theartjar

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Jounal - Week 9

April 10, 2019 - Wednesday

Presentation of Dream Activity

On this day, we presented our game concepts, almost all of our class works are about Zombie apocalypse or something horror. I heard about zombies, fallen angels, asylums. Some are common and some are unique. I guess almost all of us had creepy dreams once. One group also had a Japanese type of game concept where it is set in a high school, one girl likes the boy, but the boy has a girlfriend, the girl got jealous and tries to kill the boy and his girlfriend but they somehow met the asylum patients and tries to kill them all. I also liked the concept of a game where it explores different nightmares that would be interesting plot and gameplay wise. After the presentation of the game concepts, another activity was presented regarding social media, where they used an approach using the “thinking hats” I wasn’t able to know and be part of the group because I was absent on the day it was taught (April 7, 2019 – Sunday) All I remember that this is the use of the thinking hats:

Thinking hats

-        About 6 thinking hats

-        Blue – states the problem

-        White – present the known facts

-        Green – generating ideas as solutions

-        Yellow – stating the benefits

-        Black – identifying drawbacks

-        Red – judge gut feelings on possible choices

-        Blue – summarize current progress and future tasks

One group presented using the thinking hats on twitter. I think this approach is organized and it can give a detailed work when used.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 8, Day 2

April 4, 2019 - Wednesday

Changed Schedule

Dream Activity (Game Concept)

Today is the day for the dream exercise given to us last class. I thought about my dream hard and I was able to remember this one creepy dream I had, where I was inside the toilet and was peeing when suddenly a man wearing a demon like mask break through the wall and holds a hook in each hand that is chained together and threw the hook to one of the people inside the bathroom and killed the person. The masked man then looks at me and did the same thing, but I was able to avoid the hook and run, that dream lasted for a while, where I did some parkour stunts to get away from him and using the environment to hide and escape until it reached the point of our fight which I didn’t know who won because I woke up. For this activity I am partnered with Trisha, she had a dream where her mom was possessed by a demon that tries to kill her and she is trying to escape. After sharing our dreams, we thought that both our dreams compliment each other and that we can combine it together for our game concept. What we did was, we combined the man wearing a demon-like mask and the demon possessed, to turn it into a demon possessed man wearing a demon like mask. We also took some inspirations from Resident Evil where it can be a Co-Op game or the stories of the Protagonists intertwine and sometimes would meet in one mission. Trisha drew exactly what the man wearing a demon-like mask looks like! I was amazed because all I did was describe it and she was able to draw the man from my dream.

Here is the details regarding our game concept. Title: Bewitched

Genre: 3rd Person, Action-Horror

1 Demon Antagonist

1.      Mephisto – Demon Possessed Man

2 Protagonists

1.      Paine – Strong, independent, paranormal investigator

2.      Vyn – Shy, reluctant, average

Mechanics

1.      Environment based – using the environment as a means of fighting or escaping

2.      Puzzles

3.      Co-Op

4.      3rd Person

Storyline:

-        Venue: Abandoned Gas Station

-        Vyn was travelling and is in need to use the toilet

-        He sees the abandoned gas station and decided to use the toilet

-        He uses the toilet and hears a mumbling sound

-        He looks for the source of the sounds

-        He sees a closed cubicle and opens it

-        Only to find out one victim that was sacrificed

-        Suddenly, the antagonist breaks through the wall and sees Vyn

-        And tries to catch Vyn

-        Vyn runs and while trying to escape meets Paine

-        Paine and Vyn escaped together

-        Paine introduces herself and tells Vyn what’s happening

-        Paine decides to carry on while Vyn decides to get out

-        Their Journey Starts

Character Profiles:

Paine

Attributes:

-        Strong

-        Paranormal Expert

-        Fighter

Details/Backstory:

No one knows why a lady like Paine would take interest in finding paranormal activities and putting a stop to it. But one thing is for sure, she makes sure that once she started something, she will do everything she can to finish it. Do not be fooled by her appearance, she may not be as big as others, but she knows a hundred ways to make you scream in pain.

Vyn

Attributes:

-        Average

-        Shy

-        Reluctant

Details/Backstory:

“Unlucky” is the term most used for a guy like Vyn. He always stayed away from trouble and lives his life to not bring inconvenience to others, and yet trouble found him, a unique and dangerous one. He lived a life of seclusion, so no one knows about Vyn rather than that he is anti-social. Will he able to show his hidden talents, if his life is on the line?

Demon Possessed Man/Mephisto

Attributes:

-        ???

Details/Backstory:

Details of unsolved cases report that there are lots of people that are killed by a man wearing a demon-like mask for human sacrifices, they are killed using various inhumane ways that are too many to begin with. Some say it’s a work of a psychopath, to some it’s a myth, and for those who are crazy enough to believe that this is real, it’s a paranormal activity. No one was able to collect information regarding the man that is wearing a demon mask, because everyone that took interest in finding out is now missing or seen dead. Is it really a myth? Or Is it real?

Plot/Storyline:

Paine, a lady in her 20’s is a paranormal investigator and a really good one. Despite her young age she has been through a lot and solved a lot of cases. Her amazing work on her cases made her respected by a lot especially her colleagues. Paine for years have been looking for clues regarding the paranormal activities surrounding the man wearing a demon-like mask killing random people to be used for human sacrifices. She has no success in finding clues that leads to where the man might be. Until one day, a police officer walks into her office and gives her all the clues she needed to track and investigate the paranormal activity. After studying all the information she gathered, she sets out to find the man wearing a demon-like mask and put a stop to it. She went to the place where the case files that the police officer gave her pointed out and immediately knew she is in the right place because she was welcomed by the fanatics of the man wearing a demon-like mask. After taking care of the fanatics, Paine suddenly bumped into Vyn, a man in his mid-20’s running for his life. Paine helps Vyn get to safety then asks what happened to him. Vyn tells Paine that he was only about to use the restroom of an abandoned gas station when he heard a eerie sound coming from one of the cubicle. He took care of his business and checks the cubicle where the noise is coming from, to his surprise, he saw a dead man that was killed recently and it looks like that the man has been sacrificed. Still in shock, suddenly a man wearing a demon-like mask holding two hooks that are connected through a chain breaks into the wall and tries to approach him. He woke up from the state of shock he was in and there is only one way that he could only think of, run. Paine then tells Vyn who she is and what is her purpose of going to such dangerous place. Vyn finds her crazy and ridiculous, all he wants to do is to get out of the crazy place as soon as possible. With both have different desires, Paine sets to proceed and investigate while Vyn is determined to leave. They separate ways and sets to find out the mysteries of the paranormal activities and the way out of the haunted place.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 8, Day 1

March 31, 2019

Creativity and the Unconscious

Today’s topic was all about the human brain and how does it work and it is used in creativity. According to Sigmund Freud, a popular Austrian psychologist’s model of the mind is separated into 3 tiers

1.      The conscious mind or ego – is in charge of rational and reasoning, thinking and intellectual

2.      The preconscious(subconscious) – More powerful than the conscious mind, the feelings and emotions comes from the subconscious.

3.      The unconscious mind – no awareness or control

We also learned about intuition and creative intuition, where intuition is the ability to obtain knowledge without the use of reason or facts and creative intuition is the ability to recognize creative ideas without conscious thought. We then are given an exercise, and here is what I’ve done:

Exercise:

1.      Choose a letter from the alphabet

R

2.      Write down a word the begins with that letter

Rollercoaster

3.      Write a list of words that are associated in your mind with the word you’ve chosen.

·        Fun

·        High

·        Fast

·        Ride

·        Exciting

·        Extreme

4.      Choose two words from the list from #3 and write a one-paragraph story connecting them to an event in your life.

 I will never forget the first time a rode an extreme ride, I consider it as one of the best moments in my life. I rarely go out to go to a carnival, but when I do I just walk around and then eat. But that time it was different, my brother and his wife (his girlfriend at that time) asked if we want to ride an extreme ride. I said I want to ride that scary ride called “2xtreme” all you have to do is to sit while the ride acts like a catapult but only rotates for 360 degrees, so it was high and fast! In the end, my brother and his wife didn’t join me because they got scared. I got to enjoy the fun and exciting ride on my own, when they asked me how was the ride, all I can say that it was fun!

 5.      Continue the story for another paragraph, but include elements of things learned about life from any field of knowledge (e.g. psychology, science, computing, etc.)

 Looking back, I am glad and I thank God that I was able to gain the strength to try it. I used to fear heights a lot and when I ride some rollercoasters when I was young I just freeze and close my eyes. I never get to enjoy the ride until I rode the “2xtreme” ride. I always hear this when I was younger that in order to conquer our fears is to face them, and that’s what I did! I faced my fears and I was able to conquer them. Ever since that moment, I learned to face all my fears and conquer them. I’m glad that I improved a lot.

 6.      Now write another paragraph including you own wisdom and thoughts.

 It is amazing how the things we used to fear are now the things that gives us happiness and enjoyment. That all it takes to accomplish something is to do it, even if it continues to scare or sometimes discourage you. Keep moving forward and face all those fears, it’s not about getting used to being scare and afraid, it’s all about that we have nothing to fear and there’s no need to. Nothing is impossible.

 7.      Add a non-sequitar (however foolish or goofy)

 Next time, maybe I can ride an extreme ride while standing and holding on to a thin support. But that’s just outrageous, no one will allow a ride that has no means of protection.

 8.      Now use what you’ve written in the preceding steps to write a poem, using any of the standard tools of poetry, metaphor, similie, rhyme, rhythm, symbolism, word play, irony, allusion, ambiguity. Etc

 I used to fear the high atmosphere,

I never tried and always hide,

Then one day, I’d said I’ll try

It opened my eyes for a great time.

After the activity, we then learned that the brain is the ultimate self-organizing system and creativity is one of its most important properties. Before the class ends we are given time to prepare and think of one dream we had to share it with a partner and attempt to design a game that could incorporate the features of both my dream and my partner’s dream. That will be done next class.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 7, Day 2

March 26, 2019

Presentation of Activity

In this day, we all just presented our works, I was able to hear some groups that also liked the gift ideas for them. I think all of us we’re able to empathize with our partners and we’re able to come up with a gift that will benefit them. Through out this activity I learned that, giving solutions for the need of others is as hard, or even harder than finding solutions to your personal needs. Because it requires you to understand their ways, to know why and how this is a problem for them that needs to be fixed. One concept of a good design is being able to understand the users and that the product caters to the users needs.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 7, Day 1

March 24, 2019

We weren’t able to finish the exercise last class so I took the opportunity to make some modifications regarding my earlier work at home. I also added more to the “Capture Findings” part and made a careful research regarding her answers that she gave me. I was able to find out that:

1.      She wants to be confident

2.      She wants to do what she loves

3.      She wants to express herself

4.      She wants to explore

5.      She wants to assert herself

For the insights part, I researched her MBTI personality type INFJ (https://www.16personalities.com/infj-personality )and included some personal observation. I also researched regarding her favorite color (purple - https://www.bourncreative.com/meaning-of-the-color-purple/) to find out more about her. As I read the details regarding her personality type and her favorite color, I found that most relates to her and that I was able to understand her a bit more, her actions and some reason behind it. I begin to be more careful of thinking of a gift to give her, because the gift must be able to answer her need and that it will help her a lot. The keyword that I have taken from all of it as one of her need that I’ll be focusing on is “assert”. For defining problem statement, “Zaira, needs a way to bring her “comfortable” side anywhere at any time to further assert herself. Because she feels the best when she expresses herself and gets confident and energized in doing so.” And with that I sketched this 5 things:

1.      Camera – because it is one item that she always wanted to have, and that will allow her to explore and capture moments wherever she goes.

2.      Sketch pad – so that she will just go away for a bit and express herself through art which is her strongest ability.

3.      E-books – whenever she is travelling or just sitting waiting for her turn, she can always read through her phone or tablet.

4.      Books – she likes studying, so just bringing a book that sparked her interest is a good idea wherever she goes. Going back old school is a good idea whenever she wants to save her batteries.

5.      Personalized bag – that has a space for her laptop, charger, powerback, sketch pad, camera, powerbank and has a soft pillow inside so that she can always hug it or take it out whenever she feels like it while reading. The bag will be small, just the exact size for all her needs. It is bringing her “comfortable space” anywhere.

Unfortunately, some of us are still not finished and we spent another day to finish the activity, because I was finished, I went and show it to my partner Zaira, and asked for her feedback. Thankfully, she loved all the gifts! I feel good knowing that I was able to think of gifts that my partner would like, because it shows hat I was able to understand her need and be able to come up with an idea of a gift that will greatly benefit her. I was very careful in asking questions, because the point of the interview is to understand her ways and see her needs. I do not want to be half-hearted, because in doing so I’m not going to empathize or connect with her. I realize that as you progress in design thinking, you become more careful in analyzing but you also becoming bold in your decisions. Because every idea and decision that will be made has a basis, an information to support. I still have a lot of things to improve that is for sure, but it is a great start to learn from it and get better.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 6, Day 2

March 19,2019

Design Thinking

The topic for this day was all about Design Thinking. It is a methodology that gives a solution-based approach to solving problems. Useful in handling complex problems by understanding the human needs involved, re-planning of the problem, forming many ideas through brain storming sessions, and by adapting hands-on approach in prototyping and testing. We learned that there are 5 Stages in Design Thinking Process:

1.      Emphatize – It is the understanding of the human needs involved

2.      Define – re-examining and defining the problem in humane possibilities.

3.      Ideate – Creating various thoughts or ideas in ideation sessions using ideation techniques

4.      Prototype – A hands-on approach in a built model

5.      Test – Testing the prototype, be able to develop a solution to the problem

We also learned that Design thinking is a non-linear process and that it could take long depends on how a project or a task progresses. Because design thinking is non-linear, the process could take a step further or take a step back depending on the progress of each stages. In the diagram, the process of design thinking is a detailed and it doesn’t stop until a solution is created. We are then introduced to David Kelly, the founder of a successful design firm named IDEO and also the founder of the D.School at Stanford University. We were given a link to his TED talk regarding Creative Confidence that will help us hone our creativity.

After the lecture, we are given an exercise a Gift-giving experience for our partner. Our task is to think and design of a gift for our partner that uses the process of design thinking. My partner for this task was Zaira, our task was:

1.      Gaining Empathy

a.      Interview

b.      Dig Deeper

2.      Reframe the problem

a.      Capture Findings

b.      Define Problem Statement

3.      Ideate: generate alternatives to test

a.      Sketch at least 5 radical ways to meet your user’s needs.

b.      Share your solutions & capture feedback

4.      Iterate based on feedback

a.      Reflect & generate a new solution

5.      Build and test

a.      Build your solution

b.      Share your solution and get feedback.

As we started the exercise, I’ll be the one conducting the interview first to gather data about her. I didn’t know where to start, suddenly a thought entered my mind. “What’s a better way than to ask her to describe herself? And know her tendencies.” It’s my first time trying to empathize and I like the idea of having her describe herself in order to get to know her a bit more for the giving exercise. I asked her these questions.

I.                 Interview

1.      Description of Herself – Describe yourself

2.      Interests

3.      Favorite Stuff (Color, Thing, Activity)

4.      One thing she always wanted to have

5.      One thing she always wanted to try

6.      Dislikes

After I asked her these questions and it’s her turn to interview me, I think she liked the questions I asked her because she asked me if she could also use the questions that I asked. I agreed to her request. After my turn of being interviewed roles have changed again and I must dig in deeper. I tried to make a group for each answer of my 6 questions earlier, but this is what I have created:

II.                Dig Deeper

1.      Why’s

2.      What

3.      What do you feel when…

4.      What do you want to do if you’re given a camera?

5.      5. What will be your first painting?

6.      Why you don’t like…?

Once again we changed roles and I answered all her questions. For the 3rd part “Capture Findings” I was able to recognize what is she trying to do, that is to Read, Learn and Explore. The Insights that I got was:

1.      She wants to express herself more

2.      That she can have a solo time when outside her house as well

3.      She wants to be confident

Because of these findings, I was able to define the problem statement. That my partner Zaira, needs a way to go to her comfort place anytime she wants. That she can always do the things she likes wherever and whenever she wants to.

 Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time, but the good thing is we can continue the activity on our homes, because we’re already finished with the interviews and it’s time to ideate.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 6, Day 1

March 17, 2019

Bizarre Thinking, Droodles, Incomplete Figure

Today we explored some aspects of Divergent thinking, we were tasked to do 3 things:

1.      To have a Bizarre Idea

2.      Draw Droodles

3.      Make something out of an incomplete figure

Before we proceed with the activities we are given examples of Droodles and arts coming from incomplete figures. I was amazed how a photo that has simple lines or curves could mean something. On the first glance, it looked like something completely normal a photo that does not have any meaning. But I was so wrong! Even the simplest of lines, curves, or shapes tells a lot! That’s what I learned from seeing those examples of droodles. On the other hand, making something out of an incomplete figure taught me that you can turn anything into something. Who would know that a simple figure could be part of a masterpiece? The examples I saw are so inspiring and encouraged me more to think outside the box. Seeing the examples got me hyped and inspired to do the activity.

For the activity, I decided to do the Incomplete figure first. When I saw the figure I was given with a lot of ideas went through my mind, I want to draw a box, table, cart but I went for a camera that was being held. Even though I am not a good artist I still went for it even though drawing the camera & the hand is challenging, I took the chance to see if I can improve my drawing skills. There’s no better way right now is to do it than during class and an activity. I took a bit, and that is what I can do for now. After completing the figure, I proceeded to making droodles and skipped the bizarre idea because I can’t think of any at that moment. After thinking for 3 minutes I was able to come up with the bird’s eye view of a roof and a paper carried by the wind. It was the fastest activity that I’ve done because it only required me to draw something simple but it tells something. But the hard challenge for me was the Bizarre thinking, we need to think something bizarre that could be beneficial. We have to draw it and describe it, it took me 15 minutes to think of something, I even researched the internet for possible inspirations, but all I can think about in the end was a touch screen projector screen. That has touch sensors on top and bottom of the screen where it can be connected to your pc and can be beneficial for presentations. I was not able to describe it properly how it works and why it will be beneficial because I’m running out of time and I’m on a rush. I do hope that my bizarre idea is crazy enough to be created and benefit many people in the world. But so far I’ve learned that I really have to be more bizarre and think outside the box! I need to think of something that is crazy and do the necessary means to create it and be able to achieve the impossible.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 5

March 12, 2019 - Tuesday

Lateral Thinking Lesson

Lateral Thinking, is the topic for this day, it’s a unique way of thinking of a solution that uses bizarre methods or elements that are normally not considered as logical way of thinking. We are given few questions that will exercise our lateral thinking. Here are the questions:

1.      You are driving down the road in your car on a wild stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:

a.      An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.

b.      An old friend who once saved your life.

c.      The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Knowing that there can only be one passenger in your care, whom would you choose?

This question is something I have encountered before because my brother asked me about it. I remember clearly that I have answered the wrong answer the first time I heard this. I chose the old lady because I know my friend can still take the bus and he will understand me for it, and I can always meet the perfect partner if we are really meant to be. Because of that I can’t forget this question and the answer to it. So as soon as I finished reading the question, I immediately raised my hand and answered the question, that I would choose to let my old friend who once saved my life to drive and take the old lady that looks about to die to the hospital and ride the bus with the perfect partner I’ve always dreamt about.

2.      There are six eggs in the basket. Six people each take one of the eggs. How can it be that one egg is left in the basket?

This one is new to me, that made me wonder why I wasn’t able to encounter these kinds of questions when I was still in elementary and high school. I was able to encounter some but not this question. We all took our guesses but we still couldn’t answer why that one egg is still in the basket, until my quiet classmate answers the question that one took the basket with the egg still in it. That really made me laugh and I said to myself, “That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that?”

3.      A fire officer has 12 matchsticks lying in front of her. She removes just one of them. She now sees 9 in front of her. How is this possible?

We also took a lot of time to figure this out, we we’re all silent when we are trying to come up with the answer. No figured out the right answer, but I was able to know it before Miss told us because I searched it and was amazed by the answer. I was so busy thinking that it could be a trick question that I actually tricked myself and didn’t come up with an answer. The answer is that the matchsticks are forming the word “Nine” after 1 matchstick was removed.

4.      Three of the glasses below are filled with orange juice and the other three are empty. By moving just one glass, can you arrange the glasses so that the full and empty glasses alternate?

I wasn’t able to solve the question, but my classmate was quick in solving it. She pointed out that all we have to do is to pour the wine on the 2nd cup to the 5th cup.

5.      You have to choose between three rooms

a.      The first is full of raging fires

b.      The second is full of tigers that haven’t eaten in three years.

c.      The third is full of assassins with loaded machine guns.

Which room should you choose?

Most of us knew the answer to the problem that we’ll choose the second room because the tigers inside are probably dead because they haven’t eaten in three years.

6.      A man comes up to the border of a country on his motorbike. He has three large sacks on his bike. The customs officer at the border crossing stop him and asks,“What is in the sacks?”

 “Sand,” answered the man.

 The guard says, “We’ll see about that. Get off the bike.”

 The guard takes the sacks and rips them apart; he empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand. He detains the man overnight and has the sand analyzed, only to find that there is nothing but pure sand in the bags. The guard releases the man, puts the sand into new bags, lifts them onto the man’s shoulders and lets him cross the border.

 A week later, the same thing happens. The customs officer asks, “What have you got?”

  “Sand,” says the man.

The officer does another thorough examination and again discovers that the sacks contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to the man, and the man again crosses the border.

This sequence of events repeats every day for the next three years. Then one day, the man doesn’t show up. The border official meets up with him in a restaurant in the city. The officer says, “I know you’re smuggling something and it’s driving me crazy. It’s all I think about. I can’t even sleep. Just between you and me, what are you smuggling?”

 What is the man smuggling?

Everyone took their time since it’s the last question, but after 4 minutes some of my classmates figured it out that it’s the motorcycle that is being smuggled by the man. I liked the lesson of today, I would love to challenge myself in answering similar questions so that I’ll be able to hone my lateral thinking skills.

We have continued our lesson regarding Lateral Thinking and introduced us to another methods as well, Divergent Thinking and Convergent Thinking. Divergent thinking is a task of creating unique ideas or solutions to a problem. While, Convergent thinking is practical application to come up with a single correct answer. For Divergent thinking we were tasked to rename 10 words, 5 words are given and we will come up with 5 words more and rename them as well and we have to be unique. Here are the words I worked on:

1.      Cloud - sky cotton

2.      World - Circular Habitat

3.      Classroom - Creative Factory

4.      Mobile - Wireless Telephone

5.      Sky - floating canvas

6.      Sword - sharp metal stick

7.      Seat - Butt Rest

8.      Aircon - Cold Air Dispenser

9.      Glasses - Wearable Lenses

10.   Keyboard - Alphanumeric buttons

For Convergent Thinking an example given was answering multiple choice questions. We also tackled Lateral Thinking and Vertical Thinking, and we are introduced to Edward De Bono’s book “Lateral Thinking”.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 4, Day 2

March 5, 2019 - Tuesday

Presentation of Pastiche & Parody Work

Reverse Brainstorming and Brainstorming

For this day, we all presented our works on Pastiche and Parody. A lot of my classmates have created funny and creative parody, some are simple, and some have really put an effort on their works. That’s awesome and I really admire them all! I’m not confident regarding my work, but I’m still happy I was able to produce a work about it. We all have a powerpoint presentations of our work and when it was my turn I’m really not that confident that’s why I just spoke casually and monotonously. Creativity is one thing that I’ve never been confident about, and that’s what I learned after the activity. I panicked when I can’t think of a good Parody or Pastiche work all because I think it’s not “good”. After my presentation, I realized that I still have some fear of failing and just went for something safe because for me it’s simple and okay.

After all the presentations, Miss Arshiya gave us an activity where we formed groups of three and must come up of a problem and write it on a sticky note. We have chosen “How can we reduce the radiations projected by gadgets?” We are told to do a reverse brainstorming where we have to think of a rubbish idea and we should think on how to further increase the problem we have chosen. Our group chose to put 3 rubbish ideas per person. Brainstorming was then used for getting the solutions for the problem, for me it’s definitely a different way of solving or coming up with ideas in solving a problem. I’ve been used to solving problems as think of a problem and give a solution to it to avoid causing more problems. It’s really new to me because I’m not used to thinking how to solve a problem by thinking how to make the problem worse first and then come up with the solutions to it. Regardless it is still a good opportunity to think of a different method of ideation. I can’t wait to use this style on some of our future activities.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 4, Day 1

Week 4

March 3, 2019 - Sunday

Building on the work of others

Plagiarism is the main point of this seminar, where we must avoid getting other people’s work and presenting them and claiming it as our own. I learned that the great and original thinkers get inspirations from other’s work as well, getting their idea and mixing it with their own as well. Presenting a new and improved version built from an idea of another. We are then presented with parody and pastiche, where parody is meant to provide a comic feel on one’s work and exaggerate some aspects of their work or turn it to something that is completely funny. While pastiche is combining two unique works of others to form a unique version of a work, I think reinterpretation could also be used in describing pastiche. After the lesson, we are instructed to create a parody and a pastiche, and I immediately panicked because I don’t know how I’ll be able to think of something. So Even if it’s cliché I went to make a parody a.k.a. a meme using EA (Electronic Arts) I remember starting an EA game will always say “EA GAMES, Challenge Everything” since they went downhill and try to add DLC and make the consumers almost pay for everything, I changed it to “EA GAMES, pay for everything.” I really couldn’t think of anything at that moment, I guess my funny side is not awake at that time. But it doesn’t end there! In pastiche too! I spent a lot of time thinking what could be, so what I decided was just to make a simple one, not too fancy and one that will not make me consume a lot of time. At that time the Windows logo is all that comes to mind, I suddenly remember that the logo used to have different colors and could represent the different seasons. I immediately open photoshop and created it. I hope I’ll be able to think of more ideas as we progress, I don’t want to cram and all because I spent a lot of time searching for inspirations and trying to do something. Miss also told us to create a before and after of work and create also a ppt file for it to be presented next class.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 3, Day 2

February 26, 2019 - Tuesday

This is the day where we’ll present what our groups agreed on to play within our class, the other group presented first using a cup and a paper, I can’t remember that much but all I know is that two people will hold the cup using only their index finger, each person on the other side and that they’ll be given questions and shoot a paper ball inside the cup, and that the cup must not fall. That’s all I remembered. Then it’s our turn to present, I was the one given the task to present in front and explain the rules of the game. I explained them that:

1.      There are different roles and objectives in this game

1.      Moderator

2.      Mafia – kill all the civilians

3.      Investigator – look for the mafia and convince the civilians to kill the mafia

4.      Doctor – can save one person each round and if the mafia tries to kill the person that the doctor wants to save, the player will not be eliminated

2.      The Rules

The rules of the game are simple:

1.      The game can be played by multiple players can be at least 6 players or more

2.      Picking of roles can be done by draw lots indicating which role they will play or by the moderator choosing while everyone is “asleep”

3.      The mafia must kill all the civilians to win

4.      The civilians must find out the mafia and kill them to win the game

5.      The investigator must find out who the mafia and convince his/ her fellow civilians to eliminate the mafia

6.      The doctor must try to know the civilians and try to save them from being eliminated

The flow of the game is attached in the photos below:

 We chose to play mafia and the first game and our roles were decided by drawing of lots and I was the civilian, 3 mafias were chosen for this game, and the one who was eliminated right away was the doctor so big advantage for the mafias because no one will be able to heal the civilians now, after the doctor got eliminated, I was accused next and got eliminated! Few rounds after 1 mafia got eliminated but the mafia are too clever and was able to deceive the civilians eliminating them all. The 2nd game I was the moderator and chosen unique people to be the mafia, investigator and the doctor. It was a lot of fun especially when I know which one has a unique role and when they know that they’ve just eliminated the someone and knew their role. Playing the game was a lot of fun because the mafia are working together to cause confusion, and the civilians are trying to help each other and decode who is a member of the mafia within the group.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 3, Day 1

Week 3

February 24, 2019

Miss made us do something that I haven’t done in years! Since I was a kid to be exact. She made us do a treasure hunt! A group activity with each group consists of 3 members, we’re 12 in our class so we have 4 groups competing to whoever gets all the items needed. We need to get these following Items:

1.      Proverb written in the ground floor (displayed on the university’s ground floor)

2.      Key Chain

3.      Car model whose number plate is “41374”

4.      Hexagon

5.      Count of chairs in this room (our classroom)

6.      A watch

7.      Water

8.      Red Pen

9.      Perfume

10.   Ring

11.   Autograph or Signature of Academic Head of the campus

12.   Mug

13.   Spectacles

14.   Name of projector in room no. 106

15.   Pencil with Eraser

16.   The first word written on page number 154 in the book “Digital Cultures” edited by Creeber, Martin (Hint: Library)

17.   Count of routers in this floor (1st floor)

18.   Cap

19.   Smiley Sticker

20.   Sand

We formed our groups and then started right away, we started by distributing some of the work and then if we’re having a hard time looking for our assigned item we’ll work on it together. So I took the task of finding water, red pen, autograph of the academic head of the campus, count of routers on the 1st floor and the first word written on page number 154 in the book “Digital Cultures”, I also took the charge in getting a mug. Two of my teammates went to the ground floor for look for the proverbs and to see what is the car model that has a plate number of “41374.” I went straight ahead to the student lounge and to the canteen to buy water and get a mug, I already have 2 items checked and ready, I went straight ahead to the library and look for the book while I’m waiting for the academic head to be free, because when I looked at the window, he was talking to one of the faculty. And so I searched, and searched and searched until to the point that I was there for 5 minutes and really couldn’t see it. So I went back and took a pen and a paper and asked for the signature of the academic head, I was also able to get a pencil from him! Striking 2 birds with 1 stone! So we meet and went back to the classroom to gather the things we have collected, on my side, I only need the red pen and the first word written on page 154 in the book “Digital Cultures”. My classmate said that he’ll go just search online while help them look for the red pen, ring and a sticker. For the ring I instantly asked Miss Arshiya if she is married, and I’m glad she is! Hahahaha! I asked to borrow her ring for a while and promised that I’ll take care of it and return it as soon as we’re finished. For the red pen, my friend in IFS class has one! Good thing they’re free that time so that I was able to borrow her red pen. But the real challenge is looking for a smiley sticker, we don’t know anyone who has a smiley sticker. We asked miss we can’t find a sticker and she told us to use our resources, and that is basically telling us that we can create our own sticker! Like in the Hexagon, we’re allowed to just draw it! So I went outside right away and looked for a tape, but as I was going out, running towards me are 2 of my lady classmates with a sticker on their hands, knowing that they’’ll win because it’s the last thing on their list I decided to have a bit of fun and blocked the door, I can see that both of them are really trying to win because one chopped my hand and the other grabbed me and pin me down. Getting the laughs of everyone inside the class! Hahahaha! The all ladies group is the winner and because I couldn’t find a tape, I just drew a smiley on a paper and hanged it on my shirt making it a sticker! Hahahahaha! This activity was unexpectedly fun! Looking back it makes me realize that it’s an activity where we are encouraged to collaborate and work for a specific purpose. A simple and yet fun way of working together. Imagine if I’m alone and will have to find all of those stuff, it will take me more than 20 minutes, especially if I haven’t able to think about searching online for the first word on page 154 of “Digital Cultures”. Collaboration makes the work faster and efficient, especially if the people you are working with are doing their part of the work. After that we tried to play again the game where someone will draw and the other describes and the cycle continues until it reaches the last person. This time it’s different! The first person drew an aquarium with fishes but the final result is an ice cream! Hahahaha! I don’t know how that happened but how it all lead to the ice cream was funny! Before the class ends, miss divided us into two groups, and was given a task to make a physical game, stating each rules and instructions how to play the game. We all decided to take the game of “Mafia” so we searched online and took the instructions how to play the game “Mafia”. To be presented next class and play one of the games inside our class.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 2, Day 2

February 19, 2019 – Tuesday

Miss started the class by giving us a guide on how we’ll document our journals in a word file, she let us see the sample and we took photos of it. That day’s topic is all about collaboration, I was thinking that maybe collaboration is a must in this kind of field, especially that I prefer doing things my own. A few advices here and there but I’d totally work on stuff alone. It all soon changed as soon as Miss Arshiya presented a pdf filled with quotes of collaborators in regards to collaboration. Some of it we’re taken from Twyla Tharp’s Book named “The Collaborative Habit – Life Lessons for Working Together.”  Photos of some quotes that made me ponder the most are attached in this post. Made me realize a lot of things that in order to be successful in this field, I must learn how to cooperate and work with other people. I can say that I am a good collaborator and no one will find a hard time working with me, the reason why I prefer working alone is with people who are overly aggressive and forcing their point of view on others, I don’t like that. But that’s how collaboration works, you’ll work with someone that is totally opposite and doesn’t share the same ideas that I have but it is unique and different, seen from another person’s perspective. Analyzing it carefully, it makes sense why people collaborate in creating a product, it has to be relatable and beneficial to many if not all. I remember this was said during class, “People collaborate to avoid working on something and producing something idealistic.” Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense, considering that I alone is working on something and I create something based on what I see and what I think will be beneficial to the consumers. The presentation is also filled with advices and warnings to have a good collaboration with others, that we must collaborate with people that will help us gain more knowledge and that pushes us to endlessly seek growth. To push beyond the status-quo, however if survival is at stake institutions resist change. It is important to collaborate with people that is not afraid of change and will challenge the status quo. Even though I’m used to doing things alone, it is kinda nice to work with others to achieve a common goal, to create a product that will be used and loved by many. As long as both sides are willing to set aside their differences, get rid of prejudice, and simply open their minds and understand the different perspective people have will give birth to a wonderful collaboration. It might be a challenge, but I’m willing to collaborate to make something meaningful and wonderful. After that miss introduced us to this game where it will be a form of a relay and each participant will either draw or describe the element that was drawn. The first person will draw and the second person will describe, and fold the paper each time they draw or describe. This cycle continues until it reaches the last participant (depends on the number of players), he or she will either draw or describe what was drawn and compare the final answer to the first one. My classmate made it easy by simply just drawing a triangle! AHAHAHA! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take photos of that paper, but I must say, that is an interesting game! Miss said we’ll do it again and hopefully the drawing will be challenging and will make things a bit hard for the players. 

PS. I think this was also the day where we grouped ourselves into three and each group is given a different scenarios to work upon. Three lines per group and after writing, they would pass it to the other group to continue the story. It was fun to see some groups made the story weird, and fun to make some interesting events for other groups as well.

#1.2 ideation and creative problem solving #journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 2, Day 1

Week 2 – 1st Week of Seminars

February 17, 2019

On this day, Miss Arshiya instructed us to search Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk online, titled “Do schools kill creativity?” and gave us the task to watch it and take note of some of the main points regarding his speech. His speech can be found here: https://youtu.be/iG9CE55wbtY

In his speech Sir Ken Robinson pointed out that everybody has an interest in Education and that everybody has put a huge amount of interest to it because education takes us in the future that we can’t comprehend. He also pointed out the extraordinary potential and capacities of children for innovation that they will always have a go at things and never be afraid to be wrong that makes them capable of thinking of something original. Being wrong is not the same thing as being creative, but if you’re not prepared to be wrong you’ll not come up with anything original. As kids grow up to be adults, they become afraid of being wrong, thinking that it’s the worst possible thing they can do. Some companies of today are being managed like that, condemning their mistakes and Sir Ken further points out that even the national education systems do this too! Resulting to now teaching the students out of their creative capacities. “All children are born artists.” Sir Ken Robinson quotes Picasso and adds to it by saying that, “the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” Sir Ken points out that we don’t grow into creativity, we are educated out of it. Every education system has the same hierarchy of subjects, Mathematics and Languages are ranked on top, followed by Humanities and at the bottom are the Arts. Sir Ken adds that even in Arts there is a hierarchy as well, Art and Music are normally given a higher status in schools than drama and dance. The Education system is based on the idea of academic ability, there was no education system before the 19th century but they all come into being to meet the needs of industrialism. The hierarchy is rooted on two ideas: 1. That the most useful subjects for work at the top. We are steered away from the things we like by given a reason that we’ll never get a job by doing what we do. A kind advice that is now widely mistaken. 2. Academic Ability, that dominates our view of intelligence because universities design the system in their image. That the whole system of public education around the world is a prolong process of university entrance and the consequence is that many highly-talented, creative, and brilliant people think they are not, because the thing that they were good at in school was not valued.

Thinking about it, I may have experiences where I my creativity and passion for something was hindered because it was simply seen as not beneficial for my future. And that as a kid ignorantly followed the advice of others because simply, they’re older and have been though a lot more than I am. I can’t help but think that, what if my creativity was hindered in some ways before? Is it one of the reasons why I hate failing so much that sometimes it affects me to fear and not to try it when people are looking? I still don’t know, but one thing I know for sure, fearing failure will limit my creativity and I must do that.

Sir Ken Robinson states that the current hierarchy in the education system must not go on, because in the next 20 or 30 years more people worldwide than before and the combination of technology and its transformation effect on work, demography and huge explosion in population. Will suddenly show that degrees aren’t worth anything. Dr. Ken believes that we all need to completely rethink our views of intelligence, and points out its wonderful capabilities that it’s diverse, dynamic and distinct. Sir Ken believes that the only hope for the future is to adopt a new idea of human ecology, in which we should start to reform our thinking regarding the richness of human capacity, that we are more capable than what we can do and that the education system must not strip us to being capable. Everyone must celebrate the gift of human imagination and we must be careful and use the gift wisely that we stay away from blocking the wonderful possibilities of creativity and innovation. That it can be done by seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are and seeing the children for the hope that they are and that our task is to educate them so that they can face the future. Sir Ken ends by saying, “We won’t be able to see the future, but they (children) will. It’s our job to make something out of it.”

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 1, Day 2

Day 2, February 12, 2019

During our first meeting before miss ends the class, she gave us a homework to continue to introduce ourselves but this time using we must compare ourselves to something it could be anything, and anything that we think defines creativity. One by one people introduced themselves and I find it amazing how each of us compared ourselves to some things and really have a wonderful meaning to it! Some of us compared ourselves to chocolate, a ball, their body and the most shocking one was a trash can! But don’t be fooled! Everything that my classmate said when she used trash can was all positive things. It really proves that we just really have to look at things in a different perspective to understand more. One by one we presented our works and introduced ourselves, I was the last one to present and I compared my self to an instrument. I put 4 points why I am like an instrument:

1. An instrument is used to express emotions, here I am showing my personality meaning that I am an emotional person and that I am emotionally expressive.

2. An instrument is used to create good music, here I am telling everyone that I do things with purpose to create something beautiful and meaningful and that I never do things without a good purpose.

3. An instrument touches people’s hearts, here I told them my desire to create an impact in each person that I will meet or in everything that I do. I desire to leave my mark wherever I go.

4. Played by a master a.k.a. a virtuoso – Like a master musician, they know what the song is and how it will be played, every note that will be played and how it will start and how it will end. And that it is completely in a virtuoso’s hands how the music will go. Here I am telling them how I believe in a God who I consider my master and my personal Saviour that guides me and commands me for a better and perfect purpose. Like a virtuoso who creates wonderful music that inspires and encourages its audience, I allow God to take control of my life to use me according to His will. After introducing myself I went ahead and told them what is something that I think defines creativity. I think that Human is a form of creativity, we don’t need to look far away because we are a great example of creativity. I also pointed out 4 things why I think that way:

1. Intricate Design – All humans have different faces, eyes, noses, ears, mouths, etc. All of them are unique and have their own look, it may have some similarities, but a difference is still clearly seen. Never an exact copy.

2. Composed of different shades – from lightest to the darkest of shades all makes up the human skin, and all radiates beauty.

3. Composed of unique body parts – from well structured bones, to the passages of veins, the organs, etc. are examples of unique body parts that make up a human being and each having their own functions and purposes.

4. Different Sizes – some are tall and some are small, some are bigg and some are thin, and they all have their distinct types, but still they are called “human.”

After all the presentations Miss Arshiya ends the class telling us, that we have done an excellent job, being able to introduce ourselves using anything that we can relate ourselves to and our different perspectives of creativity.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Ideation and Creative Problem Solving - Journal - Week 1, Day 1

Week 1 – Introduction Week

Day 1, February 10, 2019

Today marks the beginning of our second semester and we’re going to meet our new instructor in Ideation and Creative Problem Solving, Miss Arshiya. We have classes during Sundays and Wednesdays at 12:00pm – 2:00 pm. The room was already silent when Miss went inside the room, because we are not really the noisy class. Often, we just stare at our own laptops, tablets, or mobile phones doing our own thing with our earphones on. When Miss Arshiya was walking to go in front, I can already sense everyone thinking what would she be like as our instructor? Suddenly everyone became shy and fixed their postures and looked at Miss diligently. Once she reached the front she immediately greeted us and asked us how we are doing, all of us replied with such a low voice and I do hope she was able to hear us. She then introduced herself and told us that she has been teaching in the university for quite a time. Like how introductions go, miss looked at us and says “how are you going to introduce yourselves? Should we do something different?” Everyone was so shy that we all just look at each other and didn’t give a response, so miss just decided that we will play a game and that whoever loses they will introduce themselves. We played a game that everyone will say count starting from one and each time we reach a multiple of 5 we are going to say a different word. It was so funny because every time we someone reach a multiple of 5 we all just slow down and pause and then say a word ruining the pace of the game. Despite doing that I was the first one to lose! I loudly said 35! Then I introduced myself saying my name that I am 19 years old and I’m a very curious person. After that they continued to play and because everyone keeps slowing down, miss ends the game and let everyone introduced themselves after 2 rounds with another 1 losing. She then starts the class and oriented us how the subject is going to be, and she mentions our assessments that we will be doing in her subject. Since it was our first meeting, she just taught us a few things and gave us an activity. Some of the things that I was able to read in her slides that really stuck to me was “Creativity is a skill in itself” and a quote saying, “The only person who never made a mistake was the person who never made anything” - Theodore Roosevelt/Albert Einstein I’ll be pondering on these words for a while. At the end, she gave us an activity to make something out of a paper, so we all took our papers and made something out of it, some made paper airplanes, boats, some made flowers, a paper car we call “crash gear”, some created where we choose a number and they will open that specific number and there will be a message, and one created an animal I think it was a duck or maybe it’s a flamingo, I can’t remember. I don’t know anything besides the paper airplane, and I forgot how to make the paper where they choose a number! I recalled all the times I played with paper on the past and I remember that whenever it was hot we make a fan out of papers and a creating a hand pistol using two papers to play when I was young. We all presented it and then miss gave her comments and gave us a homework to present it in our next meeting.

#1.2 Ideation and Creative Problem Solving #Journal

[theartjar]

Bitsy Narrative Game

https://pinkberrydivine.itch.io/resource-depletion

password: 372224

Context

To create a narrative game using the Bitsy game editor that focuses on one of the “global” themes given, what I chose was Resource Depletion. The focus of my Bitsy game is to be short, yet informative and impactful, an interactive game that will make the players to be immersed for a short moment. This short game aims to open the eyes of the people and move their hearts to act upon a dangerous threat that is depletion of resources.

Production

Game Details:

-        Theme: Resource Depletion

-        2 Characters:

o   The Player – as the World

o   1 Sprite – as the Earth

-        5 Rooms

o   Earth’s Room

o   Forest Room

o   Earth’s Room 2

o   Ocean Room

o   Final Room

-        3 Color Palettes

-        5 Sprites created to be placed across rooms

-        3 Items

o   1 Water Bucket

o   5 Chemical Wastes

o   1 Crystal ball

Evaluation

I was able to think of this story with a setting that the Earth is taking a human form or spirit form and talking to a chosen envoy for the world because of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. These games have moments where they go far from their world and interacts with the place they are currently at, I then added that it was a vision to inform of a possible catastrophe if not acted upon. What could be thought as a simple dream, have now become a possible future. Creating a game in Bitsy was challenging for me because, I was running out of time and it was a bit hard for me to create a story for the game. I spent a lot of time thinking and it just didn’t come to me, good thing I was still able to come up with something despite the pressure. I find the 3 color combinations only interesting because I think it was one of the things that made my work easier to create. The smaller measurement of creating the avatar, sprite and an item kind of pushes your creativity to come up with something within 8x8 tile. If I were to undergo this task again, I would like to learn more using coding for the game and dedicate more time to it as well.

#1.1 Digital Storytelling #Digital Storytelling #Bitsy #8-bit Game