Design & Development
Week 13:
Overview
Wednesday 25th May 2022
WEEK 13 -
TO DO: PROJECT OVERVIEW
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PURPOSE FOR THE DAY
Today is an emotional yet exciting day, the day I plan to hand-in my final major project! Over the last few days we have been working extra hard to get everything ready and prepared for hand-in, and can confidently say we are almost ready. Getaway is now live on Itch and BitShort.Studio for people to play from the comfort of their homes, and when it comes to the Degree Shows, will be available in the physical space for people to experience in a different kind of way!
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WHAT WILL I BE DOING?
I have planned to spend today reflecting upon Getaway and the project as a whole. To begin, I am going to be writing up an overview of Getaway, including a 'pitch', USP, where it can be accessed, and evaluating the experience in line with our initial project goals. Some of this information will also be useful to post on our social media, to further market Getaway and what its about.
PITCH
Wind-down in a world of harmony and tranquility as you interact with the peaceful sound of music.
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OVERVIEW
Getaway provides people with an immersive safe space, where they are able to physically interact with the peaceful sound of music. Players traverse a beautifully illustrated environment and gently guide a bird through the mountainscape, to witness a soothing soundtrack develop overtime. Getaway provides people with the means to escape, focus and reflect, to reduce sensations that might be causing them discomfort or distress. Elements of Getaway work cohesively to encourage both physical and emotional regulation, through playful interactions and a heavy focus on visual and sound design.
Getaway provides people with a world beyond their struggles and fears.
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GENRE
Health, simulator, Mixed Reality Experience. Getaway translates physical movement into the digital world, where players become immersed into an alternative reality. Players are required to interact through gesture control and become engaged with a beautiful surrounding environment.
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TARGET AUDIENCE/ESRB RATING
Our experience is aimed towards students in higher education, between the ages 16-21. Getaway is an experience designed to help those struggling with the stresses and responsibilities of student life, by providing people with a safe space to visit on campus. As well as this, the experience can also be accessed from the comfort of their homes, providing anyone with the means to escape when they might need it. The experience raises awareness around the topic of mental health and normalises tending to emotional and physical well-being.
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ESRB RATING: T (teen) - Generally suitable for ages 13 and up. No suggestive themes, strong language or violence.
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UNIQUE SELLING POINT
A Mixed Reality experience located on campus to provide students with the means to reflect, wind-down and recharge. Every aspect of the experience was designed to reduce physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety, stress and overwhelm and instead, evoke feelings of calm, comfort and security. Getaway provides people with a space to reflect without the need for verbal communication, both on campus, or accessible from the comfort of their own homes.
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Students are provided with support through relaxing play and immersive technology.
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THE EXPERIENCE
The experience involves the use of gesture control, which translates players physical movement into the virtual world. Players use their right wrist to guide a bird across a beautifully illustrated mountain-scape, with the intention to collect gently falling snowflakes and become the conductor of a uniquely composed soundtrack. The purpose of the experience is to allow players to get lost in their surroundings, observe and explore the environment and listen to soothing music. Players will subconsciously fly throughout the landscape and collect falling snowflakes, which will eventually develop the soundtrack overtime. This is an example of a mindless task, that is both relaxing and rewarding.
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HOW CAN IT BE ACCESSED?
Getaway is now available to play on the following sites:
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https://bitshort.itch.io/getaway
https://bitshort.studio/howtoplay/
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The browser version of Getaway is now live on our official website and itch.io site. Here, players are able to use a link to open Getaway in another window. They are also displayed with set-up instructions and useful tips that will make performance better.
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THE PHYSICAL SPACE EXPERIENCE
The first showcase of the physical experience will take place at our Degree Shows, where players will be presented with two projections of two environments, in a space that 'teases' our initial concept for the immersive safe space on campuses. The experience will be brought to life in a physical play area and players will be able to interact while slowly moving about the space.
This can be visited here:
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Winchester School of Art - 16th - 19th June, 5pm
London, Hoxton Arches - 6th - 7th July, 6pm​​
REFLECTION & EVALUATION
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PROJECT GOALS & ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE
Kiera and I had a direct project goal before we began design and development, with the aim to raise awareness around mental health and help those suffering with anxiety and stress. We designed Getaway with this in mind, from visual design to the speed at which people interact. These elements combined created a suitable safe space for people to escape and become immersed into. We made sure to fulfil our project goals and we feel as though we did this to the best of our ability. It was essential for our experience to be immersive, engaging and soothing, which we achieved through the production of a uniquely composed soundtrack, unique visual design and slow gentle interaction. We also pushed our boundaries, and have an accessible browser experience for those to play online, as well as the physical space that people can visit. The physical space idea teases what could be potentially developed in the future, and we believe we've done a great job at highlighting its potential.
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INITIAL PROJECT GOALS & ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE
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GETAWAY: PLAYER EXPERIENCE
The player experience itself was most important. We made sure to tailor the experience to achieve a certain feeling evoked within our audience. We did this with a particular focus on the sound, visual and interaction design.
SOUND
Our sound production was very specific, in terms of the key of music used, the tempo and the instruments played. Our sound designer did an amazing job at taking our requirements on board and we are extremely happy with the result. The track slowly develops overtime, providing players with a sense of satisfaction and reward.
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VISUALS
The visual design was a result of our own personal interests and research. We chose a hand-drawn art style because this showcases our strengths and potential, but hand-illustrations often impress people, due to the amount of effort put in. Our testers found this style fascinating and engaging. Most importantly, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zones, to animate a completely hand-drawn art style, which wasn't the easiest thing to do but we are proud nonetheless. These animations bring the environment to life, providing them with little moving details to focus on throughout.
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MECHANICS/INTERACTION
Lastly, the interaction! This in itself is quite moving. We wanted to provide players with a 'mindless task' that encourages them to move slowly and take control of their body. The use of gesture control allowed us to do this with a simple webcam set-up. Players use their wrist to fly the bird across the screen(s), ultimately being their form of input. Slow movement is encouraged by a combination of the music's slow tempo and the level of calm in the experience. This interaction is great for encouraging physical regulation, to become in control of your body and lower heart rate. We managed to get the webcam detection to a reasonable standard, as the bird flies much smoother that before.
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ACCESSIBILITY
Getaway can be accessed from home, as well as a potential physical experience located on school/college/university campuses. This allows people to experience Getaway without needing to be on campus, and avoids the issue of the physical space being occupied. All that is required is a device connected to WIFI and a webcam. This way, people can experience the same intended player experience with no technicalities of setting up a physical play area or the need for projectors.​
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NEXT STEPS
This information will come in useful for marketing our game and events on our social media. I plan for our next few posts to be promotional material for Getaway, to announce its release and market our degree shows this summer. This information will be great to support this. Now I have overviewed the purpose and design choices for Getaway, I plan to finish off my Final Major Project with my next steps and plan for the Degree Show and and overall reflection. This will briefly outline what needs to be prepared, to ensure our events go to plan and our setup is the way we want it to be! My reflection will be a nice way for the project to come to a close.
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