Week 7 Reflection

This week I spent most of my time working on our research project. I continued to advance through developing our text-based prototype, teaching myself different Twine-specific commands to make the narrative more engaging. I figured out how to implement images/gifs and create transitions to make the game more alive. I also worked hard in breaking down the text into dialogue so that it can be quickly digestible and interactive, similar to how other games present their stories through character interactions. Curtis managed to create a website that runs our prototype so that it can be easily accessible when test playing it at Storm Lake. Kris worked hard on building some scenes in Unity so that we could then grab screenshots for our prototype. My favorite part of the week was when we had the other interns test play our text-based game so far. Hearing their feedback was very insightful and has motivated me to look further into other Twine-specific commands and data structures that could help address some of their concerns. Because of that, I’ve been having a lot of fun going to VRAC over the weekend to continue working on it.

Considering our visit to Storm Lake is soon, we also worked on creating a post-game survey and focus group questions as a way to facilitate discussion and gather data. We also came up with ways to run a creative session to allow the students to act as co-designers as they brainstorm scenarios for other parts of the game. At one point, Eliot took us to the hub. I was happily drinking my mango smoothie as Eliot shared some of his stories and advice. We reflected on our time so far here at VRAC and talked about our plans after graduation. I’ve only really thought about finishing my undergraduate program, so I have no clue what I will actually do afterwards. Eliot made me realize that I really enjoy working directly with projects in a team environment, so I’ll keep that in mind. I find myself in the same position that I was in during high school. Everyone guided me towards college despite me not understanding the importance of going, so in the end, I went solely for them. It wasn’t until last semester that I realized I’m not just going to college for them but also for myself since I really do enjoy learning. Now, I’m being guided towards graduate school, except this time I actually have an idea of what graduate school may be like and the benefits of enrolling in one thanks to all the people I’ve met in this program. Sometimes I think I’m too naive and positive for this world (because I trust everyone and will do whatever they suggest I should do). Nonetheless, I’ll most likely go to graduate school, so I’ll make sure to follow Eliot’s words in not being afraid to reach out and build social connections and to apply for anything that I know I will enjoy.