Reviews – Digital writing

Reflection of 3D modelling

During the course ‘Creating Digital Collections’, I was first introduced to creating 3D models based on single photographs. I chose to digitize an Amiibo, a figurine that holds a NFC chip that can be used to alter gameplay, often by giving boons to the receiver.
The process was completely new to me, which is why I opted to work together as much as possible with some of my classmates. This worked well as we could help each other and combine our knowledge.

Taking pictures so that a hemisphere of pictures is created was the first step in creating the 3D model. For this, I used a lightbox and a digital camera (the Canon 250D). I somewhat underestimated taking the photos and how long it would take. Especially setting up the lightbox and the camera settings like ISO and Aperture took up more time and was more challenging than I had anticipated. I should have also taken better pictures of the empty lightbox, as I did take some photos but they turned out to be useless when I was processing, and I had no way of recreating them. In the future, I will adapt my process by preparing the camera's settings better.

The next phase was creating masks for the pictures. Although I did good by immediately creating masks by hand instead of using the automatic software, it took less time than I thought, so I would have had time to create even more detailed masks, which may have yielded better results. The base did not come out well in 3D since it is smooth and monochromatic, so after trying every setting and working with markers a lot, I decided to stick the bottom of the base directly to the top of the base using markers. I also learned the importance of saving constantly and making copies and backups the hard way one or two times. But, by redoing the steps and slightly altering settings, I ended up with a result that I am very proud of.

You can view the 3D model here on Sketchfab.

Reflection on creating a podcast and the design sprint in the course: Design thinking and Maker culture

The course Design Thinking and Maker Culture has introduced a lot of new concept to me. Firstly, the course introduced me to new theories such as design ethnography and digital making. Digital making is something I am very interested in, as it has been one of the main reasons to enrol in the studies in the first place. Aside from introducing me to new theories, the course also introduced me to new practical instalments. For the first time, I experienced a small course on 3D printing, hosted by the library of the UM. This was very interesting to see, since I have learned a lot of theories about 3D printing and I see it used all the time in museums and at my job. In the news, I also hear a lot about the possible uses of 3D printing. However, I had yet to see 3D printing happening with my own eyes. I am very happy that this course has given me the possibility to learn more about 3D printing. The same goes for the creation of the Podcast for the course. Prior to this course, I had listened to podcasts, but never attempted to make one of my own. I found it very interesting to learn about basic audio editing and mixing sounds. Aside from learning new theories in this course, I really feel like I have learned something practical thanks to the skills lessons. The making of the podcast was also very much fun to do for me and my group.
Prior to recording and editing the podcast, my group and I engaged in a mini-design sprint to come up with an idea to talk about during the podcast. I had also never engaged in a design sprint before. I found the structure of the design sprint very nice, and it worked really well for our group. We thought of an entire app (and created a mockup) to help with the housing crisis in Maastricht, especially focusing on international students. In the podcast, we talk more about the project behind this app. Stay tuned for the podcast, I will be uploading it as soon as we are done mixing and editing it.

Reflection on text analysis as thought in the course: Machines of Knowledge

In the Machines of Knowledge course, I have learned a great deal about three very important technologies. These theories are post-colonial theory, feminist theory and theory about public spheres. Thanks to these theories, I have gained a deeper understanding about many haps and mishaps in our modern-day society. To engage with the theories in a practical way, the course invited us to conduct our own text analysis with the help of digital analysis programmes. In my case, the analysis was about gender norms in men and the display of their feelings, and how this is interpreted and seen by society. Since men are often stereotyped like they need to be ‘manly’; that is, they should not cry or display emotions of any kind, for that matter. Interestingly, this principle does not apply to gay or queer men, as they are often portrayed to be overly emotional and sensitive. This is simultaneously seen as ‘not manly’, which implies that queer men are not ‘real men’. That point of view is obviously outdated and should be changed.
Through text analysis, I investigated the change and discourse of this problem. Text analysis was not something I had done before already. The course introduced me to new software to use, such as Voyant tools and text cleaner. My tutor spent a lot of time teaching us how to use the software. I found this quite a hard task. Especially cleaning the text did not seem to work as easy as it should. However, after many tries and some frustration, it worked out in the end. Voyant created clear graphs of all sorts and shapes to analyse the new-found data. Even though I did not realise it immediately at the time, this is really when the hard part starts. I found it quite the challenge to make sense of the graphs that Voyant created with my data! But, with some help of the tutor and some imaginative interpretation skills, I think the results really show new insights for the topic. I will share the new insights in another blogpost when I have added the finishing touch. I hope you have fun reading it! Until next time…

The physicality of online class

A phenomenological anecdote by Laura van Eden

My alarm clock goes off. It is at around 7.45 in the morning. Oddly enough, I am awake instantly. However, since my class is online and only starts at 8.30, there is no real need for me to get up. I feel like I have an ocean of time before the day begins. This is far more relaxed than if I had school on campus, for which I would have already been sitting in the train. I turn around to lie on my back and stare at the ceiling. My bed feels warm and comfortable, and I am delighted that I can allow myself to curl up under my warm blankets for some time before I really have to get up. I let my thoughts roam freely while in this comfortable zone between being awake and feeling pressure to start the day. I have often heard people say that following online classes means you lose physical form. I can’t say I fully agree. The psychical form just moves from the campus to the home. This causes some weird feelings for me. Home and school were previously not mixed but rather wholly separate worlds that barely blended in with each other. School was where work was done, and home was where to relax. Now, home is where to relax and where to work, and school does not physically exist anymore. Instead of many buildings, long halls and big rooms with chairs and desks, school has transformed into simply my desk, my chair, my laptop and my screens. It makes school feel more homey and comfortable; at the same time, it makes home feel more formal and uptight.

I get up from the bed since it is already 8.15. I wonder which clothes I should wear. Usually – that means; back in the day – I would wear a nice shirt, a blazer, maybe some fancy pants or at least a nice pair of jeans. This morning, just like all mornings the last year, only half of that comes true. I put on the nice shirt and the blazer, but I wear sweatpants instead of nice pants. Why? Because no one can see the lower half of my body. My choice of outfit means my mind is at two places simultaneously: one performed for others, one kept comfortably to myself. Since I am only half-way decently dressed, I am also only half-way decently engaged in the class. Only half-way decently productive. It makes my mood perfectly balanced: half productive and awake, half lazy and comfortable. For my academic life, I feel like I should maybe just dress up fully. But will I do that tomorrow?

I already know the answer is no.

The social dilemma

[mockup post, actual review will follow friday]

VR experience @ the park

One particular evening, I am sitting on my couch, scrolling through a social media app. An ad from a business, “The Park”, catches my attention. The business just opened in a city near me, and it advertises their “VR experience”. Curious, as gaming and VR are a hobby of me and some of my friends, I recruit a team to go there.

Curious about whether the evening is going to be any good, me and my friend group arrive. We enter into a large room, clearly brand new as the room is mostly empty aside from some VR installations, a desk and a small lounge area. Upon entering, me and my friends are greeted by two friendly hosts. They explain to us what we are about to do and how we will work. It is clear that the two hosts are also friends of the sorts; they are joking with each other continuously, almost flirting. Their friendliness provides a good, light mood as we start the evening.

The hosts explain some of the tutorial games we are about to play. There are two types of games; a swing and a board. I am the first to hop on the “swing”, which is really just a chair with two ropes besides it, and one of the hosts puts on the VR goggles for me. I can still see a part of my by looking alongside my nose, but other than that, the goggles fit fine. The vision is kind of blurry, but this doesn’t bother me as much as this is just a tutorial game. I start swinging by tilting my head, which feels a little bit uneasy, but it does not take long for me to adjust to the situation.

For the second tutorial game, there are some start up problems with the software. The host is getting frustrated, which rubs off on us a little bit as we stand there, waiting awkwardly for the problem to be fixed. This happens fast enough, and this time, one of my friends takes the first turn. I am watching her, wondering what she is seeing. It is some type of horror scenario as my friend occasionally shrieks and ducks away from something that I cannot see. This makes me wonder and excited; what could it be? It becomes my turn to play, so I am close to finding out. The googles are put on me, and this is a different type. Lighter, better fitting, and the image is clearer as well. I also get a controller, and I am asked by the game to push an elevator button. As I push it, spiders crawl out of the button space and into the elevator. It makes me feel uneasy, but I also find it funny, obviously knowing it is not real. I see some more things, like a very big spider and a dentists with an industrial drill, wanting to fill my cavities. Then, the elevator brings me up and lets me walk on a plank. The plank is also there in real life, and I step on it. I am tasked to jump off the plank, and as I am “falling”, I feel my knees getting weak, even though I am still standing in the same spot as before. Then, as I am back on the ground in the game, I hear a faint honking. I look to my right, directly into the headlights of a bus, as it smashes into me.

After this fun experience, were are gathering to a vacant plot of the floor, where the final and ‘real’ game will happen. The hosts tell us about the game. It is called the Hallow and it is a zombie shooter. We are slowly getting equipped with a backpack full of sensors, VR goggles, a headset and a controller formed like an actual gun. Everything is getting set up, and me and my friends are having the most fun just because we can see each others’ avatars in the game. Although, we don’t see each other as avatars, just as our regular selves. Even though we are in armour and not necessarily the right gender, the distinction between ‘avatar’ and ‘us’ immediately disappears. The game bugs a bit, making our avatars glitch or stand on their toes even though we are not, but this just adds to the fun we are experiencing with the game. The game itself is quite nice, especially for a VR game. The graphics are decent and it is very nice to be able to actually walk in VR and to communicate just by talking to each other. Me and my ‘team’ finish the zombies pretty quickly, and I remove my headset feeling a little bit sweaty and with a slight headache from the pressure of the headset.

All in all, the experience has been nice. My friends and I regroup and leave to go home, not being disappointed in the slighted by the experience. Who knows, I might go again.