Monthly Archives: November 2014

Week 13

Announcements

  • Please respond to Rachel Lichtenberg’s email request to notify her of your participation in next week’s Winter Show.

3rd Prototypes

Let’s go around the room and discuss your 3rd prototypes. What did you want to accomplish with your prototype? How did it go? What did you learn? Which elements of your three prototypes will you show at the Winter Show?

Winter Show Materials

Your Winter Show presentation materials must include:

A Single powerpoint slide promoting your Final Project

  • Include a descriptive title for your project with a one sentence “elevator pitch description”
  • Include a bullet pointed list of features that demonstrate the scope and uniqueness of your project
  • Include a graphical element that helps explain your project visually

A single board poster you can use to present your Final Project Concept to interested parties at the Winter Show

  • Include a project canvas you can use to present the context & concept of your project
  • Include artifacts from your three prototypes as proof-of-concept demonstrations of your project
  • Be prepared to speak about your project concept to Winter Show attendees, and listen to (and document) their feedback. Think of this as a focus group market research opportunity you can use to strengthen your project concept for next semester.

Project Canvas

Below is an example project canvas for a fictitious Appointment Reminder App.

canvas

Here’s an empty canvas you can print out and work with:

empty_canvas

Or, you can try creating a canvas online at LeanStack.

One-Time Assignments for 12/1

Winter Show Slide & Canvas 

Continue refining your Winter Show Slide and Project Canvas. Post these to the class Google Community under the “Winter Show” category. We’ll continue refining these next week, 12/1, and begin folding your prototypes and project canvases into your final written project proposal.

Week 12

Announcements

  • This week & next, Nov 24, we’ll work on our prototypes & materials for the Winter Show. For the Winter Show on Friday, Dec. 5th, everyone must prepare a single slide promoting your Final Project, along with a poster that includes appropriate visual aids from your prototypes

2nd Prototypes

Let’s go around the room and discuss your 2nd prototypes. What did you want to accomplish with your prototype? How did it go? What did you learn? What will you do for your 3rd and final prototype?

Winter Show Materials

Your Winter Show presentation materials must include:

A Single powerpoint slide promoting your Final Project

  • Include a descriptive title for your project with a one sentence “elevator pitch description”
  • Include a bullet pointed list of features that demonstrate the scope and uniqueness of your project
  • Include a graphical element that helps explain your project visually

A single board poster you can use to present your Final Project Concept to interested parties at the Winter Show

  • Include a project canvas you can use to present the context & concept of your project
  • Include artifacts from your three prototypes as proof-of-concept demonstrations of your project
  • Be prepared to speak about your project concept to Winter Show attendees, and listen to (and document) their feedback. Think of this as a focus group market research opportunity you can use to strengthen your project concept for next semester.

Project Canvas

Below is an example project canvas for a fictitious Appointment Reminder App. Let’s go through it and try to substitute data points relevant to your specific Final Project Proposal.

canvas

Here’s an empty canvas you can print out and work with:

empty_canvas

Or, you can try creating a canvas online at LeanStack.

One-Time Assignments for 11/24

3rd Project Prototypes 

Complete your 3rd project prototype for next week Monday, posting your results to the class Google Community. We’ll discuss everyone’s prototype results in class. This should be a logical “next step” prototype addressing your next biggest risk (unfamiliar software, biggest unknown, etc) or providing another demonstration element for the Winter Show.

Winter Show Slide & Canvas 

Sketch out a draft of your Winter Show Slide and begin filling out your Project Canvas. Post these to the class Google Community under the “Winter Show” category. We’ll refine these in class next week, 11/24 in preparation for the Winter Show on 12/5.

Week 11

Announcements

  • Final Exam Date for Final Presentations – Monday, Dec 15, 8:00 – 10:50
  • Winter Show Date & Posters – Friday, Dec 5

Initial Thesis Proposal Components

Project Overview

  • What’s your idea?

Project Background

  • What inspired your idea? Draw from your Manifesto, History of the Field, State of the Field, Leaders of the Field & Future of the Field assignments.

Target Audience

Team Inky Initial Proposals Presentations 

Initial Project Proposal – 10 points for presentation; 10 for write-up

Describe your initial ideas for your capstone project. Your Initial Proposal should include three sections: a Project Overview section , a Project Background Section, and a Target Audience section.

The Project Overview is a high level description of the project you’d like to develop for your Senior Thesis.

The Project Background section should be a summary drawing from your Personal Manifesto, History of the Field, State of the Field, Leaders of the Field & Future of the Field assignments. It should describe the environment into which your project will fit, and how it will affect the future of your field of interest.

The Target Audience section should be a description of the user groups you are creating for, and specifically which of needs your project will be fulfilling. Your description should be a summary of your User Personas and User Stories. Create at least three User Personas representing the different groups your project will target. Create a spreadsheet listing at least three user stories for each of the user groups you identified.

Class Discussion of 1st Project Demos & Winter Show Posters

One-Time Assignments for 11/17

Refine Initial Project Proposal 

Refine your Initial Project Proposal based upon feedback from class and the learning from your 1st prototype.

2nd Project Prototypes – 3 points

Complete your 2nd project prototype for next week Monday, posting your results to the class Google Community. We’ll discuss everyone’s prototype results in class. This should be a logical “next step” prototype addressing your next biggest risk (unfamiliar software, biggest unknown, etc) or providing another demonstration element for the Winter Show.

Dust or Magic Details

TCNJ IMM Dust or Magic Visitor Instructions

The entire agenda is http://dustormagic.com/institute/agenda/

If you’d like to crash any of the talks, please feel free. Just slip in the back but let Megan know if possible. You can email her at megan@childrenstech.com.

You might especially enjoy Jesse Schell’s talk tonight. He’s a rather special individual.

AGENDA

TUESDAY
8:30 AM to 11:30 AM

8:30 Dust or Magic Talk Series  (20 minutes each; a great mind attacks a timely topic of choice and we make a video for the world to see).  Note that the speaker order and topics may change, and we may do demos between talks. Speakers always get final approval before talks are posted.

PLEASE FILE INTO THE BACK OF THE ROOM AND TAKE ANY AVAILABLE SEAT (but don't sit in any seat with a name plate).  You're welcome to ask questions and participate, but please introduce yourself as an TCNJ IMM Senior Thesis student.

THE SPEAKERS

Barbara Chamberlin; Barbara Chamberlin runs the Learning Games Lab at NMSU, where they develop educational games for kids and adults, on a wide range of topics. (Math? Yep! Cooking in Chinese food restaurnts? Yep! Riding an ATV? Yep!) Her research and expertise also includes user testing. At home, she has another type of media testing lab in her two young children. For more info on how the Lab works with kids, conducts user testing, or to see some of their products, visit learninggameslab.org and mathsnacks.org. Be sure to share examples of great products with Barb if you share her passion for math, science or financial literacy education.

Mark Schlichting, CEO Noodleworks. Animation Tricks and Character Design Short Cuts: Creative tips on efficient animation design for children’s products: This is very quick look at what works, both in terms of what kids like and minimizing character animation expense. Along with animated examples it would include tips for getting around using Walk Cycles, tricks for simplifying Lip-Synch, and the power of movement (to show it’s Alive) and eyeballs (to give anything personality).

Chris Byrne WTF ??? It’s Not What You Think it Means

Kate Highfield, Prof from AU

Drew Davidson: Director of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and the Founding Editor of ETC Press and its Well Played series. His background spans academic, industry and professional worlds and he is interested in stories across texts, comics, games and other media. Drew helped create the Sandbox Symposium, an ACM SIGGRAPH conference on video games and served on the IGDA Education SIG. He serves on many advisory, editorial and review boards as well as judge and jury panels.

DEPART AFTER DREW

Week 10

Announcements

  • Dust or Magic Details for tomorrow if you’d like to attend
  • Final Exam Date for Final Presentations – Thursday, Dec 11, 8:00 – 10:50
  • Winter Show Date & Posters – Friday, Dec 5

Initial Thesis Proposal Components

Project Overview

  • What’s your idea?

Project Background

  • What inspired your idea? Draw from your Manifesto, History of the Field, State of the Field, Leaders of the Field & Future of the Field assignments.

Target Audience

Team Blinky Initial Proposals Presentations 

Initial Project Proposal – 10 points for presentation; 10 for write-up

Describe your initial ideas for your capstone project. Your Initial Proposal should include three sections: a Project Overview section , a Project Background Section, and a Target Audience section.

The Project Overview is a high level description of the project you’d like to develop for your Senior Thesis.

The Project Background section should be a summary drawing from your Personal Manifesto, History of the Field, State of the Field, Leaders of the Field & Future of the Field assignments. It should describe the environment into which your project will fit, and how it will affect the future of your field of interest.

The Target Audience section should be a description of the user groups you are creating for, and specifically which of needs your project will be fulfilling. Your description should be a summary of your User Personas and User Stories. Create at least three User Personas representing the different groups your project will target. Create a spreadsheet listing at least three user stories for each of the user groups you identified.

Class Discussion of Project Demos & Winter Show Posters

One-Time Assignments for 11/10

Initial Project Proposal – 10 points for presentation; 10 for write-up

All students will submit their written Initial Proposals before 11/10. Team Inky will present their Initial Proposals on 11/10.

1st Project Prototypes – 3 points

Complete your 1st project prototype for next week Monday, posting your results to the class Google Community. We’ll discuss everyone’s prototype results in class.