Our game was about evading the OUPD coming home from Fests; basically the ultimate OU-encompassing concept we could come up with. One thing that didn't really come across during our presentation was that each level would be its own Fest. I think it sort of sounded like you were just running from the police, when really each level will begin at a different and distinctive Fest, and then you must get back to your dorm safely and without being arrested. This will add difficulty to the game because you can't just memorize easy routes -- each Fest takes place at a different location, so therefore you must really strategize while getting home.
Our game was not super complicated, so other than that I really felt that we got across what we were hoping to. One particularly strong point of our presentation was explaining the rules and objectives. We worked really hard to make these very clear and I thought we did a good job of explaining them to our classmates. The rules were simple: navigate your way back from the Fest, get a drunken-muchies snack, and get your friend home before returning to your own dorm. Since this is basically how real-life is for many college students in Athens, our audience was able to understand these rules very easily. Basically, the main rule was don't get caught. This is not a difficult concept to understand, so we were very successful in getting everyone to understand this.
The hardest thing to discuss and explain were the mechanics of the game. When we were designing the game, we had to pull a lot of references from pre-existing games before we could all decide on how the game was going to function and the characters move around the screen. There are so many options to choose from in designing a game, you have to be really specific about what it's going to look like and how it's going to run or people can mix it up. And since there are all these options, people get an immediate image in their head when you mention something, and if that's not what you want it can be very difficult to change that image in their mind.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Super Hero Powers!
The "First Act" of This American Life about superpowers: click me!
A cool superhero in my opinion:Wind Dancer.
-Ability to control the movement of air
--generate wind
--lift and carry objects with wind
--fly
--amplify small vibrations in the air to hear faraway conversations
--disrupt the equilibrium of the inner ear, cause unbalance
For some reason the audio got a little funky at the end when I recorded it, but here it is anyway:
-Ability to control the movement of air
--generate wind
--lift and carry objects with wind
--fly
--amplify small vibrations in the air to hear faraway conversations
--disrupt the equilibrium of the inner ear, cause unbalance
For some reason the audio got a little funky at the end when I recorded it, but here it is anyway:
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Hero/Villain: Aqua Woman versus Evaporation Girl
Our hero, Aqua Woman:
Her nemesis, Evaporation Girl:
My critiques of other heroes/villains:
Brendan Trepal's hero/villain project:
Brendan does not list his hero's name on his blog, but he is dressed in colours of shiny gray and black, with a helmet. There are gold accents to his outfit, which appear even brighter against the black and gray. This contrast of brightness creates visual interest to the character's costume, and also distinguishes him as a hero. Villains do not wear striking colours that pop out at us like that, so we know he is a good guy.
The lighting on his costume is that of stark contrast and shadows. Although it is mostly gray and black, it is made of metal and therefore very shiny and bright. The shadows help the highlights stand out. The mood of this character is that of confidence and power. In the animation, he is surrounded by fog but then the hero comes in and forces it all away. He is like a light in the middle of all this fog, and that helps to show how he is a hero.
For movement, this hero is able to teleport. He crouches down and the poof! disappears in a cloud to the next location. There is not a lot of weight in his movement, although when we walks he moves slowly and deliberately, which might attest to the weight of his armor. The character also moves with linear motion, opposed to overlapping, since only his legs move when he walks.
---
Maddie Schneider's hero/villain project:
Maddie's hero is named Sonica, and her villain is Psycho. Sonica is dressed in yellow, which is very bright and makes her look like the sun. This use of colour makes us realize immediately that she is the hero. The saturation is very intense, and it contrasts Psycho, who is wearing black and a deep purple. Sonica is dressed in warm colours, whereas Psycho is in cool colours. Just this difference sets them apart significantly.
The lighting is very clear between the two characters. Sonica has almost no shadows to her costume, whereas Psycho is nearly all shadows. Even his power involves purple "shadows" that spread out at Sonica. This symbolizes his evil-ness, and how he is a "dark" individual. Sonica evokes a mood of goodwill and triumph, of good over evil. On the other hand, Psycho evokes a mood of darkness, deceit, and trickery. All this is done through the lighting of the two characters.
Weight is used very well in this animation. When Psycho stands up, he does so slowly, like a real person would. He also uses a cane, which shows his weight being lifted. Sonica floats in the air, and they actually show her hair rippling in the wind, which adds to the realism of the piece. When Sonica hits Psycho with her power, he is sent backwards, back first and then his arms and legs fly outwards. This shows overlapping movement, and makes it more believable. It was really difficult to show weight in Pencil, and I think they did a really good job of showing it here.
Her nemesis, Evaporation Girl:
Our video:
My critiques of other heroes/villains:
Brendan Trepal's hero/villain project:
Brendan does not list his hero's name on his blog, but he is dressed in colours of shiny gray and black, with a helmet. There are gold accents to his outfit, which appear even brighter against the black and gray. This contrast of brightness creates visual interest to the character's costume, and also distinguishes him as a hero. Villains do not wear striking colours that pop out at us like that, so we know he is a good guy.
The lighting on his costume is that of stark contrast and shadows. Although it is mostly gray and black, it is made of metal and therefore very shiny and bright. The shadows help the highlights stand out. The mood of this character is that of confidence and power. In the animation, he is surrounded by fog but then the hero comes in and forces it all away. He is like a light in the middle of all this fog, and that helps to show how he is a hero.
For movement, this hero is able to teleport. He crouches down and the poof! disappears in a cloud to the next location. There is not a lot of weight in his movement, although when we walks he moves slowly and deliberately, which might attest to the weight of his armor. The character also moves with linear motion, opposed to overlapping, since only his legs move when he walks.
---
Maddie Schneider's hero/villain project:
Maddie's hero is named Sonica, and her villain is Psycho. Sonica is dressed in yellow, which is very bright and makes her look like the sun. This use of colour makes us realize immediately that she is the hero. The saturation is very intense, and it contrasts Psycho, who is wearing black and a deep purple. Sonica is dressed in warm colours, whereas Psycho is in cool colours. Just this difference sets them apart significantly.
The lighting is very clear between the two characters. Sonica has almost no shadows to her costume, whereas Psycho is nearly all shadows. Even his power involves purple "shadows" that spread out at Sonica. This symbolizes his evil-ness, and how he is a "dark" individual. Sonica evokes a mood of goodwill and triumph, of good over evil. On the other hand, Psycho evokes a mood of darkness, deceit, and trickery. All this is done through the lighting of the two characters.
Weight is used very well in this animation. When Psycho stands up, he does so slowly, like a real person would. He also uses a cane, which shows his weight being lifted. Sonica floats in the air, and they actually show her hair rippling in the wind, which adds to the realism of the piece. When Sonica hits Psycho with her power, he is sent backwards, back first and then his arms and legs fly outwards. This shows overlapping movement, and makes it more believable. It was really difficult to show weight in Pencil, and I think they did a really good job of showing it here.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Joke Video Reflections
Joke One:
Joke Two:
In our second video, we focused more on line and shape than we did in the first one. We had the actors sitting against a cinder-block wall, where the lines of the blocks directed the viewer's eye to the action. When the shot changed to a tighter frame of the actors, the lines even worked to create an actual connection between them. At one point they stop talking and glare at each other, and the virtual line of their gaze is accentuated by the literal line of the blocks at their eye level. Since the punchline of our joke landed one character in considerable trouble, the lines even created a sense of being imprisoned. We also used movement in this one, with the bike wheel spinning at the beginning and end of the film as a reminder of their crash. This also helped set up the space they were in, giving a sense of depth.
The first video took place out on a road, and the line of the road and sidewalk was what connected the two actors there. However the background did not offer the virtual lines that the cinder-blocks offered, so it was less emphasized. Both films used minimal movement in the sense that the actors remained sitting throughout the majority of the films. When they did move, it was to exit the scene and in both cases, to leave one character in a state of panic. In the second film, the space was deeper as there was not a wall marking the end of the space. Instead, we could see the background going on and on to the horizon.
Text and subtext were used in our films. In the first video, they were literally drinking liquor and had literally gotten in a car crash. In the second film, they had gotten in a bike crash and were drinking cool-aide, but the subtext was that they had gotten in a serious crash and drinking something illegal. At the end, Gretchen's character giggles, "I'm going to tell your mom you were DRINKING AND DRIVING!" While they were drinking Kool-Aide, the subtext is that they were drinking alcohol.
The only affinity in our films is the idea that the two characters crashed and are dealing with the aftermath. They also both used dubbing for the text, instead of using subtitles like an old silent film would. The time periods were also similar, both being in the present-day. However, the contrast between our films is really much greater, and provides more to comment on. Instead of both casting adults, the second casts "kids." Instead of drinking alcohol, they are drinking Kool-Aide. Instead of driving cars, they are "driving" bikes. Instead of calling the police, they are calling a teacher. We really liked the differences between these two scripts, and how it had been adapted to fit for children, which is why we chose to film these two. We felt it really helped explore the joke in different ways.
Joke Two:
In our second video, we focused more on line and shape than we did in the first one. We had the actors sitting against a cinder-block wall, where the lines of the blocks directed the viewer's eye to the action. When the shot changed to a tighter frame of the actors, the lines even worked to create an actual connection between them. At one point they stop talking and glare at each other, and the virtual line of their gaze is accentuated by the literal line of the blocks at their eye level. Since the punchline of our joke landed one character in considerable trouble, the lines even created a sense of being imprisoned. We also used movement in this one, with the bike wheel spinning at the beginning and end of the film as a reminder of their crash. This also helped set up the space they were in, giving a sense of depth.
The first video took place out on a road, and the line of the road and sidewalk was what connected the two actors there. However the background did not offer the virtual lines that the cinder-blocks offered, so it was less emphasized. Both films used minimal movement in the sense that the actors remained sitting throughout the majority of the films. When they did move, it was to exit the scene and in both cases, to leave one character in a state of panic. In the second film, the space was deeper as there was not a wall marking the end of the space. Instead, we could see the background going on and on to the horizon.
Text and subtext were used in our films. In the first video, they were literally drinking liquor and had literally gotten in a car crash. In the second film, they had gotten in a bike crash and were drinking cool-aide, but the subtext was that they had gotten in a serious crash and drinking something illegal. At the end, Gretchen's character giggles, "I'm going to tell your mom you were DRINKING AND DRIVING!" While they were drinking Kool-Aide, the subtext is that they were drinking alcohol.
The only affinity in our films is the idea that the two characters crashed and are dealing with the aftermath. They also both used dubbing for the text, instead of using subtitles like an old silent film would. The time periods were also similar, both being in the present-day. However, the contrast between our films is really much greater, and provides more to comment on. Instead of both casting adults, the second casts "kids." Instead of drinking alcohol, they are drinking Kool-Aide. Instead of driving cars, they are "driving" bikes. Instead of calling the police, they are calling a teacher. We really liked the differences between these two scripts, and how it had been adapted to fit for children, which is why we chose to film these two. We felt it really helped explore the joke in different ways.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Extra Credit -- Fair
I went to the Research Fair and saw this booth, for ETB:
Their booth was all about recycling and reducing the amount of waste Americans produced. They talked about how 70% of the stuff in landfills can be recycled, which is an enormous number. Their goal is to raise awareness of recycling through "campus and community outreach." They had a video playing and a skit they'd written that you could read.
Their booth was all about recycling and reducing the amount of waste Americans produced. They talked about how 70% of the stuff in landfills can be recycled, which is an enormous number. Their goal is to raise awareness of recycling through "campus and community outreach." They had a video playing and a skit they'd written that you could read.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Audio Commentary on "WALL-E"
Here is my audio critique of the use of line, space, and movement in Pixar's film WALL-E.
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