First and foremost, “Watchmen” was the first of its kind. It stood out from the crowd in an exemplary fashion. It put other comic books to shame. The writer, Alan Moore, took a more non-traditional approach to writing it. For starters, the storyline doesn’t take place in a fictional city like most other comics do. It takes place in New York city. Also, this story was portrayed as more realistic. While it is still loaded with physical impossibilities, the comic had a more real feel to it due to its setting, timeline, and character personalities. You would also find that the Watchmen graphic novel didn’t look like it fit in on a typical comic rack. The front cover would seem much more boring than that of a traditional comic book. These factors definitely made it unique.
It’s been several years since I have seen the 2009 film adaptation, but I do remember owning it when I was a kid. I can recall the first time I watched it and what my reaction to it was. I could tell right from the beginning that something about this superhero story was vastly different from any other superhero story I had ever seen or read before that. There was just something about how it was filmed that made all other superhero movies seem like corny fiction but this, this was real.
I’ll start off by saying that I recently caught the travel bug and fantasize of the idea of being able to travel the world and getting paid to do it. This is my newfound dream. I hope someday that I am able to have a job where I work remotely so that I may start to travel the world and zig zag across every country and continent to explore and experience all of the different foods, cultures, peoples, traditions, and history. I want to document it all create content online about all of it, therefore establishing a brand as a world traveler that educates others. I want to blog, vlog, write articles, and make lots of YouTube videos about all of my travels.
While this is only a dream, if I am able to accomplish this one day, I would hopefully be able to incorporate the virtual world into all of this and create an AR app that others could use if they begin to travel the world and experience my experiences through the app. They could use it to find and take part in the same activities that I did or to find good services that I have used and reviewed. It would basically be an interactive AR travel app. They could also use it to learn about the history of different locations. I basically want to be a younger, more hip, more modern version of Rick Steves!
What is edutainment you ask? Why, it is the delivery of education while the viewer is also being entertained. The best example of this in my own memory goes back to my childhood. I won’t ever forget watching those videos in elementary school classes. Bill Nye the Science Guy. It’s hard to just say that without singing it like it was sang in the renowned television show’s hip, upbeat intro sequence.
Bill Nye certainly mastered this technique. He delivered short and sweet bits of valuable information to young viewers while often acting somewhat silly to add a factor of humor to the mix. This formula keeps things from getting stale. We tend to to tune things out when they become slow-paced, repetitive, or not as stimulating.
This day in age, we need that constant stimuli to keep our brains engaged. I apply this same method when I create training videos for the company I work at. I always try to incorporate some type of mild humor in it to keep the viewers engaged. This also ensures that they are always paying attention and willing to watch the videos in the first place because they can expect to see some funny twist on what would normally be a very dry and boring topic.
I have read through several other immersive engagement proposals and looked for connections and similarities between them and my own. I appreciate the symbolic value of the objects that Kathryn wishes to create. I feel that the reward of her gold star at the end of the hero’s quest is very comparable to my holo-projector that will display a college diploma on it.
On the other hand, Danielle’s drawing tablet item compares more to my video editing workstation I wish to place in the world. I am also hoping that this object can help them consider if it is something they would be interested in learning more about at Peninsula College. Adobe Premiere Pro can be a pretty intimidating application from first glance, but it looks sleek. I’m hoping that potential new students seeing editing taking place using the software on the virtual workstation will inspire them to look into it more.
I also drew a connection between my holo-projector item and James’ map scroll. These items share something in common. They will be handheld items that can be picked up by the users’ avatars and interacted with. I am a little intimidated by attempting to create these objects given my lack of experience with 3D design and Second Life, but am more than willing to give it a shot!
I would have to say that I had a couple different perspective widening experiences with media. The first was when I was in Stevens Middle School in 6th grade. We would watch a daily news broadcast on the TVs in the classrooms. The broadcast was produced by the 8th grade students in Mr. Edwards’ Advanced Media Technology class. I immediately knew what I wanted to do when I got to 8th grade. I thought it was so cool that we could produce things like this as an 8th grader. Next thing you know, I was in that very class when I was an 8th grader. I stood out from the rest of the class though. I didn’t help produce the daily segment with everyone else. I was off working on my own weekly segment called “The Jesse Report”.
The second experience was more recently as an adult. This hit me once I realized there was potential for me to practice my media production skills at my current job. This got me back into the game. I had a newfound desire to chase my dreams once again. After heading down this path, I started to discover all of the technological advances we have made in media production since I was in that Advanced Media class in middle school. I hadn’t really kept up with the times to be honest.
What type of player am I, you ask? Why, I am definitely a cross between the achiever and the explorer. I love playing games like Bethesda’s Fallout & Elder Scrolls series plus the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise. The AC games are great for the integration of historical events, landmarks, and locations into a fictional storyline. These games offer a huge open world that is ripe with many different locations to discover, quests to complete, and collectibles to find.
I want to level up in life by completing the Multimedia Communications program at Peninsula College and seeing what the future brings.
Side note: I had really hoped to find an old video on YouTube of the Stevens News Network from back in the day, but had no luck.
The premise of my project will consist of the development of two different objects to be placed in the SL world. One will be a monitor that shows the video editing process in Adobe Premiere Pro and another will be a handheld holo-projector that displays either a rotating college degree or an open book. The fundamental purpose of these items is to drive students find interest in the video production and as a call to action to inspire them to attend Peninsula College.
2. Audience and Market
The intended user would be a potential new student at Peninsula College. We hope to use our digital environment on the Hero’s Journey to entice them to become students here. This audience would probably enjoy something that is interesting, comedic, and technological. We will have plenty of competition, however. There are plenty of other schools, organizations, and companies that have established a strong presence in the virtual world.
3. Medium, Platform, and Genre
We will be using the platform Second Life to develop and place these items. This platform consists of a virtual world where users can fully customize their avatars, purchase and rent property, and even get a job. It is a third-person virtual experience.
4. Narrative and Gaming Elements
There are narrative elements contained in this project. The Hero’s Journey is a completely narrative concept. It is the basis for most stories told and has been for a very long time. I hope to be very encouraging and inspirational in my approach when creating these items. There are some gaming elements already on the Hero’s Journey pathway, however, mine will be more interactive and persuasive. I can’t think of a win or lose scenario with my objects, other than a win when persuading someone to attend Peninsula College.
5. User’s Role and Point of View (POV)
The user will take on the role of an aspiring student on this pathway. They will be looking for direction in their life, in their education, and in their own personal Hero’s Journey. Therefore, ultimately they will be taking on the role of the “hero”.
6. Characters
The nonplayer characters consist mostly of animals from what I have seen. I did read something about a parrot that helps you on the journey but I don’t believe I actually encountered him. I have seen other birds, wolves, and whales. They make the virtual environment feel more welcoming and attractive. They also give it a more lively presence which will entice users to explore deeper into it.
7. Structure and Interface
The starting point of the user’s experience will be Step 0 of the Hero’s Journey. This is the beginning of the path and the user is welcomed with some free gifts and information here. They will then progress through the twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey and then proceed onto the Pathway Café where they can see the different guided educational pathways. They will be able to stay on task and know they are going in the right direction because of the signs that have been placed.
8. Storyworld and Sub-settings
Our world appears to be on an island paradise that sees all different seasons and climates in the different regions of the island. These resemble the different obstacles we encounter when we are on our own personal Hero’s journey.
9. User Engagement
The storytelling aspect of the experience is what will keep the user engaged. They will want to make it to the end to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes along with completing any type of interactive story element. By the end of this experience, the user will have hopefully made it to the end of the pathway, decided what area of study they are wanting to focus on, and chosen to enroll at Peninsula College to do so.
10. Overall Look and Sound
For the monitor at the video editing station, I will be using videos. 2 different videos, one for each monitor. One will be of the editing workspace in Premiere Pro, while the other will be of the program monitor. As far as the holo-projector object goes, I will use an image of the text book or college degree and try to build a 3D element out of it.
11. Interactive Scavenger Hunt
I would like to make it so if the user finds my holo-projector, not only will it turn on and display the rotating object, but it will also transport them to my bubble. Using the holo-projector again will transport them back to the hero’s pathway. (Not sure if this is doable or not, but I like the idea of it.)
12. Marketing of the Hero’s Journey
The project could be marketed through the college’s website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and even Second Life itself. I feel that at this stage it wouldn’t hurt to have mentorship, but I think the further along it comes and the more developed it becomes, the more autonomous while convenient to use it will become.
