DEAR Devlog :^)
This is the first devlog (yippie) about our research report. During the first 2 weeks, we were tasked to research one of the many social topics that were provided. This gives us the simple but important fundamentals of our design process carrying forward. With a specified topic, we are able to use further research and possibly guide our topic through design. For the moment, I am going for Social Media as my social topic and the psychological effects of both addiction and social comparison.
My approach to researching is by utilizing access to academic sources through Google Scholar and also our school library database, which provides good intensive research on the topic I decided on. Being able to understand the topic and why it's also being researched is a good beginning to learning about a topic. With the knowledge that I gained from the research I came across, it's a matter of me utilizing what I have gathered and how can I use it in designing a game
Social Media is a widely talked about topic, most, or if not, all of us partake in Social Media, and can just use it to connect with others, or just update on the news. for my topic, I plan on creating a game utilizing the information that I gathered from my research. From what I know so far, my current Idea that incorporates the topic I discussed, I will be creating a game more action-oriented where you the player can compare yourself to others (both players and NPCs) you connect with, and possibly take a certain power from them, and use as your own, but you can't always keep on comparing with others as taking certain power from people doesn't always work out as you may think. I want to design around the fact that social comparison within social media is much easier access due to the interests ease of access, but also how it can both have a good and a negative effect on the person depending on how they compare themselves to others.
Anyways, overall, conducting research first is a helpful headstart into understanding the topic, but also as you continue to research, you may be able to use your knowledge from the topic to design a more accurate representation of what you may want to do. It also provides you with an understanding to talk about when designing around such a topic.
Even if it doesn't work out, no knowledge is useless knowledge :^)
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I think social media and its effects on our brains is a cool topic! its a very serious topic and lots of people dont realize the effects it can have on them. I like your game idea! it feels very similar to real life where people just repost what "influencers" post.
I think having a comparison based game to portrait social media is a great idea, however I'm more concerned and interested in your game pitch idea as it is now. How did you come to coming up with a more action oriented based approach instead of something more UI and communication based? Overall the research and design challenge chosen is very neat and excited to hear about it.
yo! Comparison in relation to social media and the effect it has on people is such a prominent topic but such a difficult one to report on formally, I think using games as a medium of exploring this topic is a really good idea as it takes a non-conventional approach to showing the effects of such a dangerous but difficult to talk about subject. People nowadays are sometimes reduced to the sum of their social media status (just look at LinkedIn) and it's crazy that so few people are aware of this so I think this is a good direction to be going in with your research!
Hey Joey
I like how you're taking comparison into account for gameplay and research. When it comes to social media bullying is a topic that comes up a lot but how comparison can lead to positive, twisted or negative perceptions of ourselves isn't something I see talked about, and it can sort of lead to bullying as well through jealousy or things like that. I like the game idea, reminds me of this demon game or something, I think it was mario
Glad to see someone else doing social media. The topic you picked about social media is interesting as it's sort of a relatively new thing a lot of studies are still happening with the psychological effect of being addicted to it. The proposal you have sounds interesting as using someone else's power for yourself but adding the concept where you cant overuse it could provide a good balance. great idea!
Your research on how social media affects young people is fascinating because it shows that it's not all bad news. Social media can have both good and bad sides for them, as you found out. Now, turning these findings into a game sounds like a cool idea. As for "forming genuine friendship" in a game, it's an intriguing concept, but it's a bit challenging to picture exactly how it would work. I can't quite imagine what this game will be like and what mechanics it will have, but I'm excited to see how you develop it further!
Hey Jose Jesus II,
You mention both players and NPC's, does that mean the game will have multiplayer networking? Your topic is very interesting and it's definitely a big problem in today's society. The idea also seems pretty interesting, what genres are you considering?
Hey Joey,
I also did my research on social media, so it's really interesting to compare my experiences with yours. I think your idea of creating a game that reflects the social comparisons has lots of potential to be both entertaining and meaningful. I can see it turn out to be a game where players are first engaged and attracted to the gameplay because of the action, but then afterwards when they think about the message, they realize what all of the gameplay actually meant. Can't wait to see what you come up with for your pitch and good luck man.