Quarters and Onwards
This week, the team prepared thoroughly for our quarter-semester presentation on Wednesday, which went very well. Then, we began looking forwards to discussing the visual and experience design for our first prototype.

Quarters
The team was very anxious about our quarter-semester presentation and about making sure that our vision for the project could be made clear in 10 minutes. Rehearsals with our advisors showed us that many changes and revisions needed to be made to our presentation on Monday and even on Tuesday, the day before Quarters. However, all the feedback from Carl and Jiyoung that we did receive meant that we ended up having a strong presentation and that the team was able to feel confident on Wednesday. The audience, which consisted of over 30 EA employees, asked insightful questions about features and decisions we had made, and the team was able to answer them clearly. For example: Why do we say iPad and not just iOS devices in general? The answer: We are leaning towards a larger screen for more precise line-drawing, but this does not technically exclude building out to the iPhone. Quarters went well, and the team feels better for all future presentations as well.

Design
The team met on Friday to solidify design directions. The wireframe of colored blocks that we have used to explain our experience up to this point will hopefully soon be replaced by more accurate images of what the experience will be like. In terms of art direction, the team has discussed the pros and cons of concrete versus abstract art styles, and has looked at things like Eufloria and Hohokum for inspiration. In terms of the experience, the team has discussed the appeal of having a visual “story” that happens as an added dimension to the auditory story of melody creation. We have some new concepts that we are excited about and are looking forward to discussing with our client.

Looking Forwards
The programmers are continuing with implementation of important systems such as a basic sequencer that we can begin prototyping with. With our new found design direction, though, the team is looking forwards to our weekly client/advisor meeting next Tuesday. We would love to get feedback so that we can begin production of a rough prototype of the experience – a prototype that we hope will help show us what may need further iteration and also what is possible.