Final Post Summary

It's been such a long and interesting set of weeks. This project was really fun and interactive. I probably would have managed to snap out the same game without IST 195 but it's IST 195 that brought the business end to my work. What is it about technology that improves out lives so much? It's a larger contextual understanding that technology is the way of the future from manufacturing to advertising to distribution. We are saturated with gadgets and cutting edge technologies that allow us to achieve any idea that we might come up with. Through this project, I can clearly see how.
My 3 bloggers that I commented on are located in another post! Thank you so much! :)

Week 5 - Lossy Compression & Binary

Through computers, there is a digital medium through which music moves. WAV file sizes can be determined, whereas MP3 files cannot, and so that determines the future of sound. The average human can hear between 20Hz and 20kHz, so lossy compression is the act of disregarding all other sounds imperceivable to the human ear. But before one can even think about finding the file size of a WAV file, there first needs to be an understanding of bits and bytes. What is a bit? What is a byte? Essentially, there are 8 bits in a byte. The Binary Digit - the "bit". BUT what is a bit? A bit is either a 1 or a 0 and this is the language that makes up our computers and our ipods. That is the foundation of computer programming. Any number that is part of the make-up a computer can be discerned through Binary Code. An example of this would be:

256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
40 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0

176 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0

Focus on the 1 below each number and add them together. You will get the number to the far left this way. That is basic Binary number conversion for ya!
Something as essential as this will be VERY useful information for my potential product. Not so much for the product itself here, but moreover the business side of it. Understanding C language and basic operating systems might help my company create an interface or program using Binary. Not only is it good to understand why computer language is important to any business, but it is also important to put it to use TODAY. So much of what we do is through this digital medium and so in understanding the basic measurement of size in a computer, businesses can then move into other forms such as sound and video!
My project now has come to an interesting point : I'm finally going to be making my game. I have all of the materials that I'll need for it and what's left is the construction of it, as well as the Illustrator and Photoshop elements for the game cards! I also have decided to have my board map out constellations and so whenever your piece lands in spaces (color-coded) and occupy all of those areas, they have that constellation! Cool, huh? Above are the photographs of my most recent prototype for the board design.

Week 6 - Computer Forensics and Operating Systems

This week, I'll be talking about two lectures that deal with valuable information being distributed over the Web as well as different basic operating systems, which most know and use. The most distinguished of operating systems include Microsoft, UNIX, Linux, and Apple. Ken Thompson, the father of UNIX and arguably the father of the standard operating system, created C programming language which is also foundry to operating systems today. UNIX uses a command prompt which greatly increases the power of the user due to the absence of a digital interface in other programs. Basically, the keyboard and simple word commands control the program directly. However, multitasking has evolved through following operating systems, which is really a great thing for users as well. Open-source operating systems allow for any number of users to alter, copy, and redistribute the software at no expense to the company. There are over 600 versions of Linux out there by it having this quality.

What I really want to take hold of from the lectures is the understanding that by having a product "open-source" it basically means free advertising and free designers working to make something better for the user. And who knows a product better than the user himself? If I were to make my board game open source, I would probably lose profits without a secure patent. However, If the real world worked like operating systems, I could still oversee and manage everything that's happening with my product. I really really wish that I could do that.
So I'm at the last limb of my game. I'm almost finished with it and my last step is packaging. I have absolutely no idea how I want it to stay together but however so, I want it to be just as beautiful as the rest of it. It's so flexible that I really can do anything with it. I might use that to my advantage.

Famous Bloggers

Scott Nicholson (the board game guy)

This guy is basically known for his exploration of board games. You might know him from the ISchool here at SU. I went to the GGJ (Global Game Jam) earlier this semester and he was running it. Very knowledgable guy, funny too and really friendly!

Check him out here - http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/?paged=20

This Blog is great - it's more about ideas. It fascinates me!

Technology-internet based stuff in Spanish. Google Chrome allowed me to translate it, which gave me the opportunity to check it out!!

http://www.microsiervos.com//

Last but not least... Gizmodo! I love this blog. It's got the latest Industrial Designed products and more. It tracks recent news, and makes the impossible very real! check it out as well here:

http://gizmodo.com/

Blog Comments

Here are my three comments on fellow IST Bloggers!

Let's Go _ Infinity World

Miiez Queen

Gabriel Shore

Week 4 - Input / Output

This week's lecture honed in on devices used to achieve an input and output of information. We spoke briefly about digital cameras and their ability to generate varying degrees of quality photos based on how many MegaPixels were in the device, as well as technologies in the output field such as Printing. However, the discussion became much more interesting as we began to listen to the innovative services of the future. Google, for instance, has this Voice Recognition software which they believe will be the driving force in the future market. RFID chips have also come into full swing, detecting location remotely though being 1/2 mm in size.

From the lecture, I'm stringing together the importance of data quality and accuracy. With every part of my project, I need to make sure that it not only remains beautiful but also well-designed. I would like to have this lecture influence the direction of my project. By thinking about media and different mediums for displaying my project, I think not only a flip-book but also a digital movie (via my 10 MP camera) would help me better advertise my work.

The project has come along in different ways. I have changed the interface of it along with the gameplay. Before it was all about building these connections between different marbles. Now, however, the gameplay focuses on collections of gaseous matter (stars). It's all about having more of your galaxy on the board than another. Pictures above and video clip below (again with my 10.0 MP camera) will tell the tale of what my work is.

Along with the information we learned in lecture, I would like to use RFID chips to track my product inventory. This device is pervasive yet effective and simple and would eliminate the cost of human hands and the capacity for error that goes hand in hand!

My idea.

After recieving one comment on my idea, I've decided to make a post specifically indicating my idea. You won't have to scramble through my posts to figure it out because I will outline it here.

One student actually pointed out to me that he/she did not see what my idea was (even though I had about 6 or so posts). Here is that conversation:

bennettk195 said...
Can you please clarify what your idea is? And also, can you share what your inspiration was?
February 13, 2011 8:55 PM

Katy Jeremko said...
Hey Bennettk195, you should read my other posts. That was an ideation pre-post. My idea is a game based on the Big Bang, where each player is equipped with stars (marbles) and have a springboard to place them somewhere on the board. After that happens, they make connections between their marbles (as the gameboard is a chalkboard) and therefore create a constellation. After this has happened, whoever so builds the largest constellation wins. Does that clarify things? If you have any more questions, refer to my other posts.
February 14, 2011 3:10 PM

So, just for anyone who might stumble upon to my site looking for the idea I've been working on, here it is. Please give me any feedback you may have or would like to share!

Week 3 - Hardware Essentials

This week, Rubin spoke to us about the different components that go into a computer. The system unit is comprised of the following elements : Drive Bay, Power Supply, Sound Card, Video Card, Processor, and Memory. The motherboard, which contains most of these items, is the main circuit board of the unit. Moving on from those most basic parts of the PC, we moved into different applications and programs that companies have used to display information. Digital Video has gone from Real Networks to Windows Media and Quicktime to Flash and Silverlight (although a failure) to a future of HTML 5. Basically, as the market changes it looks for programs that are accessible to anyone, programs where the platform will be supported on any framework. It's safe to say that Flash will remain an industry leader, but it's not an over-exaggeration to state that HTML 5 will become the new standard.

What I took as being the most helpful piece of information this week are the differing types of Digital Video. For so long I've been navigating through websites without a clear understanding of what technology I was interacting with. Also, the entire interface that Flash allows is exquisite. The thing about digital video is that it is basically a visual element displayed through a series of commands. In doing so, it parallels the System Unit in a computer... but we are seeing it happen before our very eyes as our favorite TV show loads up to stream.

In the spirit of all of this talk about conveying information and displaying it, I have decided to make a flip-book of my game; that is, a start to a flip book. The premise of my game is that now that the Big Bang has happened, it is once again time to determine the location of the constellations in the sky. I'm thinking about alterations to the game as well. I want there to be this colossal explosion that happens somewhere in between starting and finishing, something that evokes the element of surprise in a game. So, for your enjoyment, my flip book.

Week 2 - Application Software

This past week, the lesson focused upon the gap between business and social media. With a mix from what we learned last week in the realm of social interactions on the web, this week was more about the appearance of those interactions. We were asked to deal with a little bit of excel and a little bit on html coloring systems (RGB). Professor Rubin stressed to us the importance of Excel in the practical world in order to make a business feasible and accounted for.

What I took from the lecture were some interesting ways of displaying my idea in a functional manner. I'm going to work with photoshop on the graphics of my game and after having heard about the differences between RGB and CMYK I can safely say that I understand the purpose of both. For example, if i were to make a video or wegpage about my business, I would format everything in RGB. However, as my game is physical and meant to be interactive in any environment, I would therefore choose to format my images on Photoshop in CMYK.

I have been working on the overall look of my game. Roughly, the outline of the game is coming together. Formally I havent yet gone in a particular path but I have made a firm and (YES) GREAT idea. The concept is this : THE BIG BANG. It's a game where opponents take their stars (right now just crumpled up post-it notes) and toss them into the sky. Whichever player has the longest, uninterrupted constellation wins! Attached are photos from my current stage of development.

If my object were able to hit stores, I could effectively use Excel to manage all of the incoming and outgoing profits and oversee inventory in a very precise fashion. Now that I hold within my hands the power of pivot tables, I can use that to analyze and summarize large amounts of data that would be recorded for my product.

Week 1 - Social Media

Yes. Class this past week brought us to focus upon the current interaction model that is sweeping the nation : Social media. This powerful beast is not just a passing phase, it is a force to be reckoned with. For all intents and purposes, our main goals as a functioning society should be now to incorporate social media into our everyday lives as much as possible and to never neglect the potential of said industry.

The lab, which has us create a Twitter account and access all of it's tools, made me realize the reality of a digital playing field where intelligent minds alike can come together in milliseconds, perhaps, and introduce ideas, collaborate and indicate their interests. Twitter allows the user to find new areas for exploration and networking.

With my project what I would like to do is elaborate on the ability for this platform to transcend over to the physical world; It is SO amazing that information has become so accessible yet by making it so we are actually eliminating the direct physical interaction that two or more people share as their ideas develop and evolve. Perhaps what this game is all about is more of networking to produce a sense of community between people who wouldn't otherwise physically or digitally find each other.

I would like to incorporate social media into my business plan by developing a twitter account for it or even perhaps getting this blog out into the open!

Business Model : Playfulness.

For my proposal going into these next few weeks, I'm going to push towards creating a physical game that would be able to work in the market. So far, it's going to be a capture the flag type deal or perhaps maybe even a drawing game. What I'm leaning towards is a game where the napkin dispenser is used to introduce surprises and the unpredictable nature of human existence. This adaption will make users get up and moving.

Am I the next great entrepreneur?

Thinking about stuff today, especially interfaces. I'm not sure how I feel about using technology. Thinking more. Be back with an answer later.