Studio Brief

In this studio students utilized several digital tools to assist with interactive storytelling and writing techniques. Each activity introduced a new digital tool paired with a specific written prompt. Students wrote and shared stories each day, while also creating images, maps, and objects to aid in the communication of their tales. Then students looked at digital fiction tools - text generators, visual novels, non-linear narratives and interactive fiction.

Michelle Ferrari

Novelist

Grub Street

Young Adult Writing Program (YAWP)

The Third and Final Continent Jhumpa Lahiri

Black Box

Jennifer Egan

The Ghost Birds

Karen Russell

Twine

Ren'Py

Tracery

Open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories

Python-based visual novel generator

A story-grammar generation library for Javascript

Tone - Setting - Conflict - Perspective - Quest - Characters

Setup - Buildup - Payoff

Character Building

World Building

Storywriting

Interactivity

Cloven: A Murder

Mystery



Zoe White

Thesis Statement

Clermont: A Murder Mystery is a mystery visual novel following a group of teens investigating a homicide in their town. The game was created in Ren'py and all art was made in Procreate or Photoshop.

Precedents

Technical Precedent:

Vincent: The Secret of Myers

Conceptual Precedent:

Sherlock Holmes Novels

Aspirational Precedent:

Blacksad: Under the skin

*Must include at least 1 diagram (Technical or Use Diagram)

Prototypes

Prototypes

Final Project Photo (Remove Text)

Final project in context / use

Data Breach

Trevor McDonald

Project Statement

"Data Breach" is a choose-your-own-adventure that focuses on an open world quest where you explore a planet. Your goal is to find a cyber criminal group that has a high bounty on it's head. All your exploring ultimately leads you to finding the cyber criminal group that you sought after. However, when confronting them, you are asked the question whether what they are doing is right.

Precedents

Conceptual:

Foundation

Game Software:

Seed Ship

+

Story Diagram

Quest: 80% of the Story

Prototypes

Creating Story Arc

Prototypes

Working with Tracery

These are both the same scene, but using tracery, you can make it display different text

Tracery is an "ad-lib" like editor that allows you to generate different sentences and stories.

Prototypes

Using API

Real Time Weather from weather.com

Display in Twine

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Creating A Map

World: Ran (Circumference of 21,798)

The goal of the map is to show the climates on certain areas of the world. I was hoping that I could use this with the weather API to make the weather, have an impact on the story.

In this futuristic world, I needed to create a way to travel several thousands of miles quickly, and introduced a high-speed train to carry you around represented in the greens.

The red and blue lines represent warm and cold currents in the water, as well as how that translates on land

1,500 Miles (Buildings aren't necessarily to scale)

Precedents

Conflict

Tension

Chess

Experience (Rivalship)

Experience (Hardship over Aqua)

Project Statement

Expedition is a game about tension. Every single part of Expedition is designed to be as tense as possible, from placing down board pieces to obtaining chess pieces. The game incorporates elements from classic roguelikes, age-old drawing games like tic tac toe and dots & boxes, and chess. Expedition is just random enough to have exciting new strategy every match without being unfair.

Sketches

Prototype 1

Changes to make:

• The class system was unbalanced
• Board was too empty
• Sideboards were almost never touched throughout the game

Design Takeaways:

• Pieces were unbalanced
• Sideboards were detached from the game
• Not enough opportunities to obtain chess pieces

Prototype 2

Changes to make:

• Lots of new mechanics testing
• Implemented an upper platform system
• Teleporters were implemented
• Piece movement was fully decided

Design Takeaways:

• Board was too empty
• Not enough opportunities to obtain chess pieces
• Stencils barely changed the game

Changes to Make:

• Stencils were removed entirely and replaced with topography
• Bridges added to connect topography
• Teleporters removed

Design Takeaways:

• Having more than 2 layers made the game very complicated
• Bridges were nice to have, but having them as a separate piece introduced some complications
• Rooks did not need restriction

Prototype 3

Final Prototype

• Replaced 2nd layer (top layer) topography with walls that cannot be moved through
• Made ? spaces placeable
• Removed bridges

• We started to polish the game with different materials

• Replaced cardboard with wood and acrylic
• Added vinyl to show different game rules in color
• Added a peg locking system for the topography boards
• Created 3d models for all of the pieces, the bases of the pieces signify their movement

Final Prototype

Chess

First and Second Prototypes

Third Prototype

Final Prototype

Baron

Main Piece

Main Diagram

Exploded Diagram

Board Diagram

Game Play Overview

Final Photos

Project Statement

The Archetypes Tarot is a deck using the 22 major arcana of the RWS deck. It uses imagery from different cultures/mythologies in an effort to show how the archetypes seen in tarot are part of the universal human experience.

Jungian Archetypes

The Fool

Hermes

Hermes

young adventurer

Cliff

leaping into the unknown

Cows

companion, desire

Text from Homeric Hymn to Hermes

blandly cunning

a robber

a cattle driver

a bringer of dreams

a watcher by night

a thief at the gates

Crayon Writing

child like, playful

The Magician

Maximon

Maximon

Ability to manifest, good luck

Coins

Wealth, offerings, air element, pentacles suite

Sticks

Earth element, wands suite

Candles and Daggers

Fire element, sword suite

Beer Bottles

Enjoying earthly desires, water element, cups suite

Text from Creature by Half Alive

I am creation,

both haunted and holy.

The Empress

Xochiquetzal

Xochiquetzal

divine feminine

Vines

New growth

Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia Diversifolia)

Faith, loyalty and adoration

Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia Spicigera)

Happiness

Chocolate Cosmos (Cosmos Atrosanguineus)

Beauty and order

Mexican Poppy (Argemone Ochroleuca)

Sleep and peace

Dahlia (Dahlia Pinnata)

Elegance, creativity and dignity

Text from Delicate but Captivating by Lissette Alvarez Napoli

she absorbs the warm rays and brightness of the sun,

reflecting her image with passion and love.

Sword Lily (Gladioli)

Sympathy and memories

Yucca Flower (Yucca Baccata)

Protection and purification

The Hanged Wo/man

Sinbyeong

The Moon

Samatha

Full Moon

Insight, intuition, light, clarity, subconscious mind

Unstill waters

Clouded judgement, fears and desires, conscious mind

Person meditating

Seeking stillness

Text from Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys

I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the moon

Foundations I: To Begin With

Fall 2021

Session 2

Part I : Analyzing Artifacts

In Part I, students were challenged to dissect and analyze artifacts of personal significance, unveiling an understanding of the artifact through both a technological and anthropological lens.

In Part II, students utilized their newly developed design skills to interpret and abstract formal understandings of poetry, resulting in a series of photos, drawings, material studies, and crafted 3D models.

Part II: Concept to Form

The third and final portion of the studio allowed students to synthesize their understanding of the creative process through the design and fabrication of a table top game.

Part III: Game Design

Final Projects

ProDo

Life or Death

Babel

War over Wealthworld

Zig

RivalShip

Journey

Foundations II: Electrify

Fall 2021

Session 2

In week 1, students were introduced to electrical energy and how it is harnessed to produce work and action in the world. They started with basic paper circuits and then deconstructed e-waste to understand how different components are used. Students were then challenged to create their own permanent, sculptural circuits in 3D.

Part I: Everything Circuits

Once they were comfortable with simple circuits, students learned how to interact with and control their circuits using sensors and Arduino microcontrollers.

Part 2: Sensing and Control

The third and final portion of the studio allowed students to synthesize their knowledge to create objects that respond to their environment in a distinct way. Students used their abstractions and form studies from the "To Begin With.." studio to inspire their designs.

Final Projects

Hardship Over Water

The Hermit

To Confide or Not to Confide

Final Projects

Memory

Mono

Going from Abstraction to Interactive Sculpture: Hardship Over Water

Going from Abstraction to Interactive Sculpture: The Hermit

E-waste and Recycling

What if devices decayed gracefully into the environment? What if they acted more like organisms that could be composted, or perhaps heal themselves when damaged? Imagine a future without e-waste and its environmental impacts. This can include concepts around recycling technologies and processes, e-waste disposal, and other end-of-life solutions. Today, e-waste accounts for more than two-thirds of heavy metals in landfills and only nine percent of plastics in the US are recycled.

Studio Process

Plastics +

E-Waste

Research

Material

Exploration +

Development

Narrative

Framing

+ Fliming

Experts and Guests

Emma Hill

Program Associate at Biodesign Challenge

Daniel Grushkin

Executive Director at Biodesign Challenge

Joselyn McDonald

NuVuX Program Designer

Julia Napolitano

Research Associate at

TARA Biosystems

Tony Hale

Documentary Editor

and Filmmaker

Outcomes

Mobius

Mobius imagines a microbial chitin PCB and a cyclical system for its production and disposal.

BI/Ome

BI/Ome is a drop-in solution for the Google Nest Mini that uses living microorganisms and stored carbon to create durable and home-compostable external hardware.

Bio-PCB (NuVu)

 Bio-PCB replaces elements of a normal printed circuit board that are harmful to the environment, with mushroom spore bioplastic and water soluble adhesive.

Reflections

Thank You!

Aveen, Elijah, and Amiyr

Resonance: a three-part wearable collection which creates an intimate musical experience between audience members and musicians. Using vibration nodes connected to an Arduino Uno, the garment sends vibrations correlating with the music to the wearer, immersing their body in both the physical and visual sensations of the music. 

Precedents

Raluca Buzura

Stephanie Santos

Sonja Båumel

• Music is fluid -- flow is key
• Creating beats stems from improv and feeling it out + playing around with different samples
• Writing is more conscious -- lyric intention to create inspo for improv
• His music feels more intimate, and he wants to connect personally with the audience -- not just dance
• Music is felt

Take-aways from Diz:

Form Exploration:

Water flow on mannequin

Wire mobility

Chicken wire

Material Research

Knitted Nylon

Silicon 30

Silicon 10

Bioplastic + Chicken Wire

Wire

3D Printing

Aluminum Wire

Bio-plastic making

Silicone molding

Beading

Heat gun manipulation

Garment assembly

Chest Piece

Shoulder Piece

Spine Piece

Special Thanks to @diz.47

Spotify: @Diz

*Stream One Step Closer*