{"id":215,"date":"2025-11-12T17:53:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T17:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/?p=215"},"modified":"2025-11-15T02:09:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T02:09:11","slug":"week-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/week-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 8 &#8211; Rebuilding the Team and Refining the Vision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>After the mid-semester presentation, we came back with two main questions in mind:<br><strong>What do we need to improve after the half, and how can we work better as a team?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Improving the Experience \u2014 Making It Feel Alive<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Following our instructors\u2019 feedback, we began focusing on the naturalness of the AI conversation.<br>Our voices still sounded too robotic \u2014 too \u201cAI-ish\u201d \u2014 so our first task was <strong>voice adjustment<\/strong>. We refined the pitch, pacing, and timing of the ElevenLabs output to make the dialogue sound more human and emotionally believable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"897\" height=\"489\" data-id=\"219\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-3.png 897w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-3-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-3-768x419.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"905\" height=\"494\" data-id=\"220\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-4.png 905w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-4-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-4-768x419.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 905px) 100vw, 905px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, we started exploring how to make the experience <strong>more entertaining<\/strong>. Our goal is for players not only to learn but to laugh and feel that \u201cwow, that\u2019s unique!\u201d moment \u2014 the kind of spark found in the best interactive entertainment references.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stitch Live! (Disneyland Paris)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7jjR62xb4sk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Turtle Talk with Crush at EPCOT (FULL SHOW)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gL5PgvFvi8A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"KCSD Lesson Series &quot;Constitutional Convention&quot; by Amanda Minnich\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lIkfF8VwWVg?list=PLhjJuLfU_w0OXlLcVNhQGclzIjmRV3r_z\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Rethinking Collaboration \u2014 From Individuals to a Team<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Before the half, we were more like <strong>five people working separately<\/strong> than a true team. Everyone worked on their own tasks and only synced when necessary. It worked\u2026 until it didn\u2019t.<br>Limited communication led to misunderstandings \u2014 a designer\u2019s vision could turn into something completely different once implemented. It wasn\u2019t just inefficient; it was draining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So after the half, we re-established our process with <strong>three new collaboration rules<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sync Early:<\/strong> Share drafts quickly and align direction early to confirm feasibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Keep Track of Work:<\/strong> Document progress instead of relying on verbal updates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Share Your Work:<\/strong> Show results to relevant teammates for early feedback.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We also structured our <strong>review process<\/strong> into three clear stages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Internal Review \u2013<\/strong> Check functionality and integration within the team.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Instructor Review \u2013<\/strong> Receive directional feedback and align with academic goals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Playtest \u2013<\/strong> Identify and fix critical functional and experience issues.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Week 8 became a reset point for us \u2014 not just technically, but interpersonally. We began to act less like five separate contributors and more like one coordinated team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After the mid-semester presentation, we came back with two main questions in mind:What do we need to improve after the half, and how can we work better as a team? 1. Improving the Experience \u2014 Making It Feel Alive Following our instructors\u2019 feedback, we began focusing on the naturalness of the AI conversation.Our voices still [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dev-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions\/274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/echotrio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}