Finally..

Well the presentation for eMCy went very well... or should I say, better than I expected?
The point where it was referred as kitsch actually, intentional. I wasn't searching for a high-art design (what a term!), but more of a subtle but goofy design. Actually I can hardly call it a design, it's more of a rapid protoype to be worked on.
After the presentation I figured out something new: the rapid prototype of eMCy is actually encouraging people of whatelse it can be: Can it be a journal? Can it connect to the internet and create a whole map of moods? Can it be shaken in order to delete a sound clip? Can be built by an accelerometer? or with a tilt-switch? Can it be prettier? The more feedback I'm having, the crazier it became.

eMCy, the great toy for recording the sound of the loved ones and share it with moments of different moods, can be the direction I would like to go for my thesis. I am willing to work on it during the summer to see which way I am going with it.

For the sake of documentation:
This is the presentation for eMCy ( a cheezy little powerpoint) and this is the documentation of eMCy.

.. and my secret for hard days: http://icanhascheezburger.com/ lolcats tagged for your convenience.

Let's get physical

Here are a couple of updates;
- The option to record a mood is added, not just to make things harder for myself, but it feels like maybe a total stranger may not be a good idea.. Needs a little bit of thinking..
- The cube pretty much looks like this:

- Some playtesting is done with the cube and interestingly boys asked for it to be more colorful. I'm having some issues with its' color, it didn't turn up the way I was imagining. I'm totally satisfied with the fact that the fabric is veeery cozy :)
- Name suggestions: Mood dice. Possible.

What's the next step?
I will get all the mood expressions on and probably ditch the idea of recording.. or postpone it. Another point is I would really like to have the oppurtunity for the users to connect it to their computers and build up a network... yeah that sounds good.. After getting the prototype all fancy and going, the next step will be to build an interface and therefore a network, where it's possible to see other people sharing your mood.

coming together.. slooooowwwllyyyyyy

ok, I haven't found a name for the toy yet but I'm still looking for it. During the creativity process, I guess the worst part is the naming! I bet it's going to take a lot longer than building up this whole thing.

So here how it goes:
Growing up rocks in many means:
- you can buy booze and show your ID with total confidence.
- have a house of our own and call friends over whenever and however you like.
- hook up with people not be forces to explain it.
- freedom of bedtime.

but after a while the doom of the city-life / adult-life takes over:
- Managing bills turn into a huge hastle
- "So how am I going to afford a plumber after Jack's success in the bathroom?"
- Why can't anybody go out?
- I miss mom..
- Deadlines for projects.. I can't even make a joke about this situation.
- I just wanna lay done without worrying about entertaining someone.
- I need someone here.. Someone who I can turn on and off whenever I want.

The birth-idea of the cube is this: When the "lived-in" space changes, there are certain issues to be taken care of, especially when the previous space is our homeland and the new space is the other side of the world. I realized that the more I grow up/old and apart from my parent, the more and grander my responsibilities are. As I said in my previous presentation some people go through this phase in a longer period and some in a shorter one. Mine happened all of a sudden, so did many of my friend's as well. But I know a couple of people who went through this phase one by one in a longer time, like 3 years.
No matter how old or how mature a personality can be, there is a certain point in life where social interaction with a stranger as an outsider's view can support more than anyone else's. An outsider's view is considered as a must in most creativity processes, but here the situation is a little more emotional.
There are two situations in life: when something goes goes, a different part of your life gets screwed up OR when one thing goes wrong, everything falls apart. In these kind of times, a person usually feels vulnarable and it's not a common act to show one's weak side. Here's where the cube comes in.

yeah.. I'm gonna name it "something" cube.. needy cube?.. naah..

multividual cube! I wish it could be a cuter name though.. By the way Multividual means :

"a multiple individual that embraces many selves and in a technological perspective can possess multiple bodies.

As early as 1970s, psychologists indicated the emergence of a proteic type of personality who combines the properties of different individuals. This is not a schizophrenically split personality, but the one rich in roles and selves, a multividual who cannot be confined to a single self.

The multiplicity of selves often reveals itself in the acts of inspiration and artistic creativity. Eventually these multiple selves will acquire not only symbolical and imaginative embodiments, like in theater, but also independent bodies. Like a bio-species is exemplified by a multiplicity of individuals, a multividual will become a psycho-species exemplified by various organisms. Such multividuals will reach across continents assuming various material guises and performing various social and professional roles, and simultaneously they will be aware of their unique destiny and moral responsibility. "
urbandictionary.com

Here are the six moods:
- So what's up? mood : Just a normal friend hanging out and checking on you now and then
- Are we there yet? mood: Everybody needs a coach. Ok, not all of the time and there are situations where coaching would be wonderful. This mood is focusing on deadlines and get you on working. Sometimes it can get a little annoying, but who's perfect anyway?
- Shit happens.. need some booze, boss? mood: In some situations, all someone needs is something that can listen to the shitty consequences of life. I'm not if there is an idiom in English but there's a great way to humiliate someone who nags about the bag things happening: Go, turn on the water and talk to it!.. No need for taps anymore..
- I am preeeetyyyyy, oh so preeetyyyyyy mood: Happiness is said to be contagious.
- You just called me a hussy? mood: This easily-offended mood is present so the user will miss the other personalities. Just for the sake of promotion.
- zzz mood: chilling around..

So how's this going to work?

Every side has it's own button. When the side is to be activated, it is placed in the proper position that will get the button to be pressed. The button activates the mood.

So what's up next:
I'm still not sure whether I should get the cube to speak or just to flash lights. I guess I have to decided on it today, to get the playtesting on going. What I really want is, to get the Cube speak/ask question in every 30 seconds - two minutes. Not the same one of course!

a mail from the future?!!

I was cleaning up my bulk folder of one of my addys and this is what I came across with.

A couple of ideas at the same time

The last I spoke in class I had two choices: Toys as a diagnostic tool or toy as a rhythmic social interaction. As I went on digging about both of the concepts, I realized that I'm getting into something pretty deep, but my heart leaned on the idea of the social rhythmic device. So my target audience changed as well.

BUT something interesting happened:
I had a comment on my presentation post! The best part is she is not any person: She is a mother of two adorable children with autism and she's blogging about them often. I know who my first playtesters are now :) Here's her blog:
http://whitterer-autism.blogspot.com/

Now I'm in between of making a playful device for people suffering from light depression and a tool for children with autism.

CHILDREN:
I've been searching what kids like to play with and came across with this entry:

“Children of most ages and genders love to build (lego, blocks, anything) and they love things that can go fast or do cool maneuvers. They can use bits of anything (junk, or interesting other bits) and turn them into anything they imagine. They love the process, and are often less concerned with the final product. Younger kids really need to move their large muscles when they play. Older kids use more of their small motor muscles, but also like to move around. Kids tend to like things that are multi-faceted…have lots of possibilities. (I’m thinking of rejects now: silly putty is fun for a few minutes, slinkies tend to gather dust once they’ve been made to descend a flight of stairs, etc.) But duct tape lasts forever. You can do ANYTHING with that stuff. Kids are very creative, really, so given raw materials, they like to make and design things. Things like paper airplanes fascinate some kids.
Many kids of the female persuasion tend to want to cut, draw, paste and color…and also knit, etc. as they gain dexterity. Boys also love to draw, and some tend to black and white renditions of vehicles, cartooning, war battles, etc. Some stereotyping, eh? Most kids are quite social. Almost all kids like games. The classics never fail to amuse: Checkers, chess, card games. Strategy possibilities and complex maneuvers in any game give it merit. Some kids shy away from the competitive aspect of games, but manage to invent ways to play games where there is cooperation and accumulation of cool ideas for strategy rather than direct competition (winner, loser).
Kids love group games and so we play them every morning. Some involve chanting and/or music. Some favorite games are: Kooseeki, In Plain sight, “Down By the Banks”, A cold wind blows, Zoom, Alibi, and many more. If you want me to describe any of these games to you in more detail, I’d be happy to.
The role playing stuff. Much of this happens spontaneously with kids in any kind of play. “I’ll be the _______, and you be ________” etc. Many classrooms for small kids are set up to encourage this (House corners, etc.) Just thought I’d mention that. Kids are natural actors and learn empathy from stepping into a different character.

These interesting in-sights from a teacher helped me a lot in thinking about how children play with anything.

ADULTS:
I was about to go with a toy for 18 and up that aims for smoothing depression of life.

There are two inspirations for this toy:
One is myself: I've been in this very interesting state where I realize I'm growing up and having more and more responsibilities in my life and greater problems when I used to have as a kid. Even though I have my cute little toys to play with, sometimes I just need someone who can listen to me and someone to talk about stupid topics.
The second: When Tracy spoke about her depression-relieving jacket, I realized that I'm not the only one thinking about it. So this must be a bigger problem than I thought
On the other hand I would really like to work with something related to kids as well.

Well, being in a dilemma is better than a “creator's block”, right?

REFERENCES/INSPIRATIONS:
http://www.frogdesign.com/?p=21
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=/iel5/8811/27877/01244338.pdf
http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/archive/2002/june/features/toy_story.shtml
Heepon interacting with voice and movement.
http://univ.nict.go.jp/people/xkozima/infanoid/video/keepon-contact-joint.mpg
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=dn11434&feedId=online-news_rss20

Concept:
Samsung's new PCs
http://geekologie.com/2007/04/samsung_concept_pcs.php
Blood pool pillow
http://geekologie.com/2007/04/blood_puddle_pillows_look_like.php
Hamster- papershredder
http://geekologie.com/2007/04/hamsterpowered_paper_shredder.php

Toys:
http://blog.wired.com/wiredphotos35/
Soundball: (the so-what factor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqMeVleitNo
Sony's danging Robot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QRIO
Roboraptor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roboraptor

When the familiar target audience for toys are taken out, all we're left are 18 and up. Usually these kind of toys refer to sexual content:
http://www.b3ta.com/challenge/grownups/
http://www.nbc10.com/news/10432522/detail.html

at last!

R2D2 mailbox!
http://geekologie.com/2007/03/usps_introduces_r2d2_mailboxes.php

CES 2007: The Wootable Awards

http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=1952