{"id":378,"date":"2026-04-23T15:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/?p=378"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:39:15","slug":"week-thirteen-soft-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/week-thirteen-soft-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"Week Thirteen: Soft Opening"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This week was a week of high stress and higher stakes. The team had three playtest presentations scheduled: soft opening on Wednesday, a playtest at the client&#8217;s museum on Friday, and a playtest with ETC alums just after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monday and Tuesday were spent getting the prototype finished. Or, at least, as close to finished as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Soft Opening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With no sugar coating, Midway&#8217;s soft opening went poorly. The team struggled with failed 3D print after failed 3D print, and the Phidgets used stopped working just before the team was set to present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the feedback from softs is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It may be useful to try RFID cards instead of the smaller tags. They may read better, and can be cut up to fit in the pieces.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It would be good to design the pieces with less sharp points, as children are meant to be using this project and sharp points can act as a weapon.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The RFID issue may be caused by the readers being too close to each other, as the frequencies can interfere with one another.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The project feels incomplete with some of the pieces being made of cardboard and other pieces being fully 3D printed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sound is important and needs to be more thought out. There should be voiceover for the stories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The team spent Thursday integrating what feedback they could from soft opening. Jimmy integrated new sounds and Yifan was able to get the RFID readers working by cutting up the RFID cards and using them to replace the smaller tags that were being used before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6600-edited-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6600-edited-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6600-edited-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6600-edited-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6600-edited-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6600-edited-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6600-edited-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Cayla and Devika worked on creating simple 2D animations of people enjoying the parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cayla was also able to get most of the 3D prints done for the Friday playtest, with one odd man out. <\/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\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"711\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6476-1-1.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-410\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\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=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"411\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417122646-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417122646-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417122646-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417122646-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417122646-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417122646-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">oplus_2097184<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"412\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6477-2-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6477-2-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6477-2-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6477-2-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6477-2-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6477-2-1152x2048.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6477-2-scaled.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The tunnel of love was last to be printed, and with less than an hour before they had to leave for the playtest, the team improvised. Cayla painted the existing tunnel of love piece a pink that mostly matched the filament used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6603-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6603-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6603-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6603-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6603-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6603-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Heinz History Center Playtest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps our most successful playtest to date, the Heinz History Center playtest brought in real museum-goers and staff to try out the prototype. Devika and Jack were also able to ask the museum&#8217;s design team for specifics regarding the design documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the feedback the team got included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This may not work as well for smaller children that cannot read yet. It would be good to have more going on either on screen or on the board to keep their interest.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The project continued to work better with groups of multiple guests than it did with single guests, as it sparked conversation about some of these older parks. Multiple guests shared their own stories of going to White Swan Park before it was demolished.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The design document should act almost like a lab document, detailing how the team did what they did and what materials were needed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The design team also wants to see what the team tried but didn&#8217;t work, and what the team recommends for a platform like the one we developed to be successful.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"828\" height=\"568\" data-id=\"404\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-112512.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-112512.png 828w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-112512-300x206.png 300w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-112512-768x527.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 828px) 100vw, 828px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"841\" height=\"756\" data-id=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-111305-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-111305-1.png 841w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-111305-1-300x270.png 300w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-111305-1-768x690.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 841px) 100vw, 841px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"711\" height=\"537\" data-id=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-111129-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-111129-2.png 711w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-111129-2-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alumni Playtest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After the Heinz playtest, the team rushed back to the ETC to celebrate the 25th anniversary with some alumni. Alums and current students were able to walk around the building and explore the semester&#8217;s projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417171207-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417171207-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417171207-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417171207-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417171207-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417171207-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">oplus_2097152<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"419\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417180127-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417180127-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417180127-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417180127-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417180127-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG20260417180127-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">oplus_2097152<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"620\" data-id=\"418\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-112343-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-112343-1.png 650w, https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-23-112343-1-300x286.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The alumni that visited seemed to enjoy the simplicity of the project, and the main bit of advice given was that the wording of the stories may be a bit too advanced for younger children to understand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week was a week of high stress and higher stakes. The team had three playtest presentations scheduled: soft opening on Wednesday, a playtest at the client&#8217;s museum on Friday, and a playtest with ETC alums just after that. Monday and Tuesday were spent getting the prototype finished. Or, at least, as close to finished [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":423,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378\/revisions\/423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/mid-way\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}