#researchmethodologies

[criticalhistoricalstudiesde-blog]

Publications and conferences about artistic research

Although it claims to be predominantly art based, this page from a European wide network to enhance research and education in the arts, contains a very comprehensive bibliography on what might be more broadly called creative research. Well worth exploring some of these titles in thinking about ways in which to structure your research methodologies.

[yeepye3p-blog]

Reflection and Blog

To begin my research for my project I will first need to identify what is it that I wanted to do. When we had our 1st assignments for Practice 1 we were told to go look back on what technology has influenced us in our lives. From there I looked back at my childhood memories of when I started to have interest in the creative arts. Therefore I decided to do something about Digimon. This is the first phase of identifying what I want to do. The second phase is to find out the problem like what can I do with Digimon for my project. Therefore I look back on the anime and all the Digimon games that is already existed. The first one was a Tamagotchi made by Bandai Inc. where you raise your Digimon and battle with other player. Later on they made it in PS One console where you play like in the anime series. After looking through all of them I decided to make something that can combine both the Tamagotchi and in PS One console become one. So I choose my proposal about making a Digimon game using a new game platform (Holographic/Projection based). This is because I wanted to change the experience of playing games rather than just playing games indoors. Therefore I need to research about holograms and projections to see if this is doable or not. There have been some previous research on holograms and projections for games that I can use as my references as well. Another thing I need to research about is the game platforms and the gameplay. I need to know about the principles of making a game and the gameplay of the game. Therefore I went back and look at all the games that I have played recently such as Dota 2, Digimon, Might and Magic and make observation of the gameplay and what type of game platform they use for the game.

After I have identified my problem statement I can move to the next phase which is the concept of the game that I am making. I decided to go with these previous games Yugi-Oh, Pokemon and Digimon as my references for my concept because all of them have the same relevance which is having a battle between two players. Here I can start to sketch my ideas on how it should be like. Besides that I need to know the methods of creating the game like what software that I will use for the project. The next phase is making a SWOT analysis of each of my references so that I am able to identify the pros and cons about each games. SWOT analysis is S (Strength), W (Weaknesses), O (Opportunity), and T (Threats). Next is I need to find if there is any existing game that has already use this methods. At the moment we have VR (Virtual Reality) which uses a goggle to play in the virtual world. Also we have a Leap Motion and Kinect which uses sensor to sense our body parts to be a controller for the game. This will also be my reference for my research.

[venessaloves]

RESEARCH METHODS DOCUMENTARY: Testing the artefacts (Preview)

“Character Design as…” 



Over the past 7 weeks I set out to explore character design and its many uses. I created a collection of 10 characters, their backstories and then put them to use in a variety of scenarios and product situations. I explored Character design as:

Architecture: A public Meeting place / Courtyard feature

A storytelling device: Childrens storybook

A teaching resource: Primary and Specialist audience

Merchandise: Jewellery, Badges and T-shirts

Artwork: Large format prints

Collectables: Ornamental dolls

Once the artifacts were complete I tested them on audiences. This short preview provides an overview of the process and the audience responses. The full documentary will available here soon!

[venessaloves]

Pinterest Boards: Digital Mood boards

Here is a snapshot of some of my Pinterest research boards. I really enjoy using Pinterest and find it an invaluable resource for gathering and organising my visual research.

Check out my Pinterests!

[venessaloves]

Universal Methods of Design:

This book was central to my work and will remain a close companion for future research projects. It is an excellent book which contains and insight into 100 different research strategies. It is like a encyclopaedia of research methodologies. I love it!

For my project I decided to focus on Prototyping and Focus group research. In the initial stages, after reading this book for the first time, I thought that I would also utilise the ‘graffiti wall’ strategy but as the testing of my prototypes drew closer I decided on a different approach. I instead created a discussion and exploration activity for my subjects to take part in (see documentary for further detail)