Keywords to Mastery
Low-tech Game
Game Pitch
Have you ever searched through the library catalog or a database and become frustrated because the keywords you use don’t return the results you want? Keywords to Mastery is designed to help teach library resource keyword searching to university students. Assignment cards provide scenarios from an assortment of subject areas posing a problem to players where they then must search through their hand of keywords to find one that fits. Players then decide whether or not the chosen keywords are appropriate for the assignment, boosting their critical thinking skills, keyword vocabulary, and helping them better find those resources they need.
Gameplay Adobe Illustrator Graphics
Choosing the right visual representation for a project can be difficult, especially when focusing on a tabletop game. Since this project was a low technology game pitch and the game was not available for actual video footage to be taken, graphics were chosen that kept true to the game’s concept, but also provided animation capabilities for representing gameplay. Cards and people are positioned in a way to show a hand of Keywords to Mastery being played that assists viewers in visualizing how the game functions.
Compiling Draft in iMovie
Once images of gameplay elements were exported from Adobe Illustrator, they were assembled within iMovie to create the video pitch. Images were imported into iMovie, organized on the timeline, and then narration added. Once narration was placed within the video’s timeline, clip timing was synced to it. For animation, stop motion animation techniques were employed, adjusting clip timing to show card movement during a game.
Audio Creation in GarageBand
GarageBand was used for narration and sound effects before import into iMovie. Instead of using multiple files, tracks were used to maintain draft versus final narration. This helped to track version changes as well as keep all audio elements separate with individual tracks. Audio leveling, equalization, and panning were used to enhance the audio quality before exportation, ensuring each audio element had its own space within the 3D audio sphere.
Notes & Sketching
While this project was not storyboarded or sketched out in a traditional sense, sketches and notes were combined to help show how the game developed. Brainstorming game ideas on paper helped to refine the game concept, creating a more solid foundation from which graphics for the video could be selected. These notes were referred to often, just as a storyboard is when putting together regular video projects.