Katherine - Interactive Media Blog 2021

Blogging my way through the interactive media course at Napier Uni.

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Tried this ARG this week and have become a little bit obsessed. It’s such a simple idea - you run whilst listening to audio of characters talking you through a story set in a world overrun by Zombies. You pick up supplies and medical kits based on the distance you run and at certain intervals have to up the pace to avoid the zombies. I’ve always been a podcast loyalist when it comes to running but this has them beat. Although it’s only audio you’re listening to, you  feel completely immersed in the story and I felt a real need to speed up to avoid being eaten. I ran faster than I have in a long time and, due to the copious amount of lockdown induced cheese and wine I’ve consumed, I can only put the increase in speed down to the virtual zombies. 

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I’ve started thinking a bit more about the content for my app (name still pending) this week and have found it really helpful to look at other similar apps to see what sort of things should be included. I have taken inspiration from Huli, Strava and ViewRanger.

Huli is an app that allows to you to create off/on road cycling routes. Feature I like most on this app is that is generates potential routes for you from your home or any starting point you choose.

Strava is described as the “social network for runners and cyclists” and allows you to track your runs/cycles whilst also seeing and interacting with other users. I like a lot of the functionality of Strava, in particular the way you can interact with other people but is mainly focused on recording activity rather than finding new routes etc.

ViewRanger: Of the three apps I looked at, the “digital guide to the outdoors” ViewRanger has the features that I most want to replicate. It has an amazing map function that allows you to see routes near you that have been posted by other users/official guides and gives loads of useful detail on them including elevation, surface type and user reviews. Plus it still allows users to record their own activity and routes on a profile.

Taking inspiration from these apps this is the content that I would like to have in my open water swim app:

Explore page: This would replicate the ViewRanger feature where users can see swimming sites near them and top swimming spots in their local area. This would require GeoFencing and access to a mapping tool. I picture it as an interactive map that is zoomable etc.

Once you clicked on a swimming spot you would be able to view key information about the area. For example, temperature, tides (if appropriate), swimmable level and recent reviews/comments. There would also be the opportunity to post photos of the sites.

Profile pages would allow users to keep track of recent swims and post data from exercise trackers i.e. fitbits.

Search Function would let users find and follow friends and search for swimming locations and allow for quick searches rather than scrolling the map on the explore page.

Safety and Top Tips section. There would be a standard list of safety tips and information on equipment etc

This all needs a bit more thought but it feels like it's starting to come together a bit more. Going to look into GeoFencing a bit more as this would be an essential part of the app.

And a name. I will think of a name.

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Teeny Tiny World Building: 3 Main Aims.

Last week’s class with Phil Harris on world building really started to get me thinking about the goals of my individual project. Whilst intricate world bibles definitely have more of an obvious place in video games, there a clear benefit to succinctly writing what you want the thing you are creating to be. When I have worked on projects in the past it has been horribly easy to get muddled in tiny details and forget what you are actually trying to achieve so having something concrete to look back on will be so useful. 

I have decided that my project will be an app for Wild/Outdoor Swimming that will allow users to find local swimming spots, provide safety tips and other useful advice. Based on the principles that we discussed in class last week, I think it makes sense to outline the main aims of the app:

1. Provide relevant and useful information to the open water swimming community, including tips for beginners, local swimming spots, safety information and water temperatures. 2. For the content to be user generated and utilise the already large expertise that exists in the outdoor swimming community. 3. To be the go to app for outdoor swimmers.

A universe bible it is not but I think trying to stick to the aims keeps the project focused and also, and maybe most importantly, easy to describe to other people.

Is number 3 a little mad? Yes, probably. However, as I don’t actually have to build the app I thought I might as well make my aims as outlandish and blue skyish as possible. Plus, if I was actually wanting to build it would only make sense to attempt to make it as good as possible so that it was worthwhile to the people you are building it for.

This week coming I will start focusing on content and what functionality the app needs to have. And also a name. Yes, that would be good.

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Dead Pixels

Comedy action and animation, starring Charlotte Ritchie, Alexa Davies and Will Merrick

I’ve started watching this show this week and really loving it. It follows flatmate gamers and really interestingly combines real character scenes with scenes in gameplay. Means that the characters can be chatting about what they had for breakfast but we are watching gameplay of them fighting a massive panda. 

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Come on in! The exhilarating joy of outdoor ice-bathing

The popularity of outdoor swimming has soared during lockdown. These bathers are even breaking the ice to go for an endorphin-releasing winter dip

"local wild swimming groups have reported to the OSS growths in membership of their Facebook pages of between 50% to 500%” - finding a way to combine the knowledge of all these groups would be great. Going to try and find other sport apps that has user-generated content.

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Is Ignorance the 8th Deadly Digital Sin?

Starting out on the Interactive Media course I really have no idea what I am doing. When I initially think about my experience with “Interactive Media” my mind immediately goes to video games accompanied by bleak memories of continuously falling off Rainbow Road in Mario Kart or my brother telling me that random button pressing was in fact not a correct way to play Tekken. However, when I actually sit down and think about it, I use interactive media all the time and have done throughout my life.

Looking through the 7 Deadly Digital Sins platform I was struck by how quickly I was sucked in. The idea of the Internet being a grim place is chatted about all the time and I have halfheartedly flicked through articles on the subject without really taking much of it in. But suddenly I was completely engrossed. It was amazing how much joy I got from moving my mouse over an window and having it move, or a tile flip over as a clicked on it, the zoom of the window to the centre of the screen. And yes, this could all be attributed to lockdown boredom but also I started to think about how any webpage that I visit that has an interactive element is always waaaay more engaging than standard one. It is so simple and yet I am always far more interested in the information contained within the site. Logically I know that I am reading the same information that I might have in any article but suddenly it is way more compelling. And I get it, I am new to this I guess so easily impressed but I can’t help thinking that there is something in the way information is presented that makes it more engaging and thus people are more likely to spend time reading/listening/exploring. And that is what appeals to me about it - the way that information can be communicated in a way that makes you want to learn more and throws away the idea of traditional educational communication that always seems a little dull.  

It made learning more interesting and it was accessible in what felt like bitesize chunks. I realise that I may have missed the point entirely by not discussing the content here but I had my interactive media hat (?) on. It took me ages to realise that there was specific music on as well and that was cool too. Creating a world that is all encompassing for the user - attacking them from all senses I guess.

This a sloppy comparison but I think of it kind of like a see-through vending machines. The end result is the same but there is something nice about being able to see the mechanical process of putting your money in, watching the machine work and then the treat coming out. I feel like I am rambling now but essentially I am really looking forward to finding out more about how these tool and techniques are used in other educational settings and the impact this can have.