Another Video-filled day. (11-4-09)

On 11-4-09, we watched some interesting videos the whole class period.

The first two videos were actually the best ones, since the speakers were much more captivating.

I actually got the most out of John Maeda, who spoke about The Laws of Simplicity. His presentation was very comical and engaging, which left me with a lot to think about. He demonstrated how simple things aren't so simple, since it just depends on the way we view it.

Adjectives:

1. Capricious

2. Recondite

3. Yielding

Game Sketches (11-02-09)

On monday, we came in with 20 concept sketches for a new game (well at least some people did). Some of the sketches were awesome, and they outlined the game's idea quite nicely. I came up with some very simple games which didn't seem to please the audience since the games seemed to be painful (A color mixing game? No thanks). But hey, some people are still traumatized by the color theory class.

After all that, Jimmy started talking about dealing with clients. Most of the lecture leaned towards our presentation skills. Jimmy is completely right when he mentions that good communication skills are needed in the design industry. My presentation skills are in dire need of improvement, and hopefully some of my future classes will aid me in improving them.

Adjectives:

1. Noxious

2. Macabre

3. Kaput

Game Maps / Design Videos (10-28-09)

For homework, we had to create a map that dealt with the one of the board games we played on monday. I created one which described the "Sorry!" game. It turned out to be quite simple, but it outlined the game rather well. Some people did an amazing job on theirs, especially one that actually popped out of the paper, filled with Mexican Lottery cards.

After that, we watched a few videos, which dealt with designers and companies.

I remember watching the video describing what Charles and Ray Eams did during their lifetimes, and an interesting quote stuck to my head, "Toys aren't as innocent as they appear." There was a second part to the quote which basically stated that toys represent larger and more meaningful things. I actually agree with this because if you stop and think about it, toys are derived from things that are connected to adults. For example, a Barbie doll represents a woman, whom you can manipulate when it comes to looks, crucial to most women.

Adjectives:

1. Silly

2. Sparse

3. Crooked

Gaming Day! (10-26-09)

On this day, we had to come to class with a game to play in class. People brought games such as Monopoly, Sorry!, The Game of Life, Dominoes and such.

Surprisingly enough, we were asked to play the board games during the whole class period. I thought it was awesome of Jimmy to let us do so. Of course, it had a purpose, being that we had to think about how the game was developed, since apparently the game was well designed.

I played Sorry! and Mexican Lottery, which was quite awesome since I thought my "playing games in class" were over.

I started thinking about the development of the games, and to be honest, I couldn't imagine myself composing such games on my own. Some of these games might be simple and easy to learn, but their creation surely wasn't simple.

Adjectives:

1. Panicky

2. Sparkling

3. Scrawny

The Power of 10 / Why Man Creates (10-21-09)

On wednesday, we watched two very old capturing videos.

The first one, which I enjoyed most, was called "The Powers Of Ten". This documentary-type of short film was viewed by Mr. Moss long ago, and luckily he decided to share it with us. The film, although very simple, had a tremendous message and would open anyone's eyes to how every SINGLE thing in our universe is just as important as the other. At first, the video just simply zoomed out from a couple laying on grass, to the outermost known part of our universe. Then, the video zoomed in, eventually reaching the couple, and surprisingly, it started to zoom in deeper, reaching the tiniest part of a cell. My mind suddenly opened, and made me realize how everything we see and analyze is seen such way through it's surroundings.

The second video, which wasn't as interesting as the first was titled "Why Man Creates."

The video stated 7 sections, which were:

1. The edifice

2. Fooling around

3. The process

4. The judgement

5. A parable

6. A digression

7. The search: Work in progress on new ideas

Adjectives:

1. Obnoxious

2. Crooked

3. Colossal

Making a story (10-19-09)

On this day, class was steered towards the creation of stories through the most random items we could find. Jimmy asked us to empty or pockets and backpacks, then we formed small groups and started the story-creation process.

My partners were Pauleen and Jessica. Some of the items we had were a compact, ipod, credit cards, a Disneyland pass, and car keys. We came up with a story that involved us getting our car stolen at Disneyland and eded up in Downtown Los Angeles to watch a Broadway musical. It was actually one of the most interesting stories (according to our classmates). The other stories were actually alright, some more interesting than others, but in the end, it was all pretty much fun.

Adjectives:

1. Plain

2. Frail

3. Dull