Category: Project Development Drawings

FINAL PROJECT PLAY TEST

April 22, 2019 / / 0 Comments

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT & PLAY TEST

A group project by Jessie and I

During the body storming session, we managed to get quite a bit of feedback that were relatively helpful. In summary, we gathered that we lacked relatability in our object for it to be impactful to users. In addition to that, we had several technical difficulties. With that, we made improvements in our play test.

Here’s what went on!

VIDEOS

Our set-up:

What we were trying to do:

  1. Having the tester approach the object and have the ultrasonic sensor to trigger the white lights to be switched on and ambience sound to be played.
  2. The range of the of proximity of the tester will trigger next sound
  3.  The servo motor was to topple the frame down
  4. Each time the frame topples down, the tester is expected to pick it up and see that the white light of each member will be turned off one by one as the steps go on.
  5. Repeat 2, 3 and 4 until the red LED is turned on at the same time,  glowing against all the faces of the family members who died in the accident, leaving grandpa’s LED to remain white.

However, as expected, during our playtest, we ran into a couple of problems in terms of technicality and relatability.

PROBLEMS:

Technical :

— RGB Light not being able to turn a true white

— Processing coding

— Servo coding

— Soldering

Comments:

— The narrative was relatively clear in which the depiction of the story interpreted by the testers were accurate

— The testers were unsure of what they were supposed to do.

— The mechanism of interaction isn’t clear in that it needs something to draw the testers to interact with the object

We tried to ask questions to the class to understand what type of commands and associations are needed to allow for a more seamless interaction.

Suggestions: 

— Need something to ask the user to come closer & interact with the frame

  • have audio calling out to user
  • start with the frame down first and the audio calls out to user to help to push user to pick up the frame
  • as this happens, users will see the lights go out

— Establish context

  • have a journal together with the interaction
  • death of date circled
  • have physical ambience (belongings associated to that of an old person such as walking stick and metal tin) ‘
  • have ambience sound play first
  • establish sound of grandpa so users can understand that they are the grandpa then followed by the “Happy Birthday” audio

— Immersive Experience

  • have headphones
  • establish ambient sound, as the user puts headphones on, the interaction starts
  • have a deeper narrative
  • make the experience longer as it seemed rushed

Videos to check out!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Hn3kYPXcbG0nlgf7zvKZ66lRV-HtnE4N

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZLxrvNiQUHb1vnh1ZAlbg2gEfDsymcw3

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wZiYl5-59Pk-DnoP8B45d_EKTh0ctfMF

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U4mIyoTNsV25uh4WCyIKAAimwzSVf2c0

Therefore, with the considerations of the comments made and the help our lecturer provided us during consultation, we attempted to move on to our final project.

Check it out!

 

 

 

Final Project Development Drawings

April 21, 2019 / / 0 Comments

DEVELOPMENTAL DRAWINGS

A group project by Jessie and I

Establishing context, Jessie and I chose Option B – Dark Object where we designed and built an object that communicated the emotions of loss, loneliness and self-pity, as mentioned in the brief.

We both came up with a few ideas and realised that we shared one idea in which it had a common denominator, in that they involved the loss of a family member.

Therefore, collectively, we decided to merge this idea and develop it:

BRAINSTORMING IDEAS :

A1: Leaving dirty dishes on the table after a meal that will result in replicating the nagging from mum that has passed on.

A2: Forgetting your towel in the shower and needing your dad to pass it to you. Presented through a disobedient object that'll move in the opposite direction to you as you reach for the towel hanged on it to simulate how dad used to tease you.

A3: Having the mat to trigger a prayer/chant before eating to simulate parents who are always reminding you to say your prayers/grace.

A4: Altar/prayer area activated as you walk pass to keep as a reminder and simulate the presence of a parent/elderly who used to frequent the altar.

A5: Door mat triggering the sound from a child that passed on when someone walks and steps on the doormat in the child's room.

A6: Having an object to simulate a parent waking up the child every morning where the alarm will trigger the motor to roll the blanket out of the bed.

 

A7: Reminder alarm is triggered once the laudnry basket is filled to recreate the nagging from mum when you don't empty the laundry baskets into the washer.

A7

A8: A snack cabinet that triggers the recreating of the nagging of a parent when you reach for a snack.

FINAL CHOSEN IDEA

A9: Family photo frame where when coupled with an associated audio, will trigger it to be knocked down each time a family member passes.

The feedback from this idea was the best from both our classmates and lecturer.

We felt that this idea had the most potential as well.  Jessie and I also felt that we could connect most with this idea.

The next step was to figure out how people would interact with our object and what elements and tools to consider.

Link to our body storming session:  Click here 

 

 

Bodystorming Set-up

Final Project Development Body Storming

March 31, 2019 / / 0 Comments

BODY STORMING SESSION

A group project by Jessie and I

Audio we played to simulate a narrative:

Feedback:

What did you learn from the process?

During the body storming session, we realised:

  1.  Timing and directions are of the essence when it comes to interaction. 

We realised that the interactive experience we need to provide the audience with has to be in correct timing proportions in relation to their reactions. This would provide a more immersive and extensive experience that would provide a better visual and audio association. Basically, it would make more sense if the audio ties in timely with their actions during the experience.

2. It’s all in the details! 

What we found was that the smallest details such as placement of lights that are introduced to our visuals and associative sounds that are universally recognised makes a huge difference in the user experience. It would allow the user to either connect or disconnect with the piece.

3. Connection with users

The user and an observer did mention that our piece did not make them feel things the way we intended to. There was barely any emotional impact. The reason being that they did not feel any emotional connection with the people in the photo since they do not know them.

Therefore, perhaps the suggestions that they introduced could help in improving this experience to allow for a better connection that would resonate with the mass audience.

  • Have the audio of kids playing and laughing in the background throughout as ambience sound
  • Add a visual effect of blood for everyone else but the grandfather (the last person standing)
  • Instead of the image of the grandfather, use a mirror to communicate that the if last person standing was you, how would you feel?
  • Establishing the context of the piece. [Is the participant the sole survivor or is the participant the people who passed on or are they just a third person?
  • Include the audio of the people who died to amplify the feeling of lost, capturing the essence of the person to create a narrative [eg. the recording of kids] –user will form a connection with the kid that would impact them more as they sympathise as they went along
  • Include recording of the grandfather (last man standing) of how he’s lost them or him crying.
  • Include the recording of the kids talking to the grandfather, having the user make the association that they are viewing it from the grandfather’s standpoint and that they’re not replying
  • Include recording of the kids talking to the grandfather but not have him reply [perhaps he doesn’t hear them?]
What surprised you while going through the process?
  • The fact that we did not consider the emotional connection the audience would not have since the photo was with people they were unfamiliar with
  • The unwillingness of some participants to repeat the steps to experience the piece
  • The critical importance of creating ambience to aid our user experience
  • The crucial importance on minute details
How can your apply what you have discovered to the designing of your installation?

We would definitely take into consideration all that we gathered through the following steps:

  • Be sure to add carefully curated ambience sound to allow users to connect with the piece and be emotionally invested
  • Be mindful of the narrative of the piece and consider the point of view of the participant
  • Creating an experience that involve the senses of a typical user that creates association and therefore allow for them to paint a visual in their head of our narrative or an interpretation of our narrative [eg. Have the kids call to the grandfather (user), add sense of smell through baby powder and axe oil]
  • Be critical in our decisions to create an immersive experience that would tug on heartstrings of our users. It has to be a somewhat universally accepted association that the user make to the piece to allow for an emotional connection to be established.