Pixels & Progress

A space for my Creative Media reflections, game development insights, and updates on my capstone project Card Front. Sharing my journey as both a student and indie developer.

[studio-pxg]

Studio PxG Dev Reflections

SoMU Development — Week of March 7, 2026

1. What was your main focus this week while working on SoMU?

This week I focused on improving the usability of the SoMU editor inside Unity. While testing the interface, I noticed that the current card-based layout became harder to navigate when the Unity editor window was smaller. Because of that, the main goal this week was to rethink the layout structure and make the tool more flexible to use regardless of window size.

2. What insight guided your work this week?

One idea kept guiding my decisions throughout the sprint:

“When you're building developer tools, the UI is the product.”

Unlike a normal game feature where the player interacts with gameplay systems, developer tools are entirely experienced through their interface. If the UI is confusing or hard to navigate, the tool itself becomes difficult to use.

That realization helped me prioritize navigation clarity and accessibility.

3. What improvements or experiments did you start this week?

I began experimenting with a few structural changes to the editor:

Moving toward scrollable containers so modules remain accessible even when the window is small

Exploring a tab-based navigation system to reduce visual clutter

Planning an integrated SoMU console panel that could display validation logs, diagnostics, and governance checks

These experiments are aimed at making the editor feel more structured and predictable.

4. What challenges did you encounter?

The biggest challenge was realizing how easily UI layouts can break when the editor window changes size. Something that feels intuitive in a large window can quickly become frustrating when the layout compresses.

This reminded me that good tool design isn’t just about features—it’s about making sure the interface adapts to different workflows and screen configurations.

5. What did you learn about building developer tools this week?

I learned that small usability issues matter a lot more in developer tools than in most other software. When someone uses a tool every day, even small navigation friction becomes noticeable.

Because of that, tool design has to emphasize:

clarity

consistency

discoverability

Those things often matter more than adding new features.

6. What comes next for SoMU?

Next week I’ll be focusing on:

implementing the scrollable UI layout

prototyping the SoMU console panel

refining the navigation architecture

continuing preparation for the Unity Asset Store release

The goal is to keep refining the experience until the tool feels natural to use inside the Unity editor.

Studio PxG

Building tools and games with Unity. https://studiopxg.com

[studio-pxg]

Final Tumblr Reflections

Looking Back, Moving Forward

1. What were your thoughts about your research topic going into the first week of the semester? In the first week, I felt a mix of excitement and uncertainty. I knew my topic had potential, but I wasn’t fully sure how to shape it into something meaningful. I felt like I was stepping into a huge project without knowing the full path yet.

2. What are your thoughts now about your research topic and your project/practicum? Now I see how everything connected. My topic grew into a real, structured body of work, and the practicum helped me understand what I was actually trying to say. The project feels grounded, purposeful, and reflective of the effort I put into it.

3. What did you learn about yourself as a creative through this journey? I learned that I work best when I trust my voice and lean into the things that inspire me. I discovered that I’m more resilient, adaptable, and capable of long-form creative thinking than I realized. Even when I doubted the process, I didn’t quit.

4. What did you learn about the creative and production process? I learned that creativity isn’t linear—there are moments of clarity, confusion, re-direction, and breakthrough. The production process requires patience, planning, and constant revision. It’s about showing up consistently, even when the ideas don’t come easy.

5. What advice would you give new senior capstone students? Start early, stay organized, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your project will grow with you, so give yourself time to explore and refine it. Most importantly, trust the process—even the hard parts are shaping the final outcome.

6. Where to now? I’m continuing forward with my current projects—building my game, developing my creative systems, and moving into the next phase of my work with more confidence and clarity.

[studio-pxg]

Tumblr Post #6 — CM490/CM491 Update

Date: Nov 19, 2025

📌 What’s Been Happening Since the Start of the Semester

This semester has been all about building real momentum across my two major systems projects — LumenForge.io and Nocturna — while also developing my Capstone project on confidence gaps in creative portfolios, especially within video game development. I’ve been refining the infrastructure for LumenForge, improving the Nocturna UX workflows, and mapping out the full-stack interactions between the AI-assisted creative tools and the broader Studio PxG ecosystem. At the same time, I’ve been gathering research and case studies for my capstone on how early-career game developers struggle with presenting their work confidently.

⏭️ What’s Coming Up in the Next Two Weeks

Finalizing the updated LumenForge production playbook

Nocturna dashboard refinements (Progress tab + UI consistency fixes)

Drafting the Capstone mid-semester narrative, connecting UX principles to portfolio confidence gaps

Collecting peer feedback and screenshots for the Tumblr visual component

Setting up prototype pages for the LumenForge/Nocturna integration demo

⚠️ Hiccups, Hurdles & AHA Moments

Biggest hurdle: balancing infrastructure work with academic deadlines

AHA moment: realizing how Nocturna’s structured UI system can actually support the capstone topic — clarifying workflows reduces anxiety and increases creative confidence

Technical hiccup: adjusting the camera/UI scaling in CardFront’s title screen (Unity) but it helped me refine the workflow for rapid troubleshooting

📝 Draft Deliverables to Share

Capstone outline with the “Confidence Gap in Creative Portfolios” framing

Updated LumenForge architecture notes

Nocturna UI refactor plan (unified sidebar + accessibility pass)

Screenshots of ongoing work (see uploads below)

📸 Visual Documentation

(Insert screenshots, WIP videos, diagrams, or mockups here — LumenForge dashboard, Nocturna Progress tab WIP, Capstone outline drafts, etc.)

⏱️ Timeline Status

I’m slightly ahead on infrastructure tasks, on track with the Nocturna UI milestones, and a little behind on capstone writing — but the foundation is solid. Overall, I’m in a good place to finish strong as long as I stay consistent over the next two weeks.

[studio-pxg]

Tumblr Post #2 – Capstone Progress Update

What’s been happening since the start of the semester? Since the semester began, I’ve been refining my capstone proposal around gamifying the portfolio-building process for creative media students. The goal is to reduce perfectionism and build confidence by using game design elements like progression systems, badges, and feedback loops. I’ve completed Draft II of my proposal, integrating research on Self-Determination Theory, Growth Mindset, and case studies like Duolingo and HabiticaCapstone Proposal - Draft II (1).

I also built out my project Gantt timeline, breaking tasks into milestones such as literature review, prototype design, and evaluation. This has helped me stay aligned with deadlines and visualize dependencies.

What’s coming up for the next 2 weeks?

Finalizing the prototype design plan (UI flowcharts, badge system logic, and task-tracking mockups).

Setting up the development environment in Unity WebGL with a Firebase backend.

Drafting the survey and interview instruments for data collection from upper-division creative media students.

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA moments

Hurdle: Translating abstract research into a clear, testable prototype has been more challenging than expected. I’ve had to iterate on scope to keep it achievable within one semester.

AHA moment: My Gantt chart helped me realize I was spending too long in the research phase. Shifting to a “prototype-first” mindset gave me clarity — I don’t need a polished product, just a functional demo that can test gamification concepts.

Hiccup: Balancing workload across other classes and internship projects has slowed progress, but chunking tasks into 1–2 day deliverables has improved momentum.

Any deliverable drafts to share?

Capstone Proposal Draft II (complete) – refined with research and methodologyCapstone Proposal - Draft II (1).

Gantt timeline draft – showing milestones for proposal refinement, prototype build, testing, and final report.

Early mockups (in progress) – wireframes for the dashboard UI (progress tracker, quest generator, and badge system).

Visual documentation of the progress:

Where you are on your timeline? Right now I’m on Week 5 tasks, transitioning from proposal refinement into prototype planning. According to the Gantt chart, I’m slightly ahead on research and on track for the upcoming two-week sprint focused on prototype design and implementation.

[studio-pxg]

🌺 Introduction Video – CM491 Capstone 🌺

Aloha! My name is Binh Phan, and for my capstone project I’m developing Nocturna, a gamified dashboard that helps Creative Media students track their academic progress, earn badges, and stay motivated throughout the semester. My research question explores how game mechanics can improve student engagement and retention in creative learning environments.

One past capstone that really stood out to me was Mahea Kahala’s project, which inspired me with how it blended personal vision and professional-level presentation. Seeing how she brought storytelling and design together showed me what’s possible when creativity meets strong execution, and it motivates me to approach Nocturna with the same passion and care.

Excited to share my journey this semester—mahalo for watching! 🌙✨

[studio-pxg]

Capstone Progress Update

Tumblr Post #1 – Capstone Progress Update

Since the start of the semester, I’ve been focused on refining the scope of my capstone project Nocturna, a gamified dashboard designed to help Creative Media students track their progress, earn badges, and stay motivated. I finalized my Game System Specification and have been iterating on the core mechanics and UI structure in Unity and React.

Over the next two weeks, I plan to move deeper into the production phase: expanding the dashboard features (Progress Tracker, Quest Generator, and Peer Portal), polishing the visual style in Tailwind, and creating a prototype flow to test usability. I’ll also be preparing draft materials for my mid-semester check-in and gathering feedback on UI/UX from classmates.

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA Moments: One challenge has been balancing the technical side of development with the design and user experience considerations. An “aha” moment came when I realized I could unify the game-like progression system with the academic tracking features by using a point-based progression mechanic, which ties directly into the themes of motivation and reward.

Deliverable Drafts: I’ve completed an early wireframe of the dashboard and some initial card component prototypes. These are still work-in-progress, but they help visualize the flow and confirm design decisions.

Visual Documentation: (Insert your screenshots or WIP video link here – e.g., Nocturna Dashboard wireframe, Progress Tracker mockup, etc.)

Timeline Status: I’m on track with my Workback Plan. The concept and pre-production phases are complete, and I’m entering production. I’ll continue focusing on implementing core systems while leaving space for iteration and feedback.

[studio-pxg]

Starting the Journey: Introducing Myself and Card Front

Aloha, my name is Hiroyasu Mizuha, and I’m currently a student in the Creative Media: Game Design and Development program at the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu. Alongside my studies, I also work professionally in research informatics and run my own indie game studio, Studio PxG, where I experiment with design, storytelling, and gameplay systems.

For this course project, I’ll be using this Tumblr blog as a space for reflection, accountability, and documentation. My main creative project this semester is focused on developing a card game called Card Front, inspired by Final Fantasy VIII’s Triple Triad. My goal is to take the spirit of that classic mini-game and expand it into a standalone experience with original rules, mechanics, and artwork.

This blog will capture both the creative process and technical side of the work:

My approach to preproduction (concepts, rulesets, UI/UX planning).

The design iterations and feedback loops that shape the game.

Reflections on the challenges of balancing art, mechanics, and player engagement.

Personal insights into what I’m learning about game development as both a developer and a student.

By the end of the semester, I want this blog to serve as both a progress journal and a creative archive—something that not only tracks my journey but also shows how ideas evolve into a finished project.