Browsing by Author "Patrick Fitzgerald"

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Enhancing Reading Comprehension Skills through the Graphic Novel Medium An Experimentation on How the Design of a Literary Graphic Novel Can Support and Help Users with their Reading Comprehension Skills
(05-05-2020) Nguyen, Monica; Patrick Fitzgerald; Gregory Carter; Margaret Simon
This project focuses on enhancing reading comprehension skills using the construction elements of the graphic novel medium by transcribing a literary story that has yet to be visualized. Traditional literature in education uses mainly text however visuals are being used more frequently in everyday materials such as textbooks. The transition of society is becoming primarily visual and the need to become visually literate is more of a necessity. Remediation is the act or process that involves improving the conditions of its predecessors. Books have been adapted into non-text forms such as audio, film, animation, and plays. According to the National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association’s standards for English language arts, reading comprehension is best practiced using multiple tools because the preferred learning style of individuals vary. As books continue to be remediated the graphic novel medium has been gaining popularity and slowly being accepted as more than just a tool for entertainment. Therefore, this project helps readers improve their reading comprehension skills by the page compositions used in graphic novels.
FORGOTTEN CHINESE MYTHOLOGIES
(2020) Liao, Sha; Patrick Fitzgerald; Kathleen Rieder; Kirby Culbertson; Tania Allen
Mythology has played an integral part in almost every civilization throughout the world. Prehistoric cave paintings, etchings in stone, tombs, and monuments all suggest that, long before human beings set down their myths in words, they had already developed a belief structure. According to psychiatrist Carl Jung, “Myth is a necessary aspect of the human psyche which needs to find meaning and order in the world.” My project is to redesign and visualize text-based Chinese mythological characters into animated 3D models, in order to expose lesser known Chinese mythologies to young people. The goal of my project is to preserve and convey the story of the ancient myths in the hope to ignite young people’s curiosity and interest in myth and bring awareness and sustainability in forgotten mythologies. My project includes three components: translation of ancient mythologies, the re-imagination and visualization of mythological characters and an audience engagement platform. The first component of ancient mythologies contains the original text record of the character and its text translation for contemporary audiences. The second component of visualization contains character design, 3D modeling and an animation. I chose the animated 3D model as my medium because I believe it allows more interaction between the work and the audience. It can show different angles of the model by the audience's will. In the future application, these 3D models can be used in film, games and VR.
Kid Gaia
(2021) Goyret, Fernando W.; Tania Allen; Justin Johnson; Patrick Fitzgerald
Kid Gaia is a narrative VR game that tells the story of a young hero, Kid, who must save his world from the evil corporation, Panorama, that is destroying it through its disregard of nature and the environment. In the game, the player embodies the spirit of Gaia who is the embodiment of mother nature. Using background theories and references of The Hero’s Journey, Archetypes and constructivism in its development, Kid Gaia presents an epic journey of reaching awareness of the elements that are fouling the environment, learning the ways to reduce the negative impact of daily human activities on our planet, and ultimately encouraging others to do the same. Kid Gaia uses storytelling as a main tenet for its immersive engagement, as the main characters talk to people and animals, solve puzzles and tasks and ultimately regenerate the environment. It explores the ways that VR can be used as a medium that can enhance empathy towards others and towards the environment, because of its immersive and interactive nature. And it explores the ways that game-play can use principles of constructivism and procedural rhetoric to persuade players of an alternate reality.
Operation ROBO
(05-2022) Edwards, Gabrielle; Chandra Cox; Patrick Fitzgerald; Tania Allen
Nowadays, companies are seeking workers that can accommodate brainstorming, analytical thinking, and creative collaboration. A good mix of education, exploration, creativity and academic development can be achieved by merging the arts and sciences through a concept called STEAM. The interactive digital learning experience called Operation Robo will help develop some of the best thinkers of our future generation by kindling both sides of the brain - the left (analytical thinking) and the right (imaginative thinking). Operation Robo immerses young people in a digital learning experience that allows them to program the functions of a robot in order to better comprehend programming logic. By combining the arts and sciences, a good blend of instruction, discovery, creativity, and academic progress can be attained. We can cultivate some of our next generation's brightest thinkers by igniting both sides of the brain - the left (analytical thinking) and the right (creative thinking) - through Operation Robo (imaginative thinking). The user will be led through various activities that will help them understand various levels of programming logic. Each level will include an exercise that the user must complete before moving on to the next, in accordance with Kolb's experiential learning theory. In this case, art is about employing creativity and imagination to boost the development of STEM's vital abilities, as well as flexibility, adaptability, productivity, responsibility, and invention - all of which are required skills for a successful career in any sector.
Reorganizing Narratives: increasing accessibility to comic book literature
(2021) Campbell-Barner, Alec; Marc Russo; Tania Allen; Patrick Fitzgerald
CAMPBELL-BARNER, ALEC, Reorganizing Narratives: Increasing Accessibility To Comic Book Literature. (Under the direction of Professor Marc Russo). Within the medium of sequential art there are numerous unique categories, genres, formats, and styles. One of the oldest formats within the medium is traditional serialized comic books. These periodical magazines have been in circulation since the late 1930’s. My research outlines the artistic, literary, and historical value within the medium of comic books to highlight the significance of my thesis project. Over time the reading format for the medium of periodical comic books has evolved extensively and created a unique type of reader. Now, as the medium charges into a competitive and digitized future, evolving the reading format will become a necessity. My thesis argument proposes ideas on how the reading format of comic books can or should evolve to better support readers and researchers. My thesis argument proposes that the current reading format of comic books lacks accessibility and legibility and a digital resource for better understanding the medium is needed. The conceptual design that I have created could work as a digital literary resource to support readers, researchers, and educators with engaging with the medium. I discuss ways to enhance the reading format by designing digital contextual reading guides. This project design is a proof of concept and is influenced by numerous precedents. This thesis involves the investigation and creation of a platform design intended to improve the overall accessibility of the comic book reading format.
Safe Break The Virtual “Third Place”
(05-2021) Poarch, James F.; Justin Johnson; Kirby Culbertson; Patrick Fitzgerald
“Safe Break” is an interactive experience for people with sensory sensitivity to escape to a virtual “third place” when the outside world is overwhelming. Inspired by VR experiences that emulate the autistic experience and taking cues from VR Chat and Mozilla Hub, “Safe Break,” when adaptable by its users, can provide sanctuary and a sense of belonging to those who find it difficult to acclimate to visual and auditory overstimulation. A virtual third place like “Safe Break” can be beneficial to young adults in fostering real world social engagement and can be useful when in accordance with occupational therapy and Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) intervention to help develop better coping strategies. This fully mobile demo can transport players to a virtual coffee shop—a typical example of a “third place,” social spaces between the home and the workplace—where the skybox outside the shop and the environment inside can be tailored to the user’s desired comfort level. In addition, relaxing environment sounds can be customized to a player’s desired volume. The user interface is designed to accommodate individuals with varying degrees of ASD functionality. Immersion, Presence, and Narrative Theory were considered in developing a convincing environment separate from reality.
Safe Break : The Virtual “Third Place”
(05-2021) Poarch, James Freeman; Justin Johnson; Kirby Culbertson; Patrick Fitzgerald
“Safe Break” is an interactive experience for people with sensory sensitivity to escape to a virtual “third place” when the outside world is overwhelming. Inspired by VR experiences that emulate the autistic experience and taking cues from VR Chat and Mozilla Hub, “Safe Break,” when adaptable by its users, can provide sanctuary and a sense of belonging to those who find it difficult to acclimate to visual and auditory overstimulation. A virtual third place like “Safe Break” can be beneficial to young adults in fostering real world social engagement and can be useful when in accordance with occupational therapy and Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) intervention to help develop better coping strategies. This fully mobile demo can transport players to a virtual coffee shop—a typical example of a “third place,” social spaces between the home and the workplace—where the skybox outside the shop and the environment inside can be tailored to the user’s desired comfort level. In addition, relaxing environment sounds can be customized to a player’s desired volume. The user interface is designed to accommodate individuals with varying degrees of ASD functionality. Immersion, Presence, and Narrative Theory were considered in developing a convincing environment separate from reality.
Snow Seeker
(05-2022) Rhagavan, Vaikunth; Marc Russo; Justin Johnson; Patrick Fitzgerald
Climate change is transforming our planet, drowning ecosystems with the polar meltdown and pushing many species into their extinction. This project explores the predictions of climate science through the conceptualization and design of a role-playing game experience, Snow Seeker, which visualizes a future Earth adversely affected by climate change, depicting the likely transformations to the Antarctic and other ecosystems from multiple perspectives and see how such transformations affect every species on the planet. Using the latest theories framed by the scientific community to explain climate change and combining them with game engines and procedural 3D tools, the game environments created for Snow Seeker are designed to represent how the world will look in the future if the South Pole completely melts and global temperature goes above 4°C. Through storytelling and gamification, the players will embark on a journey for survival, looking for basic supplies as they travel across the globe over harsh and volatile ecosystems, witnessing how the lands change and realizing what could happen if we fail to control global temperature rise and climate change. Players can choose to play as different species and experience the landscapes as such and gauge how each is affected differently. Through speculation of such a future, the hope is to change people’s attuide and encourage them to work together and solve the climate crisis.