Nat's Narrative Environments

Summary of: Our Concept We chose to base our project around the notion of "being childish". Once you become an adult it is no longer deemed acceptable to act "childish". We wanted to create a game that acts as a form of stress relief for office workers by encouraging them to act in a playful way. The aim was to create an experience that allows adults to escape the worries and stresses of responsibility for even a small amount of time so they can have some fun and recharge for whatever the rest of the day might entail. The idea The final idea was to have a cubed room containing a game that can be transported to different offices. This will be as simple as possible with only a high score at the entrance to build curiosity and tempt people to take part. Once inside the room a countdown from 10 seconds will appear and then lights would start to emerge on the walls that the people would then have to tap as fast as possible to accumulate a score. Review A...

The emotional and psychological effects of colour  After the final reviews it became evident that we were missing some key areas of research which would help to better connect the final design with the original intention. We had to make sure that the game itself wouldn't become so competitive that it increases stress rather than decreases. One of the ways it was suggested to do this was by researching the emotional and psychological effects of colour and embedding the more "relaxing" colours in the flashing dots that appear in the game. Red is a colour that increases blood circulation, breathing rates, and metabolism. It can easily attract attention but it can also prompt aggression. Although this would be ideal to stimulate cognitive function during a game, Red can inhibit relaxation therefore it probably would not be good to make the flashing dots in this colour as it goes against our aim of the game being a stress reliever. Orange shares Red’s energetic ...

As part of my contribution I helped to make the 3D prototype to illustrate what the final idea would look like. To make it we just used card glue and paint. Our aim was to make a simple black box that we could later project the animation onto and add sensors to to make the model interactive. Bellow are some sketches of what the game would look like in the desired location and of how it would work. (Sketches done by Charis) Charis created an animation to simulate that of the game inside of the box. This game will be very similar to that of ‘The Speed of Light’ (See bellow) used in arcades, pressing buttons very quickly as they pop up around the screen. Linking the animation to that of the Makey-Makey session, coding had to be put in place so when a certain key on the keyboard was pressed, the animation would continue as if they were being pressed in a simulation. Although this is just for the miniature model of the interactive box, it will hopef...

The affects of physical activity on stress Part of my research was also to investigate the positive affects physical activity has on stress and how our game might benefit employees in the workplace. Below is the information that I found. Stress is an inevitable part of life and the work place can often be a main contributor. However there are ways it can be managed and exercise/physical activity is one of the most encouraged coping mechanisms of doing so by health care professionals. Studies show that it is very effective at reducing fatigue, improving alertness and concentration, and at enhancing overall cognitive function. This can be especially helpful when stress has depleted your energy or ability to concentrate. Exercise and other physical activity produce endorphins, chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers, which in turn reduces the affect that stress has on a person’s mental and physical state. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America). ...