Art & Technology - Game Controller

I really enjoyed the game controller project we did.  It came easier for me to create more than the game, perhaps because of our previous experience with Makey Makey.  I did like how the game controller and game brought our Scratch, sound, programming, animated gif and Makey Makey projects all together to work cohesively as one thing.  For my controller, I chose to create a spherical ball reminiscent of the crystal ball that the Goblin King uses throughout the Labyrinth movie, and the one that Sarah is trapped in during the ballroom scene.  I used an old clear plastic ornament, and attached metal clips to it as the "buttons." Inside, I used a phone wire with 4 small wires inside to attach to the Makey Makey for my four controls in the game - up, right, left and the space bar.  I wanted to be able to use the controller in one hand (my second hand use in the video is only to steady it).  I painted it white to conceal the wires inside as well. 

The game creation itself came together in the end, even though it was more simple than I originally intended, and it was interesting to play it with the controller because it added an element of difficulty.  I made the controller to fit my hand too, so it also has an element of customization and uniqueness to it that I wasn't expecting for some reason.  It definitely adds to the artistic quality of the game, to have a one of a kind controller. 

As art teacher, I look forward to incorporating multiple artistic techniques into single projects.  I feel like this adds an element of dynamic learning that helps students realize their strengths and overcome their challenges. Working on large scale projects like this collaboratively would also be a great way to teach about teamwork and getting along with peers.  Although I think technology can be combined with traditional art making practices, projects like these completely redefine the way we can teach in an art classroom.  It truly combines many disciplines, and is aligned with STEAM curriculum.  I look forward to using new media in my classroom in the future.  

Art & Technology - Thoughts on Body Movement and Engagement in Digital Game Play

"Edutainment, for example, stands to benefit from methods aiming to support and facilitate task related movements in the user" (Bianchi-Bertouze, et al., 2007).

In the article "Does body movement engage you more in digital game play? And Why?" by Nadia Bianchi-Bertouze, Whan Woong Kim and Darshak Patel, the authors conclude that

"body movements appear not only to increase the players’ level of engagement but also to modify the way they get engaged. The combined results demonstrate in fact that the controller itself plays a critical role in creating a more complete experience." (2007)

I have played several video games in the past, including ones that use non-traditional controllers, such as the guitars in the game "Guitar Hero."  Although I can't speak to the nuances of the level of my engagement in every video game I've ever played, I can say with certainty I definitely felt like more of a rock star while holding the pseudo instrument, more than I may have felt like a plumber jumping over pipes in Super Mario Brothers.  This immersion in games has been even furthered by the advent of Virtual Reality, where the visual and audio is part of the game, as well as the operations of the hands and feet, as the games often react to where you are reaching or the hand movements you make. 

However, when I think of the what children use today for entertainment on a daily basis and for much of the day, even in school, it is not a video game console that is dedicated and has specialized controls.  It is the mobile tablets and phones that have games and videos that they can take anywhere and interact with on a more intimate level.  Although there are stylus pens that can be used with these devices, most of the game play is with touch of a finger or two.  The "educational" games work in much the same way, and focus less on physical tasks and more on academic or thinking tasks.  I don't know what the future holds, but for now there seems to be a burgeoning disconnect between what the children are playing on and how it teaches them to complete real world practices. Not that Guitar Hero taught me how to play guitar, but it was closer than pressing a button on a screen.

My professor, Nicholas Leonard brought up an interesting point - are the physical tasks we are asking children to learn going to even be necessary in the future? (Leonard, Personal Communication, 2018).  Are we perpetuating an old stereotype that in order to live a full life, we must be able to engage with it on a concrete, physical level, or can we live completely with minimal effort from our bodies?  That is something that I think will continue to be a subject of debate as we advance more into the technological future, and things will become easier and easier.  Will our bodies evolve to adapt to these changes?  Will the inevitable failure of our technologies (because we all know how unreliable technology can be) be the downfall of our humanity if we grow too dependent on it?  Being a person born in the 1970's, I have lived through a time where cell phones as they are today did not exist, and now practically everyone has one.  I am starting to forget a time that there were no cell phones, and feel like I can't function properly if I do not have my phone on me.  Are we perhaps becoming integrated with our technologies and will there ever be a step back?

Those ideas are big ones, but can definitely be addressed in a classroom of artists.  They can make up their own ideas on what the future holds, and critically examine our lives today and in the past.  How we interact with each other and our bodies and minds seem to be an afterthought as technology takes over.  The students can then redefine their own curriculum and their own lives, based on what they would like their future to look like.