Module Aim: “To cultivate ways of collaborating and managing creative projects effectively in a distributed multidisciplinary context” (Falmouth University 2021).
Module Description: “On this module, you will work in a team on a problem-led creative computing project. You refine and apply the practical skills that you have learned, bringing them to bear on a co-creative endeavour. Typically, but not necessarily, a small game or creative app. This will enable you to enrich your project management and collaboration skills, as well as increase your knowledge of how to coordinate between multiple project stakeholders in a distributed multidisciplinary context. To this end, you will embark on a new and creatively-driven development project, and that you will pursue across the study block” (Falmouth University 2021).
“As this is a peer-orientated project, you will work collectively with your team to situate, design, and implement, and evaluate your creative artefact. With the support of a supervisor, you will strategically manage: scope; workflow; communication; roles and responsibilities; change; as well as source code and asset repositories. This includes defining a specification and contract that outlines the major features of your digital product or service at the outset of the project, working in an agile fashion, and holding retrospectives in which you reflect critically on teamwork” (Falmouth University 2021).
Weeks 1 & 2 – Forming & The Power of Introverts
A few words about myself Pathway: Indie Game Development Unity (2D), art direction and story-telling are my strengths; I also enjoy animation, visual scripting with tools like PlayMaker and learning to program. I am hopeful that Co-Creative Design & Development can branch my skills out into 3D games and modelling. During our MA in Indie…
Week 3 – Team Ideation & Sprint 0 ‘Avatar’
Note: Team Rock-it joined together as a team of five in Week 3. Course Materials: Ideation There are those that advise avoiding certain types of team name for fear you will be judged badly (Pollack and Wakid, 2011), but not us! We want you to think outside the box, gather behind the box, throw ideas…
Weeks 4 & 5 – Pitching & Sprint 1 ‘Klubbing Pitch Decks and Concept Art’
Note: The team was in the ‘storming’ period during pitch week. We were not able to perform our pitch deck in front of an audience during the Week 6 Pitch Practice. My first pitch slides and ideas designed to be performed with a team of five during week six is below. Course Materials: Pitching A…
Week 6 Part Two – Sprint 3 ‘Direction and Design’
Note: During Sprint 3, the team were still in the ‘storming’ phase. I started working on an Art Direction Document and asked for collaboration on a One-Page Design Document – only one member participated in designing a prototype and collaborating towards a common goal. Sprint 6 Sprint Goal: Set up the Art Direction and collaborate…
Week 8 Part One – Norming, New Direction & Sprint 5 ‘A rapid design sprint and pitch research’
Note: The team split in two during Week 8. We held a meeting with our supervisor, coordinated all the research and progress we’ve made so far and decided on a new direction through a rapid design sprint. Course Materials: Norming A personal reflection on a valuable experience for ‘norming’. While thinking about while I was…
Week 8 Part Two – Intellectual Property and Third Party Assets
Course Materials: Intellectual Property “The best way to familiarise yourself with IP law is to research contemporary case studies directly related to your own practice. Staying abreast of contemporary issues ensures you are not only aware of the laws but also the precedents set in your time. The breadth of issues covered by the mainstream…
Week 9 Part One – Performing & Sprint 6 ‘Feature Design’
Team Rock-it are short on time, and there are now only two members left – it’s time we Blast Off into the performing stage! Course Materials: Performing How will Team Rock-it blast off? Fail Fast! (Pimentel Medeiros 2016) Looking back, moving forwards and The Conflict Fast Model Co-Creative Design and Development has been eventful for…
Week 10 Part One – Industry Insight 1 & 2, Crunching & Sprint 7 ‘3D Animation and Mixamo’
Course Materials Industry Insight 1 “You have all joined this MA for a multitude of reasons. One of your aspirations may be to carry out a new start-up venture, or perhaps you and your team are thinking of starting your own company together. For whatever reasons this may be, it is essential to consider the…
Weeks 8, 9 & 10 Part Two – Preparing the Pitch for Feedback and Demo planning
Week 8 Sprint 5 Pitch Approach Roles Pitch Lead: Joanne Petrillo Team: Team, What’s Unique (USP), Why you?Joanne Petrillo: Intro, Customer Traction, Pain & Gain, Research, Competitor Analysis, Product & Demo (navigation focus)Sarah Masters: Product & Demo (art direction focus), Roadmap, Business Model, Investment/Why you/Future Features, Call to Action & End Statement Pitch Audience Our…
Week 11 Part One – Personal Branding & SPRINT 8 ‘Juice and a Sparkling Cyanide’
Note: Sprint Planning: Sprint 8 (our last sprint) was extended to a week and a half, rather than the usual weekly sprints to accommodate our project deadline. Course Materials: Adjourning Personal Branding & Real works Reflection Reflect and Discuss “[Personal branding is] the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an…
Weeks 10 & 11 – Pitch Feedback, and Creating the Demo
Pitch Team Feedback “Replace image in slide with monstera leaf – too obviously fake which seems counterintuitive while talking about sustainability (also colour blocks on background should be on-brand)” (Petrillo 2021) “The ‘discovering’ slide needs less text (8 seconds not enough to read it alongside narration). Maybe also remove laptop photo slide?” (Petrillo 2021) Practice…
Week 12 – Packaging for Submission & Finalising the Pitch & Demo
Pitch Polishing the Pitch By Week 12 the pitch was largely finalised, we discussed our pitch with our supervisor and completed some improvements. The main addition to our pitch deck was a revision of our branding by our UX team and data and comments from playtesting. During our previous sprints, I had been working on…
Week 13 – Adjourning, Crunch, Project Retrospective, New Skills, What is a Team & Team Rock-it Blast Off Again!
Course Materials Adjourning, Team Seperation & Celebrating Success Adjourning (Tuckman 1977) is a chance to celebrate our success and reflect on our skills and knowledge learned. The team should find some time to reflect on skills learned and celebrate accomplishments. I spoke to the team about our achievements, how much I had enjoyed working together…
References
Falmouth University. 2021. GDD730 Co-Creative Design & Development Practice. Available at: https://falmouth.akarisoftware.com/index.cfm/page/module/moduleId/93154 [accessed on 1 June 2021]