Coming back from Spring Break, we were able to schedule a playtesting session with Assemble on Week 9 (thanks to John Balash!), and so our focus during this week was setting up a version of the game that we can playtest with these kids to test every aspect of the experience (the app, the manuals, the markers, etc.). We want to go beyond a paper playtest – as we should, given how much time there’s left -, and thus worked extensively on getting everything ready.
It was therefore a week of coordinating, communicating, and planning ahead, especially considering that our co-producer Xiaoying will be out of town next week for Game Developers Conference (GDC).
Storyboarding
After our halves presentation, we received a lot of feedback from faculty that both reinforced our own ideas of changes and improvements we want to implement, and which pointed out to us which aspects of our project were still vague and needed to be more concrete by this point. Among these is the development of the app, which needs to go from demo sections to an integrated, functioning prototype. Additionally, we need to make sure that our manuals and the stage of the experience they represent works as intended for kids within out target demographic.
To guarantee all team members were on the same page regarding the flow and needs of our experience, and to be as prepared as we can be for playtesting next week, we had a session of storyboarding (the first we have really done), and it was extremely helpful. It showed us which aspects of the experience were still undefined, where we had different ideas that needed to be unified, etc. At the end of the session, we were able to assign tasks and set priorities for the rest of the week.
Progress
A few updates on our work:
- The app’s development moved forward with Jimmy working on the hunting and assembly phase, and Eric focusing more on the final moment of the experience, which makes use of the AR camera to take photos and fly the assembled airplane.
- Xiaoying continued modeling components, and Ivy jumped in to help her model the propeller options.
- Ivy finished the component icons, and developed a new marker design that works better with AR Foundation’s recognition.
- María worked on the fifth version of the manuals, working with Scott to ensure that the information is accurate.
Charlie: Recording and Photographing
On Friday, high school student Cali Johnson joined us at the ETC for a recording and photographing session, given she is the voice actress and model for Charlie, our character and narrator. We made sure to learn how to photograph in the ETC’s green screen room a few days prior, as well as how to record audio in the sound booth/studio.
Cali’s work was excellent, and we were able to get great images and clips for the app, which are a vital part of the experience – Charlie as a character not only guides the students through the process of using the manuals and the tablet, but also gives them a reason and goal to work together.