September 4, 2014
Today was a big day. Our schedule is starting to seem routine, and even revising our work plan seems to be going well.
After we all joined each other at Union Station, we moved into the train and reserved ourselves a table. Fresh from a good night of sleep, we fleshed out the details of our daily agenda. Then in Boston, we walked happily along Atlantic Avenue. About ten minutes later, we were in our office, where we began to break down our daily agenda into small, digestible pieces.
Today, this meant deciding the details of our work plan for the rest of the term. Based on emails received this morning, we decided on what was most important for the day: to flesh out all of the details for our interviews and observations. We attempted to research interview techniques using the previous IQP report, method powerpoint presentations from ID2050, the library's reference guide, and sources found online.
After establishing the proper guidelines, we began to plan our various interviews:
- We drafted questions for Mr. Billy Spitzer, the Vice-President of Programs, Exhibits, and Planning in order to find what qualities of exhibits we should implement for our project.
- In order to understand the background of the Maine lobster-men, we took notes on a newspaper article of the impact of the Sinking Line Rule and the Multi-Trap Rule on Maine lobster-men (which would cost a predicted $1.3-$3.6 million for a predicted 30-40% reduction in vertical buoy lines, according to the Bangor Daily News). After we discussed this, we drafted interview questions for the two lobster-men that we would meet.
- We completed equivalent interview preparation for a meeting with Ms. Amy Knowlton, who could provide us with valuable content about the right whale.
- Interviews with participants of whale watching expeditions would be useful for understanding the demographic and the feasibility of a phone app version of our game if implemented on the tours. We noted that the Boston Harbor Cruises we will be working with are a partner of the New England Aquarium, and not owned by the aquarium.
- The lead naturalist at Boston Harbor Cruises is also available for a brief interview, so we drafted questions to learn about the engagement of the whale watchers from a professional perspective.
- The IMGD professors at WPI will be interviewed with different questions based on each of their areas of expertise. These questions will determine not only the capabilities of the video games, but to investigate what qualities of games make them the most engaging.
- We also created a list of questions for WPI students to determine the effectiveness of our video game story-line.
All of our interview plans followed the proper established guidelines, which include but are not limited to: a clear goal, an informative and complete introduction, a set of semi-structured flexible questions, discussion, and closing comments. After a chicken tender and fries lunch, we continued to refine the other parts of our work plan into concrete by:
- Reviewing the old methods proposal
- Keeping track of what steps in the methods have already been completed or are otherwise unnecessary
- Making changes based on new ideas and familiarity with the project
- Drafting emails to be used later in the project
- Revising and refining the old questions to follow the new interview plans
- Working on a schedule timeline for the rest of the project
- Researching and working to establish guidelines for the observation (as opposed to interviewing) of aquarium visitors and whale watchers.
In summary, it was a productive day...
But that's not all. On the train ride home, as we continued to discuss the final objective, we began to flesh out the details of the final deliverable. Although it took a lot of discussion, we seemed to come to a decision of a better form of deliverable.
We would provide the New England Aquarium with options for platforms to select for the video game. Each of our platform options would come with all of the details needed for an MQP group to complete the game with minimum research on their part. For each platform option, we will provide the overall genre of game, the story-line, the character concepts, the environment, and any additional recommendations, which are based on the specific nature of the platform. While the platform ideas may change, we seemed to believe the options of phone apps, desktop apps, and an exhibit are suitable.
"For each platform option, we will provide the overall genre of game, the story-line, the character concepts, the environment, and any additional recommendations..."
More details to come tomorrow.
-Alex
