philosophersballoon-blog

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What I’ve Got: Radiant Historia

Set on the fictional continent of Vainqueur, Radiant Historia follows the protagonist Stocke during a great war between the continent’s two powers. While the game draws upon many elements of other Japanese-style RPGs, what sets it apart is its innovative use of branching storylines. In the game, the user must travel forward and backward in time as well as between timelines in order to solve puzzles and complete quests. This gives the game a truly distinct narrative style: storylines intricately unfurl as the player pieces together snippets from various timelines, histories, and futures based on their decisions. Moreover, through the timelines feature, the player is asked to see events in the war from multiple perspectives: victor, conquered, statesmen, soldier, and bystander. This is complemented by several design features. First, the mixture of medieval, steampunk, and fantastical costume design give the game an anachronistic feel, which supports its unique treatment of time. The consistent blue-gray ambiance contrasted with a purple foreground throughout the game give it an insomnia-like feeling, reinforcing the timelessness of the game. Finally, the user interface (above) shows how various timelines are mapped for the player, giving a breathtaking view of the storyline that makes it both accessible and stunningly complex for the player.

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https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0ByT1ltVuJPOzOU9POV9RZlNua00?usp=sharing

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Challenge 7: Show&Tell

Show&Tell is an online review platform aimed at boutique fashion retail sites which lack the specialization or resources to implement a dedicated online review system. Show&Tell works by learning which kinds of reviews a specific user will find the most helpful, and then shows users those reviews first. On the review-writing side, Show&Tell presents an easy-to-use interface designed to guide users through the review-writing process while making it easy to focus on text or uploading supplementary images. Finally, Show&Tell compiles the information for each user into a reviews feed, so that they can see reviews from other users they might like, along with information about other users (spending habits, number of reviews, etc.)

From our survey on online review systems, we found that 1) users tend to prioritize differently when reading and writing online reviews and 2) users tend to break into few, but definite preference groups in terms of what they look for in an online review. With respect to the former finding, review writers tend to prioritize pricing and personal anecdotes while review readers tend to value discussion of functionality, images, and comparisons with other products. With respect to the latter finding, users usually feel strongly that either more text or supplementary images contribute to a review, but not both. Thus, Show&Tell seeks to re-align priorities when writing so that readers will find the review most helpful. In particular, it provides customized templates when writing, and users must decide whether they are adding more text or images.

The strategy of Show&Tell is to target boutique fashion sites which lack the expertise or resources to implement a dedicated online review system. As shown in the graphic, Show&Tell would be integrated into the retail site directly and in some cases, replace the already existing review system. By providing a universal platform for reviews, Show&Tell hopes to not only promote trust for users on sites with lower volume and fewer reviews, but also drive volume between sites for our partners.

Prototype: https://projects.invisionapp.com/d/main#/projects/prototypes/10632402

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What I’ve Got: Architect’s Lamp

This lamp has worked wonders for my late-night studying. Due to the adjustable swiveling neck and joints, this lamp offers focused illumination from any angle unlike standing lamps. Whether I am reading, typing, drawing, or building, the adjustable, extended neck allows the lamp to fit the activity rather than the other way around. Moreover, the simple, steel design appeals for its sturdiness, seemingly communicating the idea that this lamp will hold its position once set, unlike a gooseneck lamp. 

[philosophersballoon-blog]

What I’ve Got: Architect’s Lamp

This lamp has worked wonders for my late-night studying. Due to the adjustable swiveling neck and joints, this lamp offers focused illumination from any angle unlike standing lamps. Whether I am reading, typing, drawing, or building, the adjustable, extended neck allows the lamp to fit the activity rather than the other way around. Moreover, the simple, steel design appeals for its sturdiness, seemingly communicating the idea that this lamp will hold its position once set, unlike a gooseneck lamp. 

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Wearable Storytelling: Canvas Backpacks

Although a quintessential item for today’s students, the modern backpack originated in 1951 when avid outdoorsman Dick Kelty modified his supplies pack to carry weight on his hips rather than shoulders. Originally made from a wooden frame and a canvas hip-belt, backpacks received an upgrade in 1970 when Jansport founder Skip Youvell omitted the hip belt in favor of a chest strap and redesigned the pack in vinyl, leather, and nylon. Later that year, Youvell recommended the backpack as a means for carrying heavy books to a student, and by the late 1970s, Jansport backpacks had become a staple of the student’s toolkit.

Under the Herschel company, canvas backpacks with leather trimmings made a comeback as a fashion statement in the mid-2000s. Through its choice of material, the backpack recalls the rugged, outdoors aesthetic of Kelty’s original design: durable, reliable, high quality, and above all, adventurous.