For our final blog post, we thought we could wrap up with some lessons we learned.
- When outsourcing, leave plenty of time for them
When we outsourced our animation, sound, and voice acting we were able to get them completed in time, however it would have been great for them if we gave them more time in the case there were any last minute changes. Thankfully we did not have that issue, but we are not sure what would have happened if that were the case.
- Playtest, playtest, playtest
You will hear this a lot at the Entertainment Technology Center, but it cannot be stressed enough. Always be sure to playtest, especially at the beginning. It was an interesting challenge for us to playtest because we were never able to playtest at the village until installation. But when we were able to, we got great feedback from a large age range.
- When installing, expect the unexpected and be adaptable
We think that we handled the lights situation while installing pretty smoothly, but that is because we were had a plan B that we were ready to implement. We did not expect it to happen, but we were ready for it regardless.
- Visit and document your sight as soon as possible
Had we documented earlier on, that probably could have saved us a whole trip. Even if the project is a possible project, be sure you try to know everything about it BEFORE leaving your sight.
- Stay in contact with your client
Something that we did really well this past semester was staying in contact with Give Kids The World and allowing them to give feedback and input rather than them being an afterthought. This was something they really appreciated, especially since this is a product for them and they know the target demographic best.
In conclusion, it’s been a wild journey, but thank you to everyone that has helped and supported us through this. We could not have done this without you!
AND TO THE NEXT PILLOW TREE TEAM: Please learn from us as we did from the original Pillow Tree project, and don’t forget to have fun!!!!
