Design Final Projects

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/39967

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A Shadow at the Door How Narrative Addresses Trauma and Abuse
(2021) Parker, Jaekwon; JMark Scearce; Laura Widman; Marc Russo
This paper is an aggregate of information gained from general research, personal experience, and creative influence. We will explore the consequences of sexual assault on survivors who experienced said assault in childhood. As well as how narrative and creative media can help one come to terms with, address, and heal with the resulting trauma. To provide an example of how narrative can assist in addressing childhood trauma, I created a graphic novel titled A Shadow at the Door. The narrative follows a young black boy coming to terms with sexual assault he survived and learning to ask for help when the trauma and triggers become too much for him to bear. The purpose of this project is not to be a self-help book, or the end-all-be-all on advice as to what to do if one finds themselves a survivor of abuse, sexual or otherwise. The intent is to provide representation in terms of racial and gender demographics in a medium that would best reach out to an audience of pre-teen boys that could find use in the narrative of Nairobi.
A Shadow at the Door : How Narrative Addresses Trauma and Abuse
(2021) Parker, Jaekwon; JMark Scearce; Laura Widman; Marc Russo,
This paper is an aggregate of information gained from general research, personal experience, and creative influence. We will explore the consequences of sexual assault on survivors who experienced said assault in childhood. As well as how narrative and creative media can help one come to terms with, address, and heal with the resulting trauma. To provide an example of how narrative can assist in addressing childhood trauma, I created a graphic novel titled A Shadow at the Door. The narrative follows a young black boy coming to terms with sexual assault he survived and learning to ask for help when the trauma and triggers become too much for him to bear. The purpose of this project is not to be a self-help book, or the end-all-be-all on advice as to what to do if one finds themselves a survivor of abuse, sexual or otherwise. The intent is to provide representation in terms of racial and gender demographics in a medium that would best reach out to an audience of pre-teen boys that could find use in the narrative of Nairobi.
Anxiety-Coping Strategies and their Place in Game-Based Learning: An Exploration into How the Integration of Stress-Reducing Strategies into a Serious Game Can Offer Children a Learning Environment that is Both Encouraging and Effective
(05-05-2020) Hennes, Isabel; Marc Russo; John Nietfeld; JMark Scearce
Every human experiences stress in some form or another, and in the right amount it can act as an excellent motivator. It is only when a person experiences so much anxiety that it negatively impacts his or her ability to function in everyday life that it is truly considered a disorder. Anxiety is the body’s fight or flight response to perceived danger and—when treated appropriately through various therapies and from a young enough age—those who suffer from anxiety can learn to cope and overcome his or her disorder. Unfortunately, many children who develop anxiety, whether due to a learning deficit or a variety of other factors, take that anxiety into adulthood if untreated. By identifying whether or not a child is struggling in school due to symptoms of anxiety, parents and teachers have the opportunity to teach and encourage healthy coping strategies that can enable the child to appropriately react when experiencing an overwhelming amount of stress and worry. By addressing such symptoms early on, parents and teachers have the ability to recognize unhealthy behaviors and seek professional help if they fear their child is struggling. The intended purpose of this project is first, to understand what ways can the integration of anxiety coping tools and strategies into a game-based learning environment help normalize and alleviate assessment-induced stress; and secondly, how can such a system bring attention to parents and teachers of children who might be struggling in school? This project is not meant to diagnose anyone with learning or anxiety disorders, or provide long term therapy, but rather give students, no matter their condition, an opportunity to learn how to react to stressful situations with healthy behaviors.
Anxiety-Coping Strategies and their Place in Game-Based Learning: An Exploration into How the Integration of Stress-Reducing Strategies into a Serious Game Can Offer Children a Learning Environment that is Both Encouraging and Effective
(05-05-2021) Hennes, Isabel; Marc Russo; John Nietfeld; JMark Scearce
Every human experiences stress in some form or another, and in the right amount it can act as an excellent motivator. It is only when a person experiences so much anxiety that it negatively impacts his or her ability to function in everyday life that it is truly considered a disorder. Anxiety is the body’s fight or flight response to perceived danger and—when treated appropriately through various therapies and from a young enough age—those who suffer from anxiety can learn to cope and overcome his or her disorder. Unfortunately, many children who develop anxiety, whether due to a learning deficit or a variety of other factors, take that anxiety into adulthood if untreated. By identifying whether or not a child is struggling in school due to symptoms of anxiety, parents and teachers have the opportunity to teach and encourage healthy coping strategies that can enable the child to appropriately react when experiencing an overwhelming amount of stress and worry. By addressing such symptoms early on, parents and teachers have the ability to recognize unhealthy behaviors and seek professional help if they fear their child is struggling. The intended purpose of this project is first, to understand what ways can the integration of anxiety coping tools and strategies into a game-based learning environment help normalize and alleviate assessment-induced stress; and secondly, how can such a system bring attention to parents and teachers of children who might be struggling in school? This project is not meant to diagnose anyone with learning or anxiety disorders, or provide long term therapy, but rather give students, no matter their condition, an opportunity to learn how to react to stressful situations with healthy behaviors.
Brand New Skin
(05-2022) Barrett, Lucia; Tania Allen; Derek Ham
The duality between otherness and monstrosity forms the backbone of Brand New Skin, a conceptual computer role-playing game, or CRPG, centered on the experience of being a monster— a vampire. In its current form, this project is the beginning of a production bible for what will one day be a completed game. Vampires traditionally stand as symbols of power. Brand New Skin upends this trope— vampires are rewritten as symbols of intimacy; the game revolves around the process of engaging with humans and negotiating consent to feed, likening the act to real-world sexual encounters. It will follow the player’s journey of self discovery as they learn to navigate the monstrous nuances of a parallel society as a newly-turned vampire- a fledgling- named Marin, trapped within the confines of a sleepy seaside city shackled by superstition. Gothic conventions are dissected, scrutinized, presented to the player in the form of questions: internal monologues, character interactions, poking and prodding at the game’s environment. The player takes the reins to construct meaning, to understand, to forge an intimate, monstrous identity.
Centennial feminist Tarot
(2020) Caddick, Lauren; Tania Allen; Todd Berreth; Kathleen Rieder
How might a reimagined tarot experience connect feminist movements of the past and present in a way that supports and inspires future generations? The Centennial Feminist Tarot illuminates the parallel histories of the United States women’s suffrage movement and modern feminism in order to help Millennial women understand their place in the context of American history. The creation of this reimagined deck includes a new “Major Arcana”, a spread unique to the deck, biographical information, and interpretations for each card. Stereoscopic digital collages serve as trigger images for an augmented reality application that will allow users to navigate the historical and symbolic meanings of the commemorative cards.
De:Void
(05-2022) VanDeVenter, Melissa; Dr. Derek Ham; Marc Russo; Katie Greder,
Games are perhaps as diverse in nature and outcome as humanity is in appearance and personality. The English word itself has a plethora of different definitions and colloquial uses: “quit playing games with me!” and “he has a game leg”. Additionally there are differing opinions on what things classify as a game and what do not. Puzzles and simulators, for example, are often debated in regards to this with strong cases on both sides. This varied quality and the negative associations often tied to them tend to leave games overlooked as activities deeper than leisure. For how could play lead to real impact? This project—an alternate reality game (ARG) titled De:Void—offers to shed some light on how we expect too little from games and play. It demonstrates how gameplay can naturally prompt collective intelligence (also referred to as “swarm thinking”), crowdsourced work, and social enrichment through shared participation. De:Void’s system and content is shaped by the essential concepts and principles discussed by many of the leading experts in the theories of games and play. Through careful inspection of these characteristics and reference of many precedents, this ARG directs its players toward collaborative, real hard work by employing gameful measures to generate strong motivation and player agency. It organically encourages the participants toward engaging in systems of thought, such as design thinking, and offers a development framework for future serious games to be made. De:Void illustrates how games are an under-utilized method of directing real change.
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.
HBCUs: A Considersion
(05-2022) Umrani, Elijah; Chandra Cox; JMark Scearce; Lesley-Ann Noel
This project makes use of different storytelling techniques such as film, motion graphics, and illustrations. These stories will focus on three cornerstones that shape the foundation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Academic Excellence, Community, and Culture. The objective of this project is to illustrate and educate young students who may be unfamiliar with the purpose of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and why they are still being utilized in modern day education past their initial founding. By no means is this a defense for their relevance but a showcase of how HBCUs help shape and prepare students, particularly students of color, to receive a high level education.
HOMETOWN: Exploring Escapism Through Meta-Narrative
(2020) Wiedner, Andrew J.; Marc Russo; J. Mark Scearce; Chris Martens
In Their Eyes
(2021) Fang, Chutong; Justin Johnson; Tania Allen; Chandra Cox
ABSTRACT Light pollution dramatically disrupts the natural day-light pattern and threatens wildlife’s survival. By creating an immersive and empathetic VR experience, In Their Eyes aims to provide people an empirical and more immediate experience of the negative impacts of light pollution in the animals’ eyes. Players will experience sea turtles’ sea-finding behavior by playing the role of a hatchling trying to find the sea under the effect of light pollution. Players will also be educated on how they can help in daily life. This project will provide a deeper awareness and understanding of the problem, thereby causing people to care more about the issue through this experience with the hope that resultant steps might be taken to prevent this damage from further continuing.
In Their Eyes
(2021) Fang, Chutong; Justin Johnson; Tania Allen; Chandra Cox
Light pollution dramatically disrupts the natural day-light pattern and threatens wildlife’s survival. By creating an immersive and empathetic VR experience, In Their Eyes aims to provide people an empirical and more immediate experience of the negative impacts of light pollution in the animals’ eyes. Players will experience sea turtles’ sea-finding behavior by playing the role of a hatchling trying to find the sea under the effect of light pollution. Players will also be educated on how they can help in daily life. This project will provide a deeper awareness and understanding of the problem, thereby causing people to care more about the issue through this experience with the hope that resultant steps might be taken to prevent this damage from further continuing.
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.
Loxodonta
(5-2022) Connor, Mitchell; Marc Russo; Justin Johnson; Dr. Derek Ham,
Loxodonta is a virtual reality application that explores the importance of memory, and how specific visual styles might be able to trigger them. This thesis is the culmination of the research and practice that went into making this VR experience. The main objective of Loxodonta is to explore the efficacy of virtual reality being used as a nostalgia triggering device, as well as the best practice for achieving nostalgia while in virtual reality. This was accomplished by creating an experience that focuses on generalized nostalgia, with the aid of retrieval cues. The virtual environments consist of an interactive playspace with a large collection of objects that are related to a specific, meaningful time period for the user. It is important to note that this experimentation is targeted towards a very specific audience and time period, as this is only an experiment of virtual reality that triggers nostalgia, and the results may vary across audiences. Loxodonta is meant to be a tool - a device which allows you to access what was once lost to time.
Mediated Communities : A Case Study on the Relationship between User Interfaces and Online Communities
(2021) Bulous, Najla; JMark Scearce; Traci Rider; Derek Ham; Jedidiah Gant
Creatives face a unique challenge in using social media platforms to find online communities that facilitate learning, critique, and the sharing of work. “Mediated Communities” aims to better understand the relationship between user interfaces and online communities of practice through secondary research and a qualitative case study on the ‘Blender Discord’ group on the social media platform Discord. Members of the ‘Blender Discord’ server were surveyed and the resulting data analyzed. Since social media platforms have different user interfaces, a better understanding of how user interfaces use social affordances to influence online communities can help creatives pick platforms that are better suited to their needs. In addition, “Mediated Communities” details the author’s process and reflections on designing a case study around an anonymous online community of practice. This work shows that studying online communities in conjunction with their host platform(s) is valuable and can lead to new insights. It was developed and conducted as a part of the Masters in Art + Design program at NC State.
Mediated Communities: A Case Study on the Relationship between User Interfaces and Online Communities
(2021) Bulous, Najla; JMark Scearce; Traci Rider; Derek Ham; Jedidiah Gant
Creatives face a unique challenge in using social media platforms to find online communities that facilitate learning, critique, and the sharing of work. “Mediated Communities” aims to better understand the relationship between user interfaces and online communities of practice through secondary research and a qualitative case study on the ‘Blender Discord’ group on the social media platform Discord. Members of the ‘Blender Discord’ server were surveyed and the resulting data analyzed. Since social media platforms have different user interfaces, a better understanding of how user interfaces use social affordances to influence online communities can help creatives pick platforms that are better suited to their needs. In addition, “Mediated Communities” details the author’s process and reflections on designing a case study around an anonymous online community of practice. This work shows that studying online communities in conjunction with their host platform(s) is valuable and can lead to new insights. It was developed and conducted as a part of the Masters in Art + Design program at NC State.
Nice Folky Things
(05-2022) Sibiran, Gilberto; Tania Allen; Marc Russo; Lesley-Ann Noel
As a child of American immigrants, I often struggled with understanding my identity when it came to the lack of representation in the media that I consumed as a millennial second-generation Latin American. The stories that influenced the media and defined my generation lacked characters that looked like me and were largely inspired by stories from Western European and far removed from the stories that may have included people like me. By examining folk stories from countries of origin not often represented in mainstream American culture remediating them for a detached population - Nice Folky Things, explores the identity and culture of second-generation Americans through cross-cultural folk stories examination. This is an Auto-ethnographic study based on my own experiences as an American-born, second-generation Latin American who has, and still often feels, detached from my family’s heritage, and ostracized by my surrounding mainstream American Culture. Walking the line between contradiction, authenticity, and honoring heritage - this project is meant to be both an examination of my personal experiences, and authentic taste, as well as a larger examination of how media has, and can, re-shaped personal identity.
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.
Other as Spectacle: Women, Queerness, and the Male Gaze
(05-2020) Fisher, Sara; Todd Berreth; Pat Fitzgerald; Tania Allen
This project, Other as Spectacle, aims to create an interactive installation that explores what it is like to be othered by the male gaze, and through the experience establish a new understanding in the viewer the harm the male gaze has on women and queer individuals. The theme of the work surrounds the concept of a masquerade—the user steps in front of an interactive projection and finds themselves in the role of the ‘outsider.’ The viewer will face their own reflection in a mirror, and witness as their image is distorted—their reflection on the screen slowly morphing into the figure of a monster as the characters on the screen gawk at them.

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Browsing Design Final Projects by Discipline "Art + Design"