Capstone Presentations

I was nervous as all get out about going into presenting my Capstone.  I had horrible feelings like "I am not good enough", "People are going to hate this" and "What am I even doing here? Is this ENOUGH?". I called family members and a few friends. My Dad instantly answered his phone and told me that all of my doubts were in my head and that he was proud of me, and that I COULD do this, how could I not, and that he knew my project was great because my sister called him to tell him it was. So, I did what any Harman would. I breathed, invited him to the show, and set up.
After that, the whole thing felt amazing. I loved presenting the game to new people. Riddles and Wonder seemed to be a great hit. After looking back on it all, I think going with quizzing people was a really cool route. Some people seemed to be really into what I had done and asked about plans for web or app based idea, and I thought that it could be very easily done, and if I could, I would. I think I may actually pursue such an idea when there is more time. Dr. Kushin asked me another great question as well. "What advice would I give to someone designing a game?" My answer seemed to take him aback just a bit. I told him..."Design the game you want with keeping the client in mind. You are designing a project that you need to be proud of, but what your consumer also wants." In the end, it is ultimately what you want splashed with what your consumer needs. That's about it. I had a blast doing this, but I truly wish that I had had more time to give it. I think a lot of the class probably feels the same way, but you deal with what you're dealt. I would have also taken a lot more time to sleep and talk with my director. Monica,  you are a wealth of information,  a strong leader, and I have so much respect for you.

Last Part of the Trip

I went to the American Art Museum to check out an exhibit that sounded pretty awesome. The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi was an artist I really hadn't heard of, but when I stopped for lunch at Fado's Irish  Pub on 7th and H, I overheard someone talking about it and decided, why not? So, I took the Metro over and went to check out some art. I actually really enjoyed the work that was there. I mean, I'm not generally into that particular style, but I found that it was enjoyable because of that simple fact. The WWII work was emotionally effective. There was a piece, Torture, that just made me stir. I was amazed at the depth that it was able to penetrate into my psyche. It is still in my mind and I saw the exhibit days ago.

DC Part 2

Continuing my journey in DC, I went to look at the photo gallery of George Carlin. I LOVED George Carlin thanks to my parents bringing me up on his comedy. He was so charismatic and blunt. I always look to either him or Ray Steven's work when I need a pick-me-up. I know he wasn't exactly "cultural" but to see some of the pictures from when he started to when he was towards the end of his career ... was just... awe inspiring. The public was aware of some of what he dealt with in his private life, but it makes me wonder what demons he dealt with because some of the most amazing people have some of the hardest things to overcome. RIP George Carlin, and thanks for the laughs.

DC Trip 1

I went to DC to check out the Smithsonian Exhibit on Orchids. Although I have no particular interest in flowers, Orchids are really pretty and this seemed like an interesting exhibit to look at. I tried to go on a day where there wouldn't be a lot of people, and I wish, I wish I had brought a camera to take pictures, but unfortunately I had gone without even taking my phone (it was a spur of the moment Thursday thing) However, I will say that there were so many gorgeous Orchids that it messed with my allergies a bit. Even in the middle of March the blooms were superb. I am so glad I went, and I would go again. I actually might since there is a week left for the exhibit. I would say go on a weekday if anyone is thinking about going, especially since curators seem to be more willing to give more personalized attention to those who are really into the flowers and science behind them.

Home

My friend, Kyle, and I went to see the movie "Home". It was adorable! It also had a pretty important message or two. One, you don't know the effect we are having on the world or worlds around us, and that when push comes to shove, people (and aliens) can be pretty resilient when need be. I actually loved some of the minor hints at adult humor. If asked, I would say that it is a movie I would consider buying when it comes out. It would be nice to just have around for gray days and for when the nieces and nephew visit. Also, cats are vibrating piles of awesome that make Jim Parsons' character unsure of why humans enjoy pet things. It was a great mesh of voices between Jim Parsons OCD like twitchiness and Rhianna's carefree happy determination. Again, I would fully recommend this film!

Capitals Game

I know I'm posting this particular blog late, but I wanted to do them after a while to reflect on the experiences. Also, because I wasn't fully sure when they were wanted.  Back in February, I decided to go to a Capitals Hockey Game in Washington DC against Anaheim. I took a friend who is a die hard Bruins fan, and it was an absolute blast! We ended up taking our time and using the Metro to get into DC. We were both wearing red because that is what Caps fans do. The game ended in a shootout and with me losing my voice almost entirely. It was so worth it. After the game we went to Daikaya and Izakaya, a set of Japanese restaurants down the road from the Verizon Center. Brett lived in Japan for 6 years and was pretty impressed with everything they had to offer but the service. He said the meat buns were just like the ones he used to munch on when going to work. It was a great experience, but again, the service was kind of terrible. So, the food was amazing, but unless there was a major change to staff... I'm not sure if I would go back. It was worth the cultural experience though!

Casino Work and Dress Code

Casinos have fairly strict policies as to what people wear and why. In the Finance Department, we are required to wear one of two uniforms which were discussed in the last blog. However, I will mention that each section of the rest of the casino wear distinguishing uniforms. For example: dealers (both poker and table games (they are very different yet similar)) wear black shirts with gold trim, black pants and sneakers and most have small aprons with pockets for varying reasons. Slot attendants wear red shirts and are very easily identifiable. Security guards wear mostly wear gold or blue blazers with black shirts, and can be pretty intimidating. Most people that work in the food court wear rust orange shirts, and so on. Why am I mentioning this?
Well, the saying that "the clothes make the man" is not very prevalent in the casino world unless you account for 2 areas. In every area of the casino except for cocktail servers and those that work in the H Lounge, we all pretty much look alike. Males and females wear the exact same clothing and those clothes are not so much a costume as a cover up. What does this say to guests? Well, to me, the translation is: we are all approachable, we are a unit, and we are here not to show off, but to assist and be out of the way. I don't mean this to be negative, but in support of the fact that we are not the focus of the guests. The guests choose those they want to entertain them.
Now, those in the cocktail serving areas as well as the H-Lounge Bar are part of the entertainment. The women do wear costumes: skirts, halter tops, jackets (if need be) and shoes that have some sort of heel. The H-Lounge women wear short shorts, halter vests and shoes with a heel and most wear either fishnets or bare legs. These people do compete for tips, guests, etc, but they also work to help one another in the back. What guests rarely see are these people washing glasses together, mixing drinks for one another and giving support to each other when they need it.
Each area of the casino is like that. There is a network, a team, a unit, that supports one another and will help to warn each other of trouble going on. If guests see anyone in uniforms differing from these conventions, it is safe to say that they are looking at people that need to be very identifiable such as leads, supervisors or managers.  Our uniforms do the same for guests: We are here to help, we are identifiable, and we are here for you and each other.

Introduction: Welcome to HCCTR

When I applied to Hollywood Casinos at Charles Town Races, I honestly did not think that it would have much to do with my major in Communication and New Media, but I was wrong. How wrong was I? Well, after taking Media Studies with Kevin Williams last semester, I was about as wrong as anyone can get.

Before I get into that, let me break down what my job entails at the casino, because there are several areas that people don't see unless they work there. Originally, I was hired as a Cage Cashier/Window Attendant. These are the people the public sees and primarily deal with. Our uniform consists of a gold shirt with black trim, black pants and black sneakers/comfortable shoes. Full time employees work 10 hour shifts, 4 days a week, and I will not disclose money amounts. I will say that we are paid above minimum wage and we are able to receive tips.
However, there are 4 "background jobs": TR, Revenue, Chip Bank, and Main Bank. Each of them consists of the same uniform: blue polo shirt, black pants and black sneakers. Outside of the Cage, I work in TR (Ticket Redemption) which deals with the machines on the floor that scan tickets from slot machines and will also break down large bills into smaller denominations.
I was trained in Revenue briefly and Main Bank and Chip Bank are on my list, but I haven't been trained in them, yet. I do know some of what they involve. They will be discussed as they come up through this blog series.

This is a brief overview of the job(s), but it still begs the question: What does this have to do with Communication? In the next 9 blogs, there will be an in depth exploration as to how Communication and New Media directly translates into a job at the Casino.

Faculty Review

My faculty review was interesting. It helped me see the flaws in my game design, and it gave me a few ideas as to how I can continue in the field with this game and others that I have ideas for.

Progress

I am excited to say that I believe that Riddles and Wonder is as close to ready as it will ever be. The beta test with my sister’s children went over surprisingly well, and they are younger than the intended age group. Even though the math problems were a little bit difficult, they still kept trying and wanted to keep my beta format. Ava, the older of the two, ended up playing the game on her own for a bit. I asked her why, and she just kept saying “I want to keep trying to make more money!” So, for her, it was about the shiny coins and trying to figure out problems, but it was really amazing to watch her light up and not see it as just math problems.

There was a note that my sister, the teacher, made and that was “This needs to look more professional, laminated maybe. Also, will I be able to increase the level of difficulty for my students if I wanted to? Say, I find that there are too many penny questions and not enough nickel or quarter ones, could we increase that?” Of course I could increase that, and I could make it so that it was less difficult by adding more penny spaces.

Another question she asked was about length of game play. If she could increase it, how would she. The response for that was simple “Increase the amount of money you want your kids or students to earn in the game, or decrease it so that it gets them to the ‘dragon’ quicker.”

We also discussed about increasing the difficulty through other forms of math (decimal places, multiplication, division, etc) and she mentioned about doing different levels of the game for other classes.

I believe that having my sister, the teacher, around has greatly improved what I can do with this game and how to help it move along. Not only has this given me a better sense of where I should be, but where this game could be going. Now, all I really need to do is get this thing to Staples and have 2 days where it gets laminated and put on a special board. Maybe one day I will have special figurines to go with it instead of Wal Mart farm animals, but for now, it will suffice.  

Progression of Riddles and Wonder

My game is now officially titled! Riddles and Wonder also has a marked layout and questions. I am not as far along as I would like to be, but the progress is there and it is becoming the game that I want it to be. Testing starts later this week, and I hope that people that are beta testing it, are able to help me hash out the minor details that need fixing.

Classroom Play: Guidelines and Results

Mary, B. (2010). Bringing Play Back to the Classroom: How Teachers Implement Board and Card Games Based on Academic Learning Standards. Proceedings Of The European Conference On Games Based Learning, 13-18.

In terms of gaming and learning in the early school environment (K-5 in particular) can games be used to help or are they more harmful to the learning environment? Although this was a small article that did a basic overview, I found it extremely helpful to base guidelines for what teachers may need in standardizing gaming while in the classroom. It also helped by providing the feedback from both teachers and students while it documented the overall change in attitude towards using games while in the classroom.

The guidelines were simple enough:

• Teachers chose either board or card games to fit within an established budget
• Games needed to be easily played in twenty minutes and at least once a week
• After teaching the game, teachers needed to be more hands off and there as moderators.
• Teachers were also asked to keep weekly journals about how they and their students were responding to the introduction of gaming in the classroom, did it meet their needs for academic progress, adjustments to the games to better fit their learning, and they had to meet monthly to discuss how the progress was going.  

The researcher found that after a while teachers began to really took to having the games in their classrooms and that classroom morale as well as other aspects in learning took a turn for the better. In other words, they found that along with gaming and journal keeping, the overall effect was positive.

This has narrowed the focus for me in my own project for things to look for in design:

• Can it be played in a certain amount of time with ease?
• Can it be easily taught?
• Will teachers be able to adjust it so that it becomes more challenging or not?
•  Is it going to be easily translated from the classroom to other areas of both students' and teachers' lives? 

Everything needs to be considered here, but it provides a clear path as to what needs to be taken into account. 

Mapping the Design

Ahmad, R., Lahonde, N., & Omhover, J. (2014). GAME METHODOLOGY FOR DESIGN METHODS AND TOOLS SELECTION. Journal Of Learning Design, 7(1), 1-9.

This article is fascinating to me. Basically, it is a great overview as to how designing a game can be approached through a particular methodology. The authors discuss DG: MOTS or Design Game Matrix of Tool Selection which gives a step-by-step process from beginning to end on starting ideas all the way through to validation of design and marketing.  It also diagrams it out and challenges the reader to make sure that this method is appropriate for them.

In all honesty, this article appears well written, useful on the basis that the logic appears sound, and it is current enough that it isn't obsolete by any standards. The diagrams will be printed and pinned up as reminders for personal use and mapping out a time line to better get on track for projects that are current and planned for the future.

Educational Gaming: Issues and Solutions

Chmiel, M. (2012). Learning about the game: designing science games for a generation of gamers. Cultural Studies Of Science Education, 7(4), 807-812. doi:10.1007/s11422-012-9428-9

The above article is an excellent read on the fine line between educational gaming and how it can become, dare I say it, too fun and thereby becomes too  much of a game. There is a line, and as game makers, there is a certain obligation to make sure that it stays educationally relevant. In this paper, the game makers created a roller coaster based video game that, after a certain amount of time, became so fun that gamers were looking to try and find a weakness to exploit. Of all things, Google may the weakness easily exposed and therefore allowed gamers to exceed common expectations.

So, why does this matter, and should I really be worried about it with my own research into the gaming world?

Of course it matters to me, even with second graders. Currently there seems to be an influx of technology berating children on a daily basis and making technology faster, more readily available and far more advance than it was even in "my day". Granted, the only real technology available to me in the second grade was ... I believe Windows 95 and my family did not own a computer, let alone half of the stuff my nieces and nephew have come to play with. 

As a game designer, I face the same problem that teachers face: kids are getting smarter and more manipulative as the technology advances. It astounds me at how quickly kids can find loopholes into everything. I believe this is why I have decided to go by way of a board game, and by first assuming they are at least somewhat innocent for the first test. After the first test, the exploits and main loopholes can be found and resolved.

I found this article to be extremely useful for how I plan on carrying out my plan to design and define my game. I don't want some crappy boring flash card sort of game, but I also want it to hold the educational aspects that teachers and parents are going to want for their children. Hopefully it will find that border, stay there and still be relevant, at least for a bit before the kids end up getting too smart.

Statement of Intent: Capstone Game Design

For my Capstone Project I plan on creating an educational game for children. Monica has agreed to be my Director. I plan on working in the gaming industry after graduation, and hopefully having these prototypes and at least one functional game will provide me with the ways forward.

After researching standards across states and designing a few prototypes. Currently the ideas are surrounding counting, money, and fairy tales. My plan is to further research the current curriculum in Maryland and West Virginia for students in the K-5 range and to make sure that I cover more than just basics for these kids. I plan on going to two different schools for testing, Shepherdstown, WV and Maugansville, MD Elementary schools. I want to see if there is a difference in a few areas including: ways children are being taught, are there separate focuses, and if these differences make a huge impact at those ages.

I also want to try and convert some of these games into applications for tablets and phones. I figure, if technology is changing, education can't be too far behind and therefore, so should these games. That means that there should be companion applications for at least one of these games. However, my goal is to have at least 3 working games and letting the children decide which one they like best.

Right now, the idea for my first game is for at least 2 children, and it will be turn based. It will combine both math and fairy tale-like creatures. I'm not sure if dice will be included or if it will be card based. I plan on working closely with teachers in both schools to better formulate these games and to see the mindset of the children. I look forward to the challenges of creating educational games because sometimes they do come off as dry and unappealing. My main goal is to keep the education, but keep it fun too.