CCDN331: Manifestation Progress

I've been struggling to come up with an idea for my final manifestation.
Here are the two ideas I have that would actually make sense in relation to my manifesto:

A progress video
- Showing progress towards a final digital piece (whether it's a video or game or some other kind of media)
- Would have a montage of multiple different task building up to the creation of different things
-  Can include many different types of media

3D puzzle
- Fun to make (you enjoy the process of putting them together)
- The final product isn't really complete if you don't use all aspects of the puzzle (manifesto points)
- The pieces could potentially have the main points of my manifesto engraved on them?
- Show ideas like iteration (user would iterate through different ways of putting it together)

 

I have also made a mock up of the cube in maya

CCDN331: Manifesto Draft

 Digital Design Manifesto

Have Fun

Make what  you want to make. Make what you want to see/play/interact with. Design for yourself as much as your audience. Be excited about what you are doing, have fun, design based around what you like or what you are passionate about. This will come through in your work, and even if not everyone enjoys the final product, there will be someone the either does enjoy it, or at least the process you went through to make it.

Don’t be afraid to take risks

Don’t be scared to innovate and try something new. Stand out. Experiment with different software, mechanic, art styles or methods of creating. Experimenting with new software and techniques can help push your designs further. 

Iterate

Take the simplest idea for you have, then design and make it. iterate and build upon it, or make something new! Even if the project doesn’t end up working out, the skills you learn from simply making a range of small pieces will greatly help you with future projects. Iteration will help you identify problems with your design early on in the process, which will make the entire process more effective. 

Be critical

Find holes and gaps in your designs, and find ways to fix them or work around them. A bug, glitch or mistake can end up being a feature, and can take your project in a new exciting direction.

Be open to feedback

Feedback is important. Take what your audience has said on board. If the people playing your game or watching you short film say something doesn’t work or feel right, take what they have said try to rethink how you have done things, and find a way to improve their experience, which will improve the overall quality of the final piece.

References

AndersRamsay.com. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.andersramsay.com/2009/03/01/three-reasons-to-start-designing-iteratively/

Become A Better Designer Through Critical Thinking - Vanseo Design. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/critical-thinking/

CCDN331: Manifesto Beginnings

So here is a few points I have come up with for my manifesto. I wanted to center it around game design, and how to effectively design and make a game.

Magical Game Design Manifesto

1. Make the games you want to make- Be excited about what you are doing, have fun, design based around what you like/are passionate about

2. Take risks and innovate- Make something new- stand out- we don’t want or need 50,000 flappy bird clones.

3. Practice! take the smallest idea for a game you have and make it smaller! then design and make that! and do another one! Iteration
4. Be critical about your work, nitpicking mechanics and bugs etc.
5. Be open to feedback- play testing is important
6. Design to the platform your game is going to be released on - Don’t make touchscreen controls for an Xbox game etc.

CCDN331: Project 3 Essay

My final essay for this third project evolved as I was writing it, and ended up being about the role of media design and hacktivism in internet censorship, and how design can help prevent it.

Because of this I went with an 'official looking document' aesthetic with my final essay, including a watermark of the New Zealand coat of arms (pictured below), and blacked out some aspect of the title page as if it were redacted or censored information.