Week 12 (Research & Activity) - As a cohort, we have been through a lot together in the last twelve weeks. There have been some great times and sure enough, there have been some hard times. Use this Spark forum to carry out a retrospective about your progress through the module. You should aim to answer the four core questions:
What did you do well?
I am happy that I was consistent with my studies. I was able to take part in most spark forums and weekly challenges. Furthermore, I am pleased with the overall structure of my CRJ. Although, I am curious to know how cluttered it may become when I begin to incorporate more posts from new modules. Moreover, the rapid ideation events were published at a reasonable standard to be considered portfolio material.
What did you learn?
Excluding the wealth of knowledge each week, it took me quite a while to adapt my writing style from descriptive to reflective. Moreover, it hit me that I benefit most when a CRJ post is less about translating weekly material and what I did and more about my independent research and reflections. If every upcoming assessment relies on the CRJ, I need to format it in a way that benefits me. In addition, I continue to learn by having regular and open discussions with my peers. I am always curious to know how they approach particular tasks as sometimes I can feel alone in what I am doing.
What should you do differently in the next module?
In the next module, I would like to prioritize my health and well-being because, unfortunately, there were moments in this module when I unnecessarily stressed myself out during certain weeks. However, as time went on, this did get better! In addition, I would like to write less about what I did and include more independent research in the CRJ. I need to manage my time, engage in weekly webinars, and stay on top of my studies. Consistency is key! I found my rhythm by week four and knew what style to write with by week seven. Lastly, my SMART goals were far too vague, so I made certain amendments, and I hope to stick by them for the next module.
What still puzzles you?
Some weekly topics still puzzle me, such as the week on ethics and Real WORKS, although I felt I did my best to write about them. On top of that, I had a hard time adjusting my writing style, and I find it challenging to categorize my findings into one of the five reflective domains. Although, I am finding it easier to label them with each passing week.
Figure 1: The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)
What's next?
Co-Creative Design & Development Practice GDO730
The next module, Co-Creative Design and Development Practice involves working in a team on a problem-led creative project. Regardless of what we create, either a game or creative app, I will be seeking to enhance my communication and collaboration skills, for this is the only module that involves mandatory group work. After getting to know my peers (UX included!), I am excited to be presented with the opportunity to work with them so early on. Lastly, I hope to dedicate enough energy to this module and use this as another occasion to really engage with my peers!
*I have created SMART goals for the Co-Creative Design & Development Practice module that can be read here.
Final Major Project (Preparation)
I haven't considered an idea for my final major project yet. However, I intend for it to highlight my design and programming skills, whether that is designing a level for an FPS or programming an AI, I don't know. From my experience, I think it would be better to create a vertical slice that illustrates these skills at a professional level. Therefore, I am leaning towards genres/styles/focuses such as:
Point & Click
Turn-Base
Tell-Tale Style
Level Design
C# Programming
Figure 2: Tell Tale: The Walking Dead - Season 1 (2012)
Whatever I do, I hope to publish the project on Steam and use the lessons learnt from prior modules such as Co-Creative Design & Development Practice and Indie Game Start-Up to help market the game to an appropriate target audience.
Figure 3: Thimbleweed Park (2017)
Future Research
Much like my idea for a Final Major Project, I am not sure what research topics I will commit to at this moment in time. Although there have been subjects I have discovered in this module that interested me, such as Computational Creativity and ethics within the video game industry - perhaps analysing the effects of microtransactions and how they have evolved over time.
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