Prepare a Pitch

Prepare a basic plan and pitch (idea, with a sketch or two, a few notes) for your boss (me) before the end of class. Tell me about your thoughts and game idea proposal (think about the subject matter of the game, what class its from, basic idea of what type of game it is, and how the content in integrated into the game).  We'll chat about your idea, discuss any possible foreseen difficulties, modifications, complications, etc to your plan. 

A lot of you guys are doing lots of investigation for this, keep track of your investigation. Record the links in your blog so you don't forget when preparing your design write-up (This will also help me know that you spent your time productively today).

Keep in mind the requirements of your game (check the previous post if you forgot).

Blog post today?

Reflect/Summarize

What have you found about game design so far?

What are some elements/requirements of game design and creating a good game that you feel strongly about? Tell me about it.

Are there any elements/requirements to creating a fun AND educational game that you're struggling with? Tell me about it.

Typography work of some of your peers:

(click to enlarge)

Quiz Grade Today

Sub Day = Quiz Grade

Whenever I am out, what you get done that day (judged by how much evidence your provide for me on your blog alongside Sub Feedback) counts as a Quiz Grade. Show me how productive you were and keep you sub happy and you'll be fine. If you choose otherwise, then... not so much :(

Being the end of the week, I would be going around at the end of today's class to find out what each of you has accomplished this week. Since I'm not here, this will be at the START of next class (Tuesday).

What should you be working on? Your page of course!
Keep in mind, your page is suppose to be finished by the end of January. That's next week! However, instead of ending half way through the week, we'll give you the full week. That's not a lot of time. Get that page going!

If you don't have photos yet, then at least create the App Icon for it! All clubs, events, etc in the book will have an app icon on their page. Start working on yours if nothing else. (show me what you get done even if it isn't finished)

Tell me about what you got done today. If working on an app icon, show me how far you got on it. Today is a quiz grade!

Quiz Grade Today

Sub Day = Quiz Grade
Whenever I am out, what you get done that day (judged by how much evidence your provide for me on your blog alongside Sub Feedback) counts as a Quiz Grade. Show me how productive you were and keep you sub happy and you'll be fine. If you choose otherwise, then... not so much :(

What should you be working on? Your game idea of course! You guys are doing lots of investigation for this, keep track of your investigation. Record the links in your blog so you don't forget when preparing your design write-up (This will also help me know that you spent your time productively today).

Keep in mind the requirements of your game (check the previous post if you forgot).

Whats due today?
Reflect/Summarize
What have you found about game design so far?

What are some elements/requirements of game design and creating a good game that you feel strongly about? Tell me about it.

Are there any elements/requirements to creating a fun AND educational game that you're struggling with? Tell me about it.

Prepare a Pitch

Prepare a basic plan and pitch (idea, with a sketch or two, a few notes) for your boss (me) before the end of next class. Post your thoughts and proposal on your blog (include the subject matter of the game, what class its from, basic idea of what type of game it is, and how the content in integrated into the game). This will be graded! Next class we'll chat about your idea, discuss any possible foreseen difficulties, modifications, complications, etc to your plan. 

Multimedia

4th 6 weeks - project 2
Scenario: You work with a business that produces educational materials. Yesterday evening you (and perhaps a colleague of yours) had a brilliant idea for a game. You've mentioned the idea to your boss, and they'd like to hear more about it.

This is somewhat difficult conceptually, as your trying to figure out what would make a game BOTH enjoyable AND educational. It could be a card game, board game, video game, or etc (or a mix of those things). Look into different types of games, find out what type of game you might want to create, and what makes those games successful. Try searching things like "every game needs", "what makes a good game", and similar such things.

Things to think about: What might make a game fun or interesting? What makes a game educational and actually beneficial to students?  How will your game provide something both enjoyable and educational?

Prepare a Pitch
Prepare a basic plan and pitch (verbal idea, with a sketch or two, a few notes) for your boss (me) before the end of next class. Post your thoughts and proposal on your blog. After meeting with me, discuss any possible foreseen difficulties, modifications, complications, etc to your plan.

 What's next? Create a detailed plan and description for your game. How would it work? What are the rules? What content does it reinforce, and how? Fun is great, but keep in mind, an educational game is only worthwhile in the long run if it helps students learn the content. Will your design reinforce students remembering the content after the game is done, or is the info or understanding out of mind once it's out of sight?

Once you have that figured out, you can start the actual digital art aspect of this. Start working on mock-ups that convey the flavor of the game and what it might look like, illustrations of students playing it, etc.

Resources that may aid you:
Educational Games I have: Lab-aids Rock Cycle Game, Forest Succession Game, Marakonda Fever Game Articles

Multimedia

Finish up your Typography Projects and Design Cycle Write-ups today (paper copy or on computer).

Last thoughts on Typography:
How do you feel about typography? What form of typography most interests you? Do you feel that all forms of writing are typography? What about Graffiti?Even if illegal, do you feel its a form of typography?

Multimedia

On your blog:

Your Thoughts:
You've had some time to explore typography, and now your starting to work on creating your own work using typography. How would you define Typography? Is it more than just words? Tell me your thoughts/feelings on typography.

Use your class time to continue working on your project :)

Wouldn't this have been a cool way to learn photoshop?
Photoshop Level Up and Jigsaw Plugin
Sadly, it wasn't available yet when we learned photoshop, and its only for the newest version.
Anyways, what do you think about these new photoshop plugins?

New Students: First Robot

Yearbook

Photography Composition Review

Use either website to find examples of 10 of the 11 different compositions we've talked about with photography.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/

While photos may use more than one technique, I'm only counting one per photo. So, you need ten photos :)

Multimedia

On Your Blog

Anatomy of a Font

Using the links I provided you with earlier, how many can you identify? (Click the image to enlarge it). Helpful Terms: Apex, Ascender, Arm, Bowl, Counter, Crossbar, Descender, Ear, Finial, Link, Loop, Serif, Spine, Spur, Stem, Tail

    
   
     

Check out Spell with Flickr.

Type something in and watch Flickr spell it out for you. 

Copy and paste the html and put it in a post on your blog.

Typography Project

Options:

- Drawing with Typography

- Graphical Arrangement (look at poster examples from previous post)

- Kinetic Typography

- Designing and Creating your own Font

Multimedia

Typography and Art!

I have three links for you to look at. Check them out and think on typography. What is it? They're just words, right? Why do you think big companies pay artists for typographic work? How might typography effect you or other potential consumers? Is graffiti, even if illegal, typography? What do you think about typography? Think about these as you watch the video and looking over the websites below and reflect on your thoughts over it. (video not working? try firefox)

Typographics - Vancouver Film School (VFS) @ Yahoo! Video

TypoGRAPHIC - pay extra attention to the anatomy (use firefox), gallery, and studies sections.

Type101 - a myriad of great resources for people new to typography.

Bits and Pieces of Type - Basic typface anatomy

Jeremy Tankard Typography - use the drop down menu on the left to view his projects.

Typographica - a site full of content on typography.

    
   
     

Check out Spell with Flickr.

Type something in and watch Flickr spell it out for you.

Anatomy of a Font

Using the links I provided you with earlier, can you identify 1-16 in the diagram? (Click the image to enlarge it). Terms: Apex, Ascender, Arm, Bowl, Counter, Crossbar, Descender, Ear, Finial, Link, Loop, Serif, Spine, Spur, Stem, Tail

Drawing with Typography!

Using the type tool (just below the pen tool), try to create pictures using text. It may take quite a few layers of text to illustrate your picture. Whats quite a few? I'd say around 20-25. It might be easier to start with a photo on the background, and put a layer of white paint at 50% opacity like we did with the pen illustrations. Then you can position the text or letters on top of the image, instead of guessing the shape of what you're trying to draw. Don't forget to increase the white layer to 100% opacity at the end. When you have the type tool selected, you can change the font, size, etc in the overhead menu.

More About Typography

Typography isn't just pictures made of words... theres much more to it then that. Poster and document design can also make good, or poor, use of typography.

Look at some of the typographic work below to see some other examples of typography.

Its even more than just images too. Its also used in video, often called kinetic typography. Some examples have been around for quite a while in movies, most commonly seen in movie credits. With technology becoming more and more available, and easier and easier to use, kinetic typography has gained popularity as well. Majority of these are created with Adobe After Effects, however, similar productions could be made with clever use of online applications like Prezi in combination with iMovie. I've provided a few examples below, if the videos have trouble, use firefox.

From a notorious radio news broadcast in 1938

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