#ProjectReflection

[bhanu-prakash-practice-2]

Blog Post 20: Final Reflections and Learning Outcomes

Completing the Maze Escape VR project offered me an incredible learning experience in environment design, project management, and VR-specific technical workflows.

One of the greatest lessons was the importance of iteration. No environment is perfect on the first attempt, especially in VR, where scale, navigation, and player perception must constantly be tested and refined.

Secondly, collaboration proved vital. The project would not have succeeded without Kamal’s detailed assets, Steve’s character work, Joel’s relentless technical support, and Kevin’s final build assistance. Open communication, quick feedback loops, and shared responsibility defined our workflow.

Another critical learning point was optimizing for performance without sacrificing creativity. Understanding how to balance high visual fidelity with smooth frame rates was essential for VR development, and I now feel much better prepared for future real-time 3D projects.

Finally, the experience reinforced the power of environmental storytelling. Watching players intuitively follow environmental clues, solve puzzles, and experience emotions like awe, fear, and triumph confirmed that good level design truly enhances gameplay.

This project has not only improved my technical skills but has also deepened my passion for creating meaningful, immersive worlds. I look forward to applying these lessons to even larger, more ambitious VR experiences in the future.

[projectmanagertemplate]

Capturing lessons learned from projects is a critical practice for continuous improvement in any organization. It ensures that valuable insights are not lost and that future projects can benefit from the experiences of the past. This blog will guide you through the process of effectively capturing lessons learned, turning them into actionable knowledge for your team.

[martinafrancula]

Discover, Study, Narrate

• How well did your 10 images communicate your narrative? • To what extent did the audience understand and engage with your narrative? • Were your chosen methods of visualisation appropriate to the story/object? • What links can you see between your research and your own work? • How well did you work as a group? • What did you gain from this workshop? • What would you do differently if you were given this task again?

Our 10 images communicated the narrative really good and everyone was able to figure out what is the story about. The audience understood the story but didn't engage too much. Maybe they would have engaged more if we asked them questions so that is something to remember for the next time. We combined photography and illustration by hand. Also, we incorporated colour to illustrate the ups and downs, the happy parts and sad parts of the story. Therefore, I consider our methods of visualisation appropriate for this story. While doing research, the most important thing that stuck with me was the part about connecting with the audience on an emotional level. That is one of the reasons we chose a love story as a genre. Sometimes, the execution of your project might not go as planned, but if you manage to connect with the audience and pass on the message to them, then it is a successful project. As a group, we worked really good, but there was a lack of organisation. We did have really little time, but still, it could have been planned better. If we divided the images and tasks on the first day, it would have been done with much more attention to detail and we would manage to finish everything in time. From this workshop, I have learned that you shouldn't skip parts of the design process. I think we could have spent a little more time doing research and little less just thinking what would be the best storyline. If the research is done thoroughly then all other parts of the process are easier because you know what you are dealing with. I gained a lot of useful information from the feedback the teachers were giving other students about their projects in terms of what techniques are the best for what kind of stories and what is crucial in the story to transmit a message to the audience. If I was given this task again, I would plan out the whole project and define how much time I am going to spend on each part of the process. The development of the idea takes the most time and we didn't leave enough for it so we were missing two images and a lot of details on all other pictures. Also, I would be more mindful while doing the research so I can use more facts later in the process which I discovered while doing it.

I included a few sketches, our multiple uses for the object and the research process:

This is the final outcome:

[briannachingyr2sem2]

COM DESIGN STUDIO - WK 3

REFLECTION ON FEEDBACK & PROJECT

Reflecting on this project, I really enjoyed the collaborative process and each of my studio member were equally as invested as each other in terms of expressing ideas, feedback and workload. We all respected and encouraged each other in positive ways and listened to each others ideas that made this project work in the end. At first we were all a little shy and hesitant to speak up but as the project progressed and we got more comfortable in expressing our ideas and opinions. As individuals we had a lot of ideas for the BLAD and it worked out well in our favor as we had similar ideas and direction that we wanted to take the BLAD. Some key things I’ve taken away from this project is the involvement and dedication of our group members. We held a few team meetings online and stayed late a few days to maximize our time together to work on the project. What also helped was that we made deadlines for ourselves so that we were on top of things and had affective communication. In terms of my contribution, I think I helped the project move along and made sure we meeting the briefs guidelines and remembering small details of what we had to include. I was responsible for the front and back cover and made sure I took on each persons recommendations and ideas. In the end the concept of the front cover become the overall direction and message for our project and that I think made our concept very unique. Overall, I think each of our individual skills complimented each others and this made our project come together nicely. As a team we had the similar idea of bending and taking the brief further for this project and I am very pleased with the outcome.