Monday, June 26, 2006

6-19-06 Meeting

TO DOs:
• Eli, Pam, Matt - write questions for the Ghost Ship Keys.
• Check timeline
• CC, Matt - scope out the music: What kind of musical pieces and how long each piec needs to be.
• Pam - email Randy for text on STMT & Powder Monkey
• Matt - adjust the handwashing experiment storyboard

OPENING:
Adrian storyboard for opening.
http://cahedev.nmsu.edu/Development/storyboards/pirateopen/index.html
• Clarify if we are still plan to use the book/pages idea.
• Not much animation will be using stills•

GHOST SHIP KEYS:
- Test with the kids on the view of the player. Test sometime next week.
- Possible add: Map of ghost ship keys that shows where the keys are and which ones you have been and shows where your ship is and the direction of ship.
- Views & Navigating from cave to cave by: overhead aerial view & the ship level view.

HANDWASHING EXPERIMENT:
Design how the handwashing experiment and walk around engine and final scene with Brownbeard will work.
Artistically and game play.
Matt will make some adjustments on storyboard on handwash experiment & run by Randy before starting any programming.

Final game Suggestions: Possible make like dragon slayer. Click on quick flashes to get through the sequence… Need the final pirate battle

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

6-7-06 meeting with Virginia notes

Video conference 6.07.06 with Randy (Virginia), Barb, Pam, Matt. Elizabeth, Ian

Agenda for the meeting:
• Review games super tiki (STMT) & NOT powder monkey (NOT PM)
• Hypothesis song
• Finalize the intro

Randy is OK with playing the games in any order.
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STMT
has only one goal & that is to explain what hypothesis is. Randy was asking since the song covers all the concepts.
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NOT PM:
• Game approved by Randy – move on with development.
• Randy likes the game and thinks it conveys the goals needed.
• Randy: OK to have all randomize the cannonball. So there are more than one correct answer.

2 MAIN GOALS FOR NOT PM
• Importance of establishing a base
• Importance of isolating variables in an experiment

NEED FROM RANDY/virginia:
• The science concept text - setting up the baseline and the scientific concept & terms.
• Scripts for baseline and isolating variables. From meeting looks like baseline isn’t as important as once was thought.
• Randy, scripts for first 2 games (STMT & Powder Monkey) after that work on cabin boys dialogue.
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SCRIPTS:
• Virginia will write about the scientific
• NMSU will write scripts related to the game play.

Virginia will work on script for parrots on the STMT and Not Powder Monkey work on part related to CONCEPT
Script for Parrot: Kudos, and dialog for guiding them through if they are not getting it (Guided instruction)
Script STMT: Dialog for Clearing the levels (reflective instruction) ex. Good Job your right the Banana's make you turn right!

After this we can move on to Cabin Boy Dialog collaborative effort.

PLACES TO ADD TEXT:
Parrot dialog
Reward level dialog

Level clear level will be reflective instruction – Parrot will be guided instruction

Help kids transfer what they learned to the hand washing experiment.
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SONG LYRICS:

• In the Experiment song, the lyric “observe what happens when you change this that is called variable.” Change to something like “Try it out and observe what happens when you change the independent variables” (Add independent variable).
Lacking examples in all the songs. Put examples for the variables in songs.
We could use a Song with all the vocabulary (variables, hypothesis, independent, dependent).

Dependant Independent variable:
• Need song for variable in general – during experiment things that change are variable.
• We still need: Variables in General - Concept things that change are variables.
• Modify independent/dependant or new song with variable and the different variables. Emphasis on dependent.

Emphasis on the last word "depends" in the lyrics. The words “Responding variable” is also used for “dependant variable”.
What you change is "Independent". "Dependant variable" changes depending on what you changed.
• Another word used for "independent" is "manipulated".
• Need to add examples in song.

BASELINE VS. CONTROL
• Experiments do not always have a baseline – many of time control is uesd. Controlled subject is the one nothing is done to it. Baseline is rarely taught in schools.
• Introduce the concept but not have a song about it.

• Need a "Control Song" (song about Control) instead of baseline.
We Don't have a "Control Song".
Key point for Control: In control - no treatment i.e., Plant growth: the fertilizer is the Independent, growth of plant is the dependent, no fertilizer is the control subject.

HYPOTHESES
Formula for hypotheses: not educated guess. Prediction, "if I do this I will get …" Leave Hypothesis definition as an educated guess & test, or proposed answer to research question.
Proposed answer to a research questions. Hypothesis is an answer to your research to question but don’t know if it is right or not.
Hypothesis definition for School aged is usually taught in this manner: IF this, THEN this.
Randy likes: A proposed answer to a question! (hypothesis definition), but you don't know if it right or not.

NO SONG ABOUT THE 4 QUESTIONS STRATEGY:
4 Questions Strategy (Hypothesis): Randy says this is too general, too lose and wouldn't use it. (Its too complicated to explain to this age group).
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NEED TO SCHEDULE:
Brainstorming & cabin boy writing session

6-12-06 meeting

To do Overall:
- Adrian start on the visuals/storyboard for intro.
- CC changes for the games. Please see below.
- Matt will send CC any Flash animation to test if Flash animation will work.
- Matt & Pam rewite the instructions for Not Powder Monkey.
- Write summary of June 8 focus group test & send to Pam.
- Adjust timeline.
- Eli rewrite the Independent/Dependent questions for Ghost Ship Keys
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Latest Audio Intro: rough
- Everyone at the Monday pirate meeting liked this latest version.
- Background Music need to change.
- Background music Pam will talk to Sam Green for detailed info
- Possible shorten and speed up
- Adrian will start on the visuals/storyboard.
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STMT still need to create:
- Fly around
- In between art: pirates, songs- how will the songs be shown, possible Flash animations.
- Matt will send CC any Flash animation to test if Flash animation will work .
- CC will work on making the Go button more obvious by clicking on the monkey, the Go sign somehow more obvious. CC changed so to start click on the monkey.
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Focus Group Testing:
- Test STMT and Powder Monkey with new group 6-14-06 at 10:00
- Have focus group come up with a name for Powder Monkey
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Songs:
- Randy had some changes to existing ones and possible create couple new ones.
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Powder Monkey Not:
CC will make changes for 6-14 focus test
- History toogle button - DONE
- Hover the monster damage bar over the monster - DONE
- Highlight the buttons in the Cannon design
- Program so the 1st try doesn't succeed.

From previous focus group test - some of the problems from this focus group may have been due to the slowness of the game play.
- Identify where to provide hints - the testers didn't seem to have any idea of how to design a cannonball to destroy the monster.
- Keep instructions from parrot
- Rewrite the instructions adn have audio - Matt and Pam will give a try at the rewrite.
- Too much instructions at the very beginning.
- Have audio instructions and hints.
- Possible have the cannonball design and shotting area on one screen

Boss monster need to work to make more interesting.
- Not too fun to play currently

Monday, June 05, 2006

Not Powder Monkey title suggestions

Gerritt:
Cannonball Cove (Or cave)
Cave of the Kraken
The Dreaded Sea Cucumber of Doom
Cave of the Sea Cucumber
The Mystic Cave of the Dread Sea Cucumber
Ye Olde Cave of Yon Sea Cucumber
Cannonball Kraken
Cannonball Cucumber

Logan:

Monster Shell
Monster Bombardment
Super Sea Monster Demolition
Cooper Cave
Caves of Monstrosities
Clod Monster