My project is a recorded game of Dungeons and Dragons turned into a video format. My goal is creating something people would watch as well as listen to, that also wouldn’t require more than a handful of people should I pursue this further.

This project is a merger of my interests I’ve developed in college, drawing and D&D. This would also serve as a way for me to expand my artistic abilities. This project would be different than other D&D related projects because no one has added visual elements to the entire podcast without animating it. It extents knowledge by allow me to experiment with mixing visual art with the audio story.

I am going to use Audacity to edit the audio and Photoshop to create the artwork. I won’t have prototypes, but I will have reference sheets for before the recording. I’m also going to get music and sound effects to add in post. For the actual game itself, I’m going to use Dungeon World to cut down on the gameplay Jargon as much as possible. I’ll go into how Dungeon World is different in detail in a later post, but for now imagine the rules of typical D&D like cooking with a cook book and Dungeon World like making a sandwich. 

Research

I’m going watch a ton of art and audacity tutorials. Also, I’m going to get good microphones from the cage. Finally, I’m going to read up on how to speak as clearly as possible.

Finalized Concept

Competitive Gaming Module

I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I believe my very first video game was Super Mario on the Super Nintendo and I think I was so young at the time I had no idea how to play the game properly, let alone win at it. And when you play a game by no means do you play to lose, I mean you might play to have fun -but the very idea is to accomplish a particular objective as cleanly and efficiently as possible. Winning becomes the central goal or idea for the player but how effectively one wins is just as important to ponder as the achievement in and of itself. An idea I wish to tackle in my current endeavor as I seek to create an interactive medium in which to improve the average players capacity in not only how they execute their play-style but how they think and analyze situations.

As I grew up gaming evolved not just graphically but conceptually and competitively in ways a 16-bit plumber could never even imagine. No longer was I jumping over platforms or saving the princess in another castle but fighting back the terrifying Locust swarm in Gears of War and the tenacious Covenant in Halo 3 . Hallmark titles with modern on-going sequels to this very day.  At the time there was a popular website in the gaming scene called Gamebattles that was affiliated with the renowned esports organization Major League Gaming (aka. MLG for short) and I participated in several seasonal online ladders on their website. With my close school mates as my team we accomplished little to nothing, with a constant loss streak with one to two minor victories here and there. And as we continued on we lost more and more matches and my hopes at fame, fun, and fortune in my all time favorite hobby were considerably dashed.

As I reflect years later on my ambitions to achieve a modicum of success in a competitive gaming circuit much of what I know now in comparison to what knew prior made me realize my hopes were always built on a false premise to begin with. Nothing in competition is achieved just by simply playing and winning but analyzing and correcting the mistakes you and your teammates make. It is almost a necessity to question every move you make, what weapons you use, what characters you pick, what map you play on, and etc. to the point of greasing yourself into a well oiled machine of efficiency. Contextualization and discipline is key. Having an answer to give when most questions arise in a match, and not getting cold feet when the other team gets too creative.

For my thesis project I wish to develop an interactive esports module centered around a popular title that teaches people how to think differently about their game-play actions in an online setting. A module that will entail recorded video simulations with point values that provide insight into how to act and react. Slides with highlight markers detailing important numerical statistics. And clips of the most competitive tournament matches explaining how and why professionals players utilize certain techniques and methodologies. Competitive development has always been a slight interest of mine as probing what makes other players more lethal that than their competition was like observing a game of Pokemon. Saying things like “this player fundamentally plays like a water type -they go with the flow,” or “that player plays like a fire type -constantly on the offensive and aggressive”. I personally think much of why I want to do this is to identify and harness the potential people have inside them in the hobby I am most passionate about. Because somewhere deep down inside I firmly do believe everyone has potential to be a winner. They just need the secret cheat codes to unlock it.

Feedback wise, it’s been about half-and-half: half said I should go through with my interactive storybook, the other half said I should go through with my interactive stitcher.

After contemplating for some time, I decided to go through with the idea of the interactive stitcher. I think it is something that will be able to be executed within the next 7 months and it excites me because I’ve never seen anything like my idea and I want to learn a new program to create this.

Being involved in the knitting/crocheting club here at TCNJ, I can ask my fellow club members about crocheting techniques and patterns to help me with this project. I feel that’s already a good start.

My finalized concept is using holographic technology (aka a bunch of iPads and plexiglass) to depict a narrative that describes the issues surrounding deforestation. I plan to use several iPads that would each feature a holographic video of part of a forest. Put together, these videos would form an overarching, connected narrative that would immerse the viewer in a digital forest or data visualization.  I’d like to add motion sensors that trigger different videos to play, or at the very least turn on the holograms. I may even have a larger projection on the wall (just a regular flat 2D video), but that would depend on the time frame of the project.

The company  Rainforest Connection is the main source of inspiration for this idea. Founded by Topher White, it utilizes Tensorflow, a machine learning framework created  by Google, and old cell phones to detect the sounds of chainsaws and alerts the locals of illegal deforestation activities. I stumbled across this site:  https://www.google.com/about/stories/rainforest/
The display of the site intrigued me, and while it’s not data visualization, I liked the way they used interactivity and presentation to draw attention to their mission. What’s great is that they even have a contact that people can reach out to for project help and contributions.

I love hiking and I love nature, so I would personally be invested in a project that promotes that. I’ve also always been a storyteller and artist first since I was young, and since coming to college I’ve mostly been focusing on the technology aspect over the artistic despite being an IMM major. I’d like to be able to return to my roots (pun as an afterthought) with this project, as well as practice some 3D modeling/environmental design. It may not be directly impactful, but I think I can make it work.

My initial prototype I’d like to complete by the end of the semester is at least one holographic video complete with a preliminary model. If I can get my hands on a sensor and get it hooked up to the hologram, that would be bonus points. I’d probably do several mockups of the hologram to decide which set up I like best, as well as what style I’d like the video narrative to be in.

With that being said, I’m excited to jump in!

My senior thesis is a combination of two things I am passionate about: cooking and technological innovation. I plan to make an interactive spice rack that allows cooks of all levels to explore the art of blending spices. I thought of this idea while, unsurprisingly, cooking! As a college student off the meal plan for the first time, I am finally learning the fundamentals. This has presented me with a number of challenges, including being able to layer spices correctly. I had no clue there were so many flavor profiles and ways to intermingle them. One fruit tart recipe I followed called for cardamom, a spice whose name I’ve heard, but always thought was a flowering plant found at a nursery (I was confusing carnation + mum). I was reluctant to add this to the mixture because to me, adding a spice in a sweet dessert that wasn’t cinnamon or nutmeg sounded catastrophic. Eventually, I mustered up the courage and funds to purchase cardamom and use it in the tart. It had a pleasantly warm and floral smell that married well with the flavor of sugared berries. This find led me to research other kinds of spices and their flavor profiles. Sweet, nutty, piney, bitter, herbal, spicy, woody. The list goes on and on. Spice is the heart of a meal; it can either make or break the taste, as well as shape its flavor style. Why leave spice layering to professional chefs? It’s time for a creation that will bring this life skill to the home kitchen and spice up every cook’s life.

Two of the biggest challenges I faced while cooking were timing and multitasking. Organization is key when it comes to speed. No one wants to spend valuable time scouring the cabinet for the correct spices. Chances are, I am racing the clock to leave on time or hurrying before my family gets home and finds other snacks to eat instead. I also found it hard to remember ingredients and steps listed in a recipe. I was constantly running back to my book or phone to reread a section. For these reasons, I want to create an interactive spice rack that utilizes visual cues that immediately direct my eyes to where I should be looking. If I want something hot and spicy, every spice on the rack with a matching flavor profile will light up. This way, I will have an easier time finding what I need. This feature also allows an exploratory experience, allowing the chef to truly relish in the thought process of cooking instead of rushing to get it done.

Cooking a delicious meal through exploration and discovery is one of the most satisfying experiences as an amateur cook. Recently, I purchased some riced cauliflower for the first time and decided to make a loose version of pork fried rice with ginger. The second time I made riced cauliflower, I added cilantro and lime instead for a Chipotle-inspired meal. One or two ingredients can make all the difference and drastically change the style of it. That is why I would also like to implement a sort by geographical region in my spice rack. This way, cooks can easily find the spices that are common in cultural recipes from around the world and use it as inspiration for their dishes. Along the way, if I discover a spice I like or a combination of spices that pair well with a dish, I want to have the capability to save them in the system so I have access to them for later use.

In summary, the coded interface should primarily sort spices and herbs by flavor and geographical region. It should also save user-favorited spices and groups of spices for future reference. Secondary features include making flavor blend suggestions (sweet pairs well with spicy) and spice pairing suggestions (cumin and turmeric are usually paired together). A tertiary feature I am considering is providing possible spice blend recipe combinations like Chinese 5 spice, chili powder, curry powder, apple pie spice, and baharat. This requires including less used spices on the spice rack and I am not sure yet if there will be enough space.

Next, I plan to outline hardware requirements for the interactive spice rack. Obviously, I will need to present my project with some spices. I am currently considering building a 4×3 wooden rack that will hold 12 of the most common spices and herbs I’ve come across in my research: basil, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, rosemary, and thyme. This list is subject to change or expand throughout the course of my research. I will build the LED lights into the spice rack and hook them up to the coded interface that will decide whether the lights will turn on or off beneath each spice. I do not know how this will work yet, so I am still considering my options. I have begun working in Autodesk Tinkercad to learn electronics and circuits. I also need to look into Arduino hardware and see if that could be implemented in my project. As for the user interface itself, I am planning to have a screen that the user can interact with to sort the spices. Thinking about how this will function in the kitchen made me consider a possible hands free option instead. Hands free appliances from electric mixers to Amazon’s Alexa have significantly optimized cooking, so finding a way to make spices light up through voice recognition would take this project to the next level.

I definitely plan to work on the software side of this project first to make sure the sorts work. A complete baseline project would be a simple application that performs the basic flavor profile and geographical region sorts of the spices. I will later hook the code up to the lights, then hook the lights up to the spice rack. And from there, hopefully, BOOM! The good kind, not the blowing up kind.