your incredible talents. You are all spectacular voice actors and lovely people.

And I could never forget my fantastic friends who helped beta test the game! Becca, Karen, Kristin, Ross, Chris! Thank you all for lending your time and for being my friends through thick and thin. You each brought your own talents to testing and really helped me to clean up the game. Ross the genius also helped with programming and I am extremely grateful to him and his brilliant mind! Programming the Extras menu was no small feat and I don’t think we could have done it on our own and still met our deadline. Thank you so much for offering your time and working so hard.

We are sorry to cast, crew, and fans that creating the game took so long. This is a hobby and a passion rather than our full-time jobs, and you only have so much time for hobbies as an adult. Life can easily get in the way and we certainly faced our fair share of life changes and hurdles these past 8 years. We often beat ourselves up for not finishing the game in 2020 as we had initially hoped, but I believe this is what was meant to be. The game only got better. Some of the early story decisions make me cringe. Some of the writing I revisited was written by someone with less life experience and a bit tone-deaf on real issues so I was able to fix it. Most importantly, a final route (which was previously going to be DLC for later on) was added and wraps up the game wonderfully. Band Camp Boyfriend was meant to be released in 2023.

I want to thank both of my parents for their unending support through it all. Our dad helped us with the business side of things, getting the game copyrighted, and the joy of taxes. He wholeheartedly supports us in whatever we do, though he is a tad skeptical that a game called Band Camp Boyfriend will sell many copies…so we’re gonna surprise him, right guys? :)

As for my mom…I owe the fact that the game is finally on the cusp of being released to her. She has been our biggest supporter and fan. She has spent hours helping us program and running tests on the game. Until the very last minute, she scraped through the game to make sure there was no crashing. Before that, around two years ago, she sat me down and asked what she could do to help see this special game finally become a reality. It was a major turning point and we owe her so much. Her love of the game kept us going.

Love you both more than words can say. <3

Finally, I want to thank all of the people who have contributed to the wonderful memories and hilarious quotes that have found their way into Band Camp Boyfriend. The three different marching bands I was lucky to be apart of. And to my favorite, hilarious band director and my wise, gentle French horn teacher, who are no longer of this world…thank you for fostering in me a strong love for music, for seeing a talent in me that I couldn’t always see, and for building me into a stronger person. You both left this life too soon, but your impact in so many lives remains. I wish I could show you the game Alex and I created, the game that you helped inspire, and make you smile one more time.

I know some people will look at the hokey title and think it’s just another dating sim, just another gimmicky game, but to some of you, I hope it will be much more than that. As it is to me. It brims with a life of experiences. But not just mine—I’m sure so many of us who have worn a marching band uniform have had the same experiences. And through these experiences, we are connected.

I’ll say it once again, even though it won’t be the last time you hear this: Thank you for playing Band Camp Boyfriend. I dearly, truly hope you love it. I hope the game makes you smile, makes you laugh, makes you cry, and I hope you carry the characters, their lessons, and their story in your heart long after you get that final CG. I’ve carried Band Camp Boyfriend with me for almost eight years; I am so ready to share it with you.

See you at band camp.

One of the most challenging aspects of adulthood is navigating the unknown. Throughout life, one will construct meaning to their life through lived and experiences. As life progresses, novel happens can become routine events that can be navigated based on prior experiences. As drivers gain greater confidence behind the wheel with more experience on the road, repeating life events can provide some level of certainty or ease of access with time. However – like driving – prior experiences may not equip one with the skills or knowledge to navigate a novel event.

This semester brought many unexpected happenings that derailed what was intended to be a spring semester for making significant headway in moving the dissertation work forward. Personal and familiar events can quickly reshape all of the planning to engage in deep academic pursuits. Doctoral programs can have safeguards in place to ensure that students are continuously moving along in their academic journey with mentors, a major professor, and caring faculty who are committed to student success. However, even ambitious students can quickly become overwhelmed my unplanned events in and out of the academic setting. Students can also sideline their own success through a lack of communication with their mentors and professors when navigating such events. Anecdotally, doctoral students must have the commitment and drive to complete their academic pursuits until their dissertation is approved. Students with discipline to complete their program will return to their course of study and make meaning of prior novel events to plan and prepare preventative measures for navigating future novel events, and employ strategies when facing future obstacles.

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Students who intend to employ qualitative approaches in their research have an exhaustive list of considerations for the design, implementation, and analysis of qualitative research methods. When designing a research plan, researchers that have spent time becoming familiar with the area of interest (e.g., founding papers and theories, major contributions, current trends, etc.) can consider prior researcher and their potential contributions when considering a research method that will best support their area of investigation. A researcher seeking to gain insight on the attitudes and perceptions of technology users for a given domain with limited prior research may benefit from initially performing a quantitative study that can be replicated to expand the area of knowledge on the topic. On the contrary, a researcher seeking to explore how a generation or culture defines a social phenomenon as ‘culture moment’ or ‘icon’ (e.g., a major social event or influential individual) may develop credibility through in-depth interviews and follow-up interview with research participants. In both scenarios, the researcher must assess the state of their area of interest and their desired contributions to the area when considering a methodology. Additionally, other factors like make up of the research team and theoretical framework are also things a researcher must consider when developing their research action plan.

When implementing a methodology with qualitative elements, researchers must carefully design a methodology that is appropriate to the context of their study and provides an avenue where the research participants are comfortable and uninfluenced to provide meaningful responses for the researcher to building qualitative findings. Researchers have factors like the modality (e.g., virtual, in-person, phone, on-/off-site, etc.), setting (e.g., one-on-one interviews, focus groups, etc.), and recording (e.g., pen and paper, voice recorder, digital notes, etc.) are all items that can shape the outcome and reach of a study. When selecting any of the factors, researchers should consider the how any of the aforementioned can restrict or expand the responses of participants (e.g., generational differences, location demographics, time of day for participants to engage in the research activity, etc.). Additionally, researchers should prepare for qualitative activities by diligently working with the research team and other researchers who can provide alternative perspectives, highlight potential pitfalls, and provide other items to consider prior to interacting with research participants. Each research activity, including replication studies, must be thoughtfully planned and executed align with the research objective and also having the best interests of the research participants in mind.

What were your thoughts about your research topic going into the first week of the semester?

I expected to follow the plan set during pre-capstone: make a music video.

What are your thoughts now about your research topic and your project/practicum?

It feels full circle to me because I had thought about doing a website before deciding on a music video. It's also SO COOL because I've never made a website before and now I've not only made one but actually published it. I'm really glad I was able to gain experience making a website--had fun with the graphs--and incorporate the branding made and survey data collected prior.

What did you learn about yourself as a creative through this journey?

Gained more experience with project management and adapting to media change.

What did you learn about the creative and production process?

Mock-ups are essential to production. Take the time to agonize over them during pre-production and then start creating. Once you inevitability hit a roadblock, you'll see just how useful they are.

What advice would you give new senior capstone students?

Have a plan, but be open to change and be able to adapt to it. Trust yourself and the process. The most essential part of capstone is to just keep moving and making progress, bit by bit.

Where to now?

Literature, politics, and activism are three forms of creating change that all work together in harmony. For so long I thought about these three forms as all individuals from one another, however throughout this semester I have quickly learned that they are in fact intertwined. These three forms come together to provide new light upon our daily lives, they work together to retrieve information and push us to move forward as a society. Literature is used with power through poetry and grand speeches, politics in the day to day runs our lives and how we work together as a society, and activism is how we combine everything and make change ourselves. With the three working in harmony we can see just how powerful people can become. 

Literature gives society the basis of our lives and how we are to build them. Literature can spark change, an idea and even a movement to form and it is with literature that we can idealize a new future. Within literature we can find famous works of art forever to be remembered or a new reality we desire to reside in, we can also see behind the walls of color and read poetry that is the purest form of who people are. The emotions we learn through literature are valuable in how we look at life and the tough situations we are sure to come upon. The ability to get strength, bravery, and the courage to stand up for oneself is powerful. People are able to learn from the words they read how to be a better person and how we would like our governments to treat us. In literature we can gain the strength to protest for our human rights, we are able to learn that as a society we must not be taken advantage of by our government. Herrera shows just how we can use literature to change our lives. For many hispanic americans literature is how they learn to speak and write in english. For my father it was how he learned to write in english, and is how he was able to overcome adversities in life, for my grandmother it was how she would bond with us, she chose to read to us in Spanish so we would learn. Literature is their power to overcome adversities, it is the power to find others like us. 

Politics is the form in which we function as a society. Everything is give and trade, elected for the people by the people. This is what is supposed to be our structure, our guidance. However as seen for as long as our government has been founded, politics come with a level of discretion. The ability to change our government is one that was given to us as a right from birth. We have the ability to make our society one that we see fit and it is through literature that we learn that the people will always win. We are shown and transcended into a different universe of thought when we see how the people win in literature. In every story the people win, they are able to fight for their government to win their battles. Through the power of our society, politics is how we make change. Wicker shows us how politics run things depending on race. We see how the killing of innocent black people is broadcasted over the television for everyone to see. Murders are becoming political and Wicker points this our by showing just how numb we are to it all. It is the ability to change our government for the better that gives us power. 

Activism is the core of our person. For decades we have been fighting for what is rightfully deserved. In today's climate where women are being attacked over our reproductive rights, our right to protest is stronger than ever. Activism ignates people to stand up for what we believe in, to rise against our government. Activism gives us our voice, it allows us to stand up for what is right, to demand change. We use activism to solve problems and overcome anything that may stand in our way. Vang shows the hurt her people have been through and calls for justice. Through her poems the detailing of her struggles every day are what lead activists to rise. We are shown the damage done that we are never taught of. 

I’m really happy with how my type specimen turned out. I admit that at first, I found it difficult - I had no clue where to start. This lead to me being too afraid to touch the assignment (the tyranny of the blank page, as Paul would call it). However, I found that it really helped to conduct in-depth research into the typeface: nothing is ever done without reason, and Roboto Slab is no exception. Once I stopped looking at it as just a system of letters and more as an intention-- a font meant to be widely used across different mediums and therefore seen at different sizes/angles, and must therefore be accessible; and in different countries, by lots of different people, therefore friendly - I feel like I really began to understand Roboto Slab and the hard work put into constructing it. Only then could I, with confidence, produce a specimen that I felt reflected and heroed Roboto Slab. 

I was worried that it was too ‘plain’ a specimen, and that there could be more elements of interest or design. However, after some reflection, I realised that Roboto Slab is not a glamorous typeface. As in the article I researched, Roboto Slab is a ‘workhorse’ not a ‘show horse’ - it’s designed to be practical, grounded, and distraction free; if I had let my worries get the best of me, I feel like I would have ended up with a ‘prettier’, but overall, more hollow specimen that didn’t really understand the font it was trying to showcase. 

Moreover, I believe that my CAS experience could be defined by the word “exploration”. I truly explored and tried so many new things! After the ending of my CAS project, I started looking for different activities to try and I loved so many of them – I started regularly participating in Zumba classes and pursued an interest in voguing, having the incredible chance to walk my first ball and participate in several workshops with people famous in the European ballroom scene. I became consistent with my creative work and opened to new art styles and techniques. I also participated in plenty of different services, having the opportunity to become a language tutor, support several foundations and connect doing good with my love for animals through activities such as hippotherapy or animal rights faculty. Something I definitely have grown to value in a CAS experience was the reflection part. Naturally, participating in all of these interesting activities was the core of the entire experience, however, each time I took the time to sit down and reflect upon the things that I have done, it made me realize how much I overcame and how valuable all of these small accomplishments were. It helped me understand the importance of team-work, self-discipline and planning – when I look back at my CAS journeys, I start to realize how much I learned through all of these experiences.