#mi6021

A compact table of contents for the MI6021 Final Project blog.

Visual research content

01.Sri lanka Visual

02.Bus

04. Image editing & Colorpalate of the bus

05.Faxian's Story:

Character Desgin of Faxian's Story

Mood Borad of Faxian's Story in Afghanistan

Mood Borad of Faxian's story in Sri lanka

Mood borad of Faxian's story China

Other MoodBorad in Faxian‘s story

06.Audience Research

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Devlopments:

Testting in maya

Shot Analysis of faxian's story

Faxian's story drawing

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Progress explanation

01.Regarding pre-production

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Specialized Research:

AI Sound clone

ARCANE Style

Analyzing Akira Kurosawa's Film Style

Reverse-Engineering Story Structure from the Climax ⭐

Historical research

Chinese Buddhism

Library Tour

Water, Buddhism, and Kingship: Rethinking Political Power in Ancient Sri Lanka

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Five final narratives :

(the result was that BUS won).

EXECUTION

Reflecting ancient Sri Lanka

Records of the Buddhist Kingdoms

The subject I studied the longest, and the one with the deepest philosophical core.

The Water Gate

An exceptionally beautiful, high-density narrative, complex characters, and a narrative style heavily influenced by Akira Kurosawa.

The Bus

A masterpiece, exquisite and beautiful. The only thing it lacked was a powerful visual impact. But in the end, I still chose him.

Faxian, Rain, and Abhayagiri

Art Film Thoughts Inspired by a Visit to Anuradhapura

Friends

The most ordinary, the most common, yet the most well-structured and complete story.

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Fast Reading Route

01. Project frame: AOD Graduation Project - Pre-Production Statement 02. Concept pivot: From Faxian To The Sri Lankan Bus 03. Dissertation 01 - Research Question + Apparatus Theory 04. Dissertation 28 - Independent Animation + Process Evidence 05. Dissertation 31 - Audience, Sri Lankan Context + Closing Statement

Dissertation Posts

01. Dissertation 01 - Research Question + Apparatus Theory 02. Dissertation 02 - Narrative Agency + Spectatorship 03. Dissertation 03 - Ideology, Methodology + Hollywood Case 04. Dissertation 04 - Spectacle, Captain America + Chinese Mainstream Cinema 05. Dissertation 05 - The Wandering Earth 06. Dissertation 06 - Dying To Survive 07. Dissertation 07 - India Case + Article 15 08. Dissertation 08 - Bandit Queen 09. Dissertation 09 - Comparative Triangle 10. Dissertation 10 - Ordinary Subjects + Political Imagination 11. Dissertation 11 - Conclusion 12. Dissertation 12 - Future Research + Baudry Reference 13. Dissertation 13 - Bordwell, Thompson + Mulvey References 14. Dissertation 14 - Kellner + Giroux References 15. Dissertation 15 - Su Reference 16. Dissertation 16 - Arya Reference 17. Dissertation 17 - Chakravarty + Spivak References 18. Dissertation 18 - Reference List + Research Trace 19. Dissertation 19 - Thesis Rule + Fuel Gauge 20. Dissertation 20 - Spectatorship To Camera 21. Dissertation 21 - Hollywood To Anti-Heroism 22. Dissertation 22 - Chinese Cinema To Failed Collectivity 23. Dissertation 23 - Indian Cinema To Status 24. Dissertation 24 - Ordinary People + The Mother 25. Dissertation 25 - Driver + Conductor As Power Functions 26. Dissertation 26 - Student + Worker As Ordinary Agency 27. Dissertation 27 - Ending Without Salvation 28. Dissertation 28 - Independent Animation + Process Evidence 29. Dissertation 29 - Character Sheet + Shot Design 30. Dissertation 30 - Sound + Editing 31. Dissertation 31 - Audience, Sri Lankan Context + Closing Statement

Final Script And Essay Posts

01. Script for final video

02. Dissertation Essay

03. Project document

04.Animatic & PV

This directory organizes the MI6021 blog as a research-to-production journey. It keeps the original posts visible, while giving readers a clear route through the final desktop pet project.

Fast reading route: begin with Project Frame, Discarded Direction, Desktop Pet Research, Depression Research, Concept Pivot, Technical Test, Final Design Rationale, and then this directory.

Original research archive: module guide, early inspiration, sci-fi references, redesigned ideas, challenges, feedback posts, H. P. Lovecraft, Monster Care Squad, Wanderhome-style cozy references, Desk Paws, pet-raising simulation, Dogz and Catz, first pet sketch, and Game concept: Desktop pet.

Development evidence: MI6021 Stage 01, feedback after Stage 01, desktop sandbox idea, project progress posts, improved test version, Phase 3, transparent windows, desktop pet artistic style, core audience and psychological needs, character logic, sound effects, storyboard, animatic, style frames, and project document.

Curated research-to-production sequence: posts 01-23 explain how the project moved from broad game R&D into Flower Pet, a desktop companion for emotional support.

This direction fits MI6021 because it combines research, design thinking, technical testing, and personal reflection into one practical outcome.

The project began with broad exploration, but the final choice is focused. A therapeutic desktop pet allows me to show game design, character design, interface thinking, emotional research, and production testing within a realistic scope.

The psychological references helped turn the project from a cute pet idea into a designed support system. Beck shaped the avoidance of negative self-language. Seligman shaped the importance of small visible agency. Deci and Ryan shaped autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Winnicott and Bowlby shaped the idea of companion presence. Bandura shaped small self-efficacy. Csikszentmihalyi shaped calm attention.

Compressed GDD: Flower Pet is a desktop pet simulation and emotional-support companion. The pet lives on the user?s desktop through a transparent window. The user can check on it, feed it, observe its mood, and slowly help it grow. The main pillars are gentle presence, small daily ritual, emotional readability, forgiving return, and soft feedback.

The testing process taught me that the project's strength is not complexity. Its strength is clarity.

At first, I thought a strong project might need a large world, a dramatic story, or many mechanics. But the tests showed that a smaller interaction can be more meaningful if it is placed in the right context. The desktop pet works because it is close to the user's everyday space.

I also learned that emotional-support design needs restraint. Too many messages, alerts, or dramatic mood changes could make the pet feel like pressure. The design should support the user quietly.

The technical tests, visual tests, character studies, sound planning, and storyboard work all pointed to the same conclusion: the pet should be simple, present, and emotionally readable.

Game production research helped me understand what this project should borrow and what it should avoid. Cozy games, pet simulations, and desktop companions all offer useful references, but none of them should be copied directly.

From cozy games, I took pacing and softness. From pet-raising games, I took care and attachment. From desktop pets, I took presence and short interaction. From emotional-support research, I took the need for ethical restraint and non-clinical language.

The constraints were just as important as the references. A small FMP cannot build every feature. The design needs to choose the few mechanics that matter most: presence, care, response, growth, and mood.

This research helped the project become more focused. Instead of adding many systems, I could ask which system best supports the emotional goal.

Style frames are important because they make the emotional promise of the project visible. They show what kind of world the pet belongs to, even if that world is mostly the user's own desktop.

For this project, the mood should be gentle, soft, and hopeful, but not empty. A desktop pet for emotional support needs warmth, but it also needs a sense of fragility. If the style is too bright, it may feel shallow. If it is too dark, it may return to the early horror direction.

The style frames helped me find this balance. They show how color, shape, expression, and atmosphere can support the idea of care. They also help connect the pet's visual growth to the user's emotional reading of the project.

This is why visual design is not separate from research. Every choice should answer the same question: does this make the pet feel like a companion that can support gentle daily return?

The storyboard and animatic work helped me explain the project as a sequence of feeling. A desktop pet does not have a traditional story like a film, but it still has a user journey.

The user notices the pet, interacts with it, receives a response, returns later, and slowly sees change. This is a quiet narrative. It is not about dramatic events. It is about repeated contact.

The animatic helped me show how the experience begins and how the pet's presence might feel over time. It also helped communicate the project to others, because a desktop pet can be difficult to understand from a written description alone.

This stage connected production and explanation. I needed to show not only what the pet looks like, but how the user meets it. The storyboard became a bridge between concept, interface, and emotional rhythm.