Exposition Research - Business Cards

I have been looking into what needs to be sorted for our degree showcase. An important aspect is having business cards that we can use to hand out to potential employers or at the very least - get our name out there. I will be designing and ordering my business cards after I have handed in my work. This is to allow me time to focus on the work, hand it in and then focus on setting up for the showcase. There is plenty time between hand ins and the showcase for me to organize and set up what is required.

Business Card Examples

Last year I attended the showcase and picked up many of my friends business cards. I will be looking at these for ideas when it comes to designing mine. Many of the artists have used their own actual art for the cover of the card. This is something I may consider if there is an aspect of my final piece I think will be suitable for it.

Business Card Information

• Name
• What I do - 3D Environment artist
• email
• mobile number
• linkedIn address
• HEAR address

Personal Notes

I have noticed from these example cards how clear the names are. This is important in order to catch the eye. Once I had my dissertation on Wednesday the 29th, I will spend Thursday 30th, designing and ordering my business cards. This gives plenty of time for them to arrive before 8th May.

Supervisor Meeting - 11

Student Name: Christy McLaughlin
Supervisor: Ryan Locke
Date: 13/04/15

Agenda

• Dissertation - Ending Intro/results/discussion/conclusion
• Hand Ins - Blog, presentation and exposition
• Testing my game

Progress Report

• Spoke about dissertation. I have given Ryan a copy and he will look over it and get back to me regarding what needs altered
• I have now found out that we do not need to hand in a physical copy of our presentation and that the blog is handed in alongside our portfolio. As for the exposition, I explained my plans for that and everything seem ok with that so I do not need to worry too much about that.
• As for testing my game, I was made aware that there was no need for participant testing in my game and that this was a waste of time. Especially as it is so late in my project. I already have plenty of  criteria to use in order to produce final version of game.

Agreed Action Plan

• Blog examples of how my final exposition will ideally look - some mock-ups can go a long way. As for business cards, a suggestion was made (to save money) to purchase decent ones - which I would keep on me and hand out to those I choose and then have standard ones lying about that people can help themselves too.
• Looked quite a bit into my dissertation and got a better understanding of the 'methodology' section. It was apparent that I had too many different methods. After careful discussion it was agreed that I would remove 'case studies' and merge iterative testing with final testing but change the heading to critical evaluation.
• Me carrying out practice based research was valid for an evaluation process. I was unsure this would be the case but I am now aware and so there is no need for participant testing.

Personal Notes

It was good to get another meeting on the way as it had been quite some time since our last. I did not really get a chance to show much of my work but we discussed my dissertation mainly which has helped a lot. With the main concern of this meeting resulting in me not actually needing to test my game using participants, it means I need to re-plan my week as this was the main intention. This is not a bad thing however as it has saved me quite some time.

Revised Plan

• Go over Methodology
• Complete results (evaluation) and conclusion
• Run through whole thing to a completed state
• Blog exposition stuff
• Plan new ideas for story-telling aspect in my final game

I have a busy week ahead of me due to personal commitments however I am hoping I can achieve the revived plan.

Weekly Update - End Of Week 2 (April)

Another successful week has gone by - here is what was achieved:

This Weeks Intention

This weeks plan was to complete:

• 'Beta' version of game
• Further development of Intro/Main & Methodology of dissertation
• Plan showcase stuff - prints etc

This Weeks Results

Once again I have had a very successful week:

• 'Beta' version of the game is now complete - This will be used for testing next week
• Main is near on complete and intro is the same. Just need a minor conclusion for intro. Methodology has also been complete. This will be getting checked by my supervisor for some feedback
• I have looked into what needs done for showcase and have got a rough plan of action:

Things Needed for Showcase

Business Cards

Posters/Print outs

Sketchbook

Book (novel)

Video (back-up)

Write-up

As for timing. these can be sorted much later - they can all be sorted after my major hand in's so no need to worry overly. Mon 27th April - Sort Poster Prints. Thurs 30th April, design and purchase 1. Business Cards 2. Sketchbook Mon 4th May Create Video and complete Write Up

For End Of Next Week (Week 3)

• Get testing completed on Beta version
• Attempt 'Discussion and Results' in dissertation (maybe conclusion)
• Blog about exposition
• If time - complete Main and Methodology

Personal Notes

I feel a little stressed with the testing and writing out results. I only really have next week to do that as I want to save last week for polish. I am glad to know my supervisor is back and I will be speaking to him tomorrow so can sort issues then!

'Beta' Version Complete

I have now completed the 'Beta' version of my game. This involved fixing numerous issues that were obvious in gameplay. This game is now suitable for proper testing which I will begin next week. After the testing I have one more week before hand ins which I will use to polish the game.

Major fixes were:

• Fire light shining through walls
• Interfaces
• Asylum roof (corners/t-junctions/ends)
• Padded Cell lighting
• Above dorm wall

Personal Notes

I am happy with my results so far - I look forward to getting this game complete and ready for showcase. I need to look more closely at the showcase stuff as time is of the essence for this particular hand-in.

Weekly Update - End of Week 1 (April)

With relation to my blog post regarding Plan of April, I have decided that I will give an update of my progress at the end of each week, as well as what the plan is the following week.

This Weeks Intention

This weeks plan was to complete:

• 'Alpha' version of Game
• Intro, Main & Methodology of dissertation (basic)
• Look into showcase - prints etc

This Weeks Result

This week went extremely well and I managed to complete the list and do some more:

• 'Alpha version of game is complete - I also managed to construct a video to use for the showreel
• Intro, Main & Methodology have been done - a little bit bet than 'basic' too!
• I looked into thing that need doing and here are some notes on the following: Business cards can be printed after hand ins (plenty time), go speak to UrbanPrint Dundee and Abertay Binding about booking slots/prints, showcase template will be sent to us soon, printing a photo album book of final work (sketchbook) can be done after hand ins

Overall it has been a very good week. I have now composed another in-depth plan for next week:

For End Of Next Week (Week 2)

• Complete 'Beta' version of my game
• Refine, Main and Methodology of Dissertation (possibly Intro)
• Decide what to have printed (Maybe Blog showcase research

Personal Notes

By taking each week in turn (and then each day in turn) I am finding it ok to cope with the work. I am slightly nervous about the whole thing but that's just something I'll have to deal with until it's done! Planning like this is helping a lot and forcing me to look ahead and plan appropriately.

Showreel Submission

So we have been asked to put forward parts of our work that can be showcased in the showreel. I have put together a 30 second video that acts as a trailer to my final piece. It must be noted that this can still be edited by those in-charge of putting together the showreel.

Personal Notes

This was a difficult process, especially with the specifications required when putting forward. I have tried my best to have it with the best possible graphics/framerate, however, it still came out not 100% desired. Having said that, I am still pleased with this clip and feels it shows my work well.

'Alpha' Version Complete

My aim was to have the alpha version complete. I have achieved this although there are still plenty of things that need fixing.

This 'alpha' version is basically a complete working version that can be played. It has some minor issues and needs a lot of polish, but it works. I have recorded a clip of me playing through it (quite rushed) to show how the different events all work and come together. I am aware that it is very dark. I can assure you that the game is in fact brighter. I believe it is due to video compression.

Personal Notes

This weekend I will purely be working on my dissertation. By the end of next week I wish to complete the 'Beta' version of my game. Issues that I know of and need to address are:

• Fire light passing through walls
• Minor mesh glitches
• Light maps
• Condensing the story (words on documents)

The following week, I will look to test the game with people and hope to discover any last minute issues/errors. This will then give me one more week to polish and finish of my project.

As for my dissertation, after this weekend I will only be working on it Monday's and Wednesday's, before and after work. I anticipate that this should still be plenty of time for me to get it done.