Nature + Video Games =

So this week in class we got with a partner and had to discuss some of our passions. We then had to take one of each of our passions and combine them together to create something different that used both of them and blog about one of the ideas. One of my top passions was video game development, and one of my partners passions was nature so we decided to come up with some different ideas combining the two. One of my favorites was an idea for a nature video game. My idea was to create a video game that took place completely in a tree. I had actually had this idea a long time ago, but really hadn't thought too much about it since. Now I'm getting the chance to elaborate on the idea.
The game would take place completely in this tree and the player would play as a leaf like creature that lived on the tree. The player would be able to move around the different branches of the tree and explore different parts, or meet other creatures like himself. As the player plays the game the tree would continue to grow and have more of the leaf creatures as well as other types of creatures. The leaf creatures would begin to form villages and create homes for themselves in the tree and based on their actions, and the players interactions with them the tree might grow in different ways, or have parts of it destroyed. For example one village might go to war with another and attempt to set it on fire, this catches the tree branch on fire and takes out more than just the village but the area around it as well. The player could attempt to keep the two villages from fighting, he could stand by and watch, or he might have been a part of the cause. Because of the complexity of the game and my own ability the graphics would be two dimensional.
The game would place a huge emphasis on nature vs. intelligent life as well as the power of an individual and choices and consequences. Nature vs. intelligent life is shown by the different villages, and how they interact with the tree itself. Whether they try to work in harmony with the tree or abuse it for their own goals, similar to how humans often use the earth. It would place emphasis on choices and consequences and the power of an individual through the player. The player has the ability to help shape the world based on his or her interactions with the villages, whether through trying to make peace between them, or trying to start war. The players choices, though, would all have consequences that shape the tree in some way, whether good or bad, and sometimes in ways the player might not expect.

Listening

This week we were to work on our listening skills by listening empathetically to another person. Listening is an incredibly important skill for any person because it allows you to learn about others ideas, feelings, or misunderstandings. I decided to write about my experience helping mentor another student in my computer science class, and the listening skills I have learned from it.
When mentoring this student I have learned quite a bit about how to listen well and how to use what I learn by listening to her problems with the material to help her better understand it. Listening is much more than just hearing the other person. It is about understanding what they are saying and many times understanding what they aren't saying. It is about hearing what they are saying and using you perspective or experience to help them better understand their own question or problem, or using what you know of them to help them feel better about it. When tutoring I'm often dealing more with problems understanding topics, but often times the same principles apply. For one I have to listen to when my mentee is becoming frustrated and try to help motivate her. Sometimes it is by agreeing that the problem is tough, but assuring that once it is solved it will become much easier. Sometimes it is just by taking a break from the problem and working on another. I also have to listen to the problems my mentee is having understanding the topics, and try to use what I hear to help prepare a response. I must understand the misunderstanding my mentee is having, by using my own experiences with the problems. I have found that many times the best way for me to teach is to ask questions that lead to the answer. Without first listening and understanding the problem, though, I would never be able to know what questions to ask.
When listening it is important to keep engaged in what the person is saying. If you listen intently they will see that you really are interested and will continue to talk, whereas if you become distracted or show disinterest, they are more likely to clam up because they don't feel like they are really being heard. I am fairly easily distracted and often have the most trouble with this. I always continue to listen, but I don't always show it well, and I do notice a difference when I am showing that I am listening and when I am not. And when I don't listen well, it takes more to reengage my mentee in the work.

User Experience

This week I decided to do my video blog. I apologize if it isn't excellent, but its been a few years since I've had a speech class, and speaking has never really been my thing.

Toulmin Model

This week we are supposed to use the Toulmin model to describe a solution to a problem we have had. The Toulmin model is made up of five parts to help describe a solution. They are a claim, warrant, grounds, backing, and qualifier. It begins with a claim which is the actual solution. It then has a grounds for the claim which are usually facts that the claim is built up from. These grounds are connected to the claim by the warrant which helps show why the grounds have anything to do with the claim. The warrant may have a backing which provides extra information to help support the warrant. Last the claim may have a qualifier which helps tell when the claim is true or how sure it is.

In case the picture is too hard to read(or doesn't show).

Claim: I need to study more for chemistry in order to get an A in the class.

Grounds: I currently have a low B in the class.

Warrant: Studying helps improve my grades.

Backing: When I study I get more practice with problems and get more comfortable with them.

Qualifier: This semester an hour more a day at least 3 times a week.

Communication

This week we were to pick one of three choice for our blog. I chose to use free writing and directed writing to explain the importance of communication for engineers.

Free Writing:

Communication in engineering is very important. You must communicate your ideas well to allow other to understand them. For you to make someone else understand your idea or think it is good you must be able to explain it coherently and effectively. When in teams you must be able to communicate in order to work together well. You must ask good questions when you are confused about a point in someone else’s idea or comment, and you must be able to ask questions to help expand others ideas. If you see a problem that they do not it is better to ask what they intend to do about it rather than say that this is a problem they have not seen. If you say it is a problem it comes across as if you are attacking them not helping them. If you ask about the problem as a question they must think about it and give you an answer even if its “I hadn’t thought of that.” Also when in a team you must be able to communicate quickly to allow development to move at a good rate. If it takes you two days to respond to someones email they will be slowed down because they had to wait for your response. In most cases email alone will not be effective for communication. Meeting face to face allows for very quick communication because you can get instant responses from multiple people. Also wikis can be very good forms for communication because they allow anyone on the team to post ideas and get feedback quickly from everyone else. If you do not know how to communicate effectively you will be slower in giving responses to others and your ideas will not be heard. You will also both be frustrated by and frustrate your co-workers because they may misunderstand your plans and either not follow them or will misunderstand and be frustrated with you when you don’t do what they expected.

Directed Writing:

Communication is a very important skill for engineers. Engineering is not a solitary profession. One cannot work on projects and ideas alone. A team is needed and must be able to work together to finish the project. Everyone on this team must be able to communicate in order for them to understand everything that is going on. Without communication skills the team may not understand why they are working on the project, why their co-workers aren’t working well or aren’t doing what they expected, or why no-one came to work one day. Without good communication skills development will slow due to the time communication takes. Good communication is essential for engineers.

Imagine an engineering team that did not communicate at all. The project manager decides that the team is not getting enough work done and should come in on saturday to work. He does not email anyone, tell anyone, or even post a notice. He then comes in on saturday to find that no-one shows up to work. He becomes angry with his team because he feels that they are not dedicated to the project. In reality the team had no idea that this saturday meeting was scheduled and did not know they were expected to come to work. Other problems this team would face would be things like not knowing who was working on what, who needed help with what, or possibly even what is was they are making. Without communication this team will never finish a project.

Now imagine an engineering team that communicates, but cannot communicate well. Their only forms of communication are meeting face to face and email. They meet together to discuss their work on their project. The project manager tells everyone that they must come up and explain how they are progressing on their piece of the project. The first person comes up and simply says, “I’m not done yet.” The next comes up and explains what he has done, but no-one sees how it fits in to the greater project. This goes on for the whole meeting. The first person clearly communicated poorly because no-one knows anything more than before he spoke. They do not know how much work he has left to do or if he needs any help or resources to continue on his piece of the project. Likewise anyone who needs his portion of the project before they can finish their own does not know how long they will have to wait for him to finish. The second person was able to tell what he was working on, but ultimately confused everyone. There could be one of two reasons for this. The first could be that when the project was started the project as a whole and the individual tasks were not explained well enough, so he thought that he was expected to build what he built when really it it needed to be something completely different. The other reason for the confusion could be that he decided on a different way of building his piece. It will ultimately fulfill the same purpose, but because he did not let anyone know he changed the plans and does not understand how his piece fits in to the whole no-one understands it. This team will need to meet more often so that everyone can understand how the project is coming along and to solve any problems they come across. These constant meetings slow everyone down and the confusion lowers team morale. This team will probably finish their project but it will cost them time, money, and frustration.

Now imagine a team with near perfect communication skills, to the degree that they can almost read each-others minds. They communicate with a combination of face to face meetings, video conference calls, a project wiki, and email. When the project began the project manager explained exactly what it was the project was meant to do and what everyone was expected to do. Any team members who didn’t understand or saw problems asked good questions and continued to ask good questions until they fully understood, or until the problem was seen and solved. Once the team began working the team members kept their page of the wiki up to date with their progress and any changes they have made to their piece. If someone had a question while working they emailed it to whoever could answer, and that person answered clearly. The team met once every couple weeks to discuss any changes that needed made, or any possible pitfalls they found. Because everyone is in almost constant communication and communicates clearly they will have to meet less often, feel less frustration from misunderstandings, and ultimately work together like a well oiled machine. They will finish their project well and will be more than ready for the next.

Communication is clearly an important skill for all engineers. It allows them to understand each-other and the work that is being done. It allows them to share ideas and ask questions to both clarify and point out problems. Most importantly it allows them to work together and finish projects that would take one person years to finish.

Blog 2: Networking

So this week we were asked to work on meeting someone and making them a part of our network. I am a computer science major and really want to go into video game development. I have worked on my own game projects in the past, but I am definitely no artist. Most of my games' artwork has consisted of simple shapes such as squares, triangles, and circles. While working on this assignment I was lucky enough to find  an engineer, interested in game development, who is a really good artist.
We met each other in our chemistry class and started by talking about our majors. I mentioned that I was a cs major, and he asked if I knew anything about web development. He wanted to make a website that he could use as an online portfolio. I told him that I knew the basics, but that I was really interested in game development. He said that he thought game development would be awesome, but he just didn't have enough interest in programming to really make anything. I told him I enjoyed the programming and designing parts, I just couldn't draw anything. Low and behold he actually could draw really well and he showed me some pictures of his drawing on his phone.
Since we met we have talked a few times. I have begun learning more about web development so that I can help him set up his website, and we have talked about some different game ideas we have. We are actually becoming pretty good friends through it. I think its great that I have found someone who can work with me on game development and has a real interest in it, and I hope he is glad he found someone who can help build his website.
 I think networking is a great way to bring ideas to reality because you rarely have all the skills you need to do so alone. By meeting other people with different skills and interests you have a much larger knowledge base then you would on your own or just networking with people similar to yourself.

Blog 1: The Missing Basics

In class the other day we talked about The Missing Basics of engineering students. These are essentially non-technical skills that are not typically covered by a standard engineering course yet still part of an engineer's daily work. Some examples are the ability to effectively communicate your ideas to others, the ability to ask good questions, or the ability to visualize solutions to problems. I feel these skill are absolutely  essential for an engineer to be able to work well in their workplace.

These missing basics are truly essential topics that need to work with our technical skills. Being an engineer means so much more than just solving technical problems day to day. Most if not all of these problems will require us to at the very least work in a team which requires that we find ways to work with and communicate with our teammates even if we don't necessarily get along well with them. The success of the project relies on the ability to work with others. I don't know about anyone else but I know that I don't just to work on other people's ideas but on my own as well. This means that I will have to be able to first ask good questions of others and of myself such as what will make people like my idea, why should they choose this product over others, and how can I make it easier to use of more cost effective. I also have to be able to sell my idea to whoever it is that will be funding the project, whether it is my boss, investors, or leaders of a company. This requires me to be able to powerfully communicate my vision to them so that they may see it as I do. Without these missing basics I might have a great idea, but be unable to show anyone else how great it is. Even after my project gets picked the missing basics are still helpful. To improve the project I would need to bring in people to test it out on and get feedback from them. Then this data must be used to better the project. It requires both the ability to ask good questions of my testers and the ability to gather and use the data received. So much more goes into creating something than just solving the technical problems and for this reason I am very glad that we are working on these missing basics.

We were asked to come up with three skills we wanted to develop this semester and to come up with ways to work on them. The three skills I want to develop most are networking, communicating ideas, and asking good questions. To improve my networking skills I need to work on easily meeting new people and creating good connections with them fairly quickly. My first step in improving my networking ability is to try to meet one new person everyday whether it is in class, in the cafeteria, or just around campus. As for improving my communication ability I need to work on speaking clearly and becoming less nervous about speaking in public. To improve this ability I plan to answer more questions during classes especially if it is one that requires me to state my opinion. This will help me become more comfortable speaking in front of others. To improve my question asking ability I will plan begin writing down any questions I have during a lecture so I can remember them and will bring them with me to either the discussion section or I will ask my professor about them after class.

Until next time,
Ben Menke