I would want to create a work out app that helps people get moving more during our uneasy time. With people having to stay home as much as possible, creating a work out app could help people get moving while being in their home for so long.

With this app would you could set up how many calories you would like to burn for the day, work out time and how many steps in a day you would like to get. With completing daily goals you get points that could get you to a reward system. After so many points to rewards you could redeem them to a program that can help you get free things. So partnering up with a healthy food delivery service, like hello fresh, would be more motivating to keep a healthy life style. Or even a workout clothing line could throw in sports bras, shorts, leggings or even shirts when you hit specific goals or getting enough points towards rewards.

Daily points = to rewards and rewards = to a beneficial lifestyle

With the app having specific work out movements for all parts of the body. Another plus for the app is you could have a trainer help you with a work out of the day. Get local trainers to download videos to the app that will be seen by the customers. The more views to a specific workout, that trainer can get rewards too. For the trainer it could be something of how to get their business up and running, free ads for their business or even, when the world stops being weird, have a free face to face session, that could help with creating clients and business.

With the app create a competition round. For people who use the app and do specific workouts can compete with others on who burned the most calories and where you place in the competition you can get more points to go towards your rewards.

The  app can have spirit weeks. Take a picture of the outfit you wore for spirit week and get points for that as well. You could do a tye dye theme, 80’s/90’s theme, animals, colors and sports teams.

What is the challenge?

The challenge is to burn as many calories during the day/week/month as you can. To beat other people who use the app to get as many points as you can to earn rewards that can help you get free things to benefit a healthy life style.

What is the choice?

The choice is yours if you want to compete with other people or against yourself. Make personal goals yourself, have a trainer help you achieve those goals or just making the choice to step in the right direction of helping yourself.

What is the change?

The change is your lifestyle. The change is your body feeling better and lighter. If you were to lose weight with the app the change would be your wardrobe.

What is the chance?

The chance is to get these rewards. Getting a trainer one on one session, getting free gear, getting hello fresh shipped to your door, the chance to change your body/health for the better.

SIMULATION is very entertaining, and it gives the illusion of reality, especially in games. I played a boxing game on wii one time, it felt very real, that I start sweating! it was close to real experience than traditional video games were I did not move much.

Also simulation seems like a good technique for a beginner artists to start with. It simulates natural world dimensions, process, or systems.

I think it will keep developing as an art form because it gives people a chance to live the artist experience, and give the artists new tools to deliver their messages more clearly and closely. I would use it to imitate human movements; like athletes, dancers, singers and extreme-sport performers. I would like understand there experiences with out taking the real risk.

As such, this revolutionary change is good for humanity, as it advances humanity’s interests in learning as well as provides a more comfortable way for many to live. However, most of the time, this recommended interest is manipulated by big corporations in order to turn a profit. Data is collected and stored by companies such as Google, then sold to companies wishing to profit off of certain demographics. By giving away data that shouldn’t be given away, threats to human culture are introduced, as it ignores the desire for inherent learning in humans and instead concentrates on the profit of a single corporation instead of the interests of individuals. The collection of unnecessary data, including events we say, is another threat from a device with a microphone that listens and records. There have been instances when I have had my devices listen to me say something completely out of the blue and then show me ads connected to that topic not even seconds after I said it. It is a total invasion of privacy as that shows your devices are always listening to what you have to say. At the same time, this technology is amazing and terrifying.

Depending on what purpose you serve in society, big data and data analytics have two unique sides. It is exciting to see the use of data analytics and improved technologies throughout the healthcare industry, as well as in the transportation industry. By using data, you can help all of us monitor our wellness and make our trips safer and more enjoyable. It can be used to tell a person what their health looks like right now, and to forewarn them of potential changes that might impact them in the future. As well as provide you with the ability to connect more with your families as you drive around or be more effective in jobs as we behind to have more time for oursefls. My opinion is that such technology would benefit everybody on our planet.

Users like me can benefit a great deal from algorithms that show them what they are looking for on the web. When I move around the web, I always look to learn new things, and if the algorithm notices this, it will show me more videos and works that relate to what I’m interested in right now, making learning new things so much easier.

Avatars enable people to feel more comfortable living their truth and discussing unpopular viewpoints as those who adopt the identity of their avatar. People favor their virtual selves over their physical selves. People who speak the truth can help ideas grow and society evolve by enabling them to flourish. But there could be some downsides. Due to hunger, lack of exercise, or lack of sunlight, our bodies may worsen over time. and when we are faced with real-life events, we may display too much fear. By assuming the identity of their avatar, people feel more comfortable living their truth and expressing their unpopular opinions. The vast majority of people prefer their virtual self to their corporeal one. Having people speak truthfully can help ideas thrive and society progress. This could, however, also have some drawbacks. Physically, our bodies may start wasting away due to malnutrition, lack of exercise, or lack of sunlight. We may display too much timidity when faced with real-life situations. The effects of being in two places at once can be quite disorienting or even lead to a negative separation between the real and the virtual selves.

As a matter of fact media platforms are for me a tool that allows me to stay in touch with my family and friends which are spread out across the world, as fro many years we have been unable to meet. That is why, having a real-life connection with someone cannot be overstated. With all these platforms, people can make another type of them. Creating a profile couldn’t hurt either since it may give one the confidence to approach someone they are interested in. Whenever someone reaches out to an unknown stranger to be their friend, they often wonder if the person in the photo is really the person behind the screen and this just shows the lack of trust that or avatar has started to develop in the recent years. Emphasizing how not having a real self out there could hurt our humanity.

Simulation is the most fascinating form of Computational Technique to me. It allows for the individual to create a way to find a solution to multiple different problems using one program. Simulating the results possible for every scenario in a situation makes finding the right solution or at the very least the least dangerous solution, incredibly efficient.

On the more artistic side of simulation is Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. The possibilities in both offer unique views on the way the world is built. Virtual reality, when integrated with enough technology, could simulate entire universes at the push of a button. Most standard VR sets don’t even need buttons nowadays, as hand and finger recognition is getting so advanced that it’s becoming the standard for companies like VTC and Oculus. There are also more advanced rigs that allow for leg tracking for movement or kicking inside a virtual space.

As an art form, I believe that art galleries and national monuments will be something that can be simulated from one’s own home. A few years ago I participated in a VR Art Gallery hosted by the Louvre as part of an art class. I have never been to France yet if it werent for the fact I was barefoot and standing on carpet, I would have been completely immersed in that virtual space. It was so realistic that the only thing that kept me grounded was the lack of interactability with the actual art pieces. With this in mind, it wouldn’t surprise me if entire art galleries were held in a virtual space in the future, with pieces being other digital artist’s use of VR Space.

I personally would love to make simulated cooking. I feel with the introduction of a “smellovision” to a complicated VR rig someone would be able to recreate different dishes and cooking techniques to such a degree that they would even be able to learn those skills and replicate them in real life. It would be a great way to experiment with food and test out dishes without wasting food on things you may not end up enjoying as much as you initially think. I feel like some way to simulate smells accurately would not only benefit my personal idea but many artists’ goals of creating immersive spaces for their own projects.

Big Data

 I think big data and data analytics promise revolutionary changes that will ultimately benefit human life. Like any other technology big data could be used in bad and in good. I think the good that it could be used in trumps the bad side of it.

 The book DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY& CULTUREA Open Education Resource defined data analytics as “ the discipline of turning raw data into information, and making conclusions about that information. The techniques of data analytics are often automated with programmed algorithms that collect, process, clean and organize vast raw data sets so that patterns can be detected and results presented in a form that can be analyzed for human consumption.”  Clearly human have the final word on how to understand the data and using it. As long as we do not give up the power of make decision to the artificial intelligent, I believe we will use data in benefiting human, nonhuman, and environment.

To ensure that our digital technologies work to improve human and nonhuman lives we need to have good quality data. Bad quality data will cause bad quality decision. As explained by John Green in the YouTube video Data & Infographics: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #8  we need to make sure if the source of the data reliable or not, who commotion the research behind the data, who conduct the research and why, are they in good position to gather the data in the first place, what perspective the source may have, how the data represented ,and if it is a real data or not. The data has to be accurate and relevant. Good data is the base of good decisions.

Metal Slug1 was my favorite arcade game. Me and my friends spend lots of quarters on that game. it was very challenging and exciting that we spend our allowance on it. We had fun playing it, and till today I  remember the special moments with my childhood friends. Eventually more advanced metal slug2 hit the market and the game become so popular. Many other parts of the came after that.

I could not keep up with the arcade expensive as a kid, but luckily Metal Slug was not just on the arcade it was also on the computer. So, when the computers became more affordable my family ended up buying one, and the first game, I looked for was Metal Slug!

I would want to create an app that encouraged people to read more books in a “post-pandemic” world. For me I found a lot more time at home to read books that I wanted to, but realized it may be hard now that life is going back to normal. The goal would be to read at least one book a month, or the user can pick whatever fits their lifestyle.

In chunks this goal would look like one to two books a month, depending on the person. The different levels would be after you complete a book or month of reading. This would hopefully encourage users to read their books in order to level up. The leveling up would be a reward in itself as you could unlock certain things within the app to make reading more fun. Rewards could be badges for each book you read or maybe after reading a series you could get points that allow you to redeem something. I would like to have points in the game to be redeemed for book related things, something like gift cards.

I think the theme would have to be something clean and approachable for people of all ages. It would have to be simple to use as well. I could see this app being used by many different types of people due to its shared interest in reading. To make it fun I think a social aspect would be really interesting. People can share book recommendations through a social media type section, and maybe even write little reviews on books that they enjoyed. It could also be a place for new authors to advertise their books, and maybe rewards could be offered for reading certain books at certain times of the month or something like a “book of the week” reward.

The Interface:

This is a little sketch of what the interface might look like. It would have progress bars for the books you are currently reading and the reward would be for if you complete it in your time limit. The time limit would be chosen by you because everyone reads at different speeds. There would be a total point area and a place to redeem those points for special rewards.

The challenge is to read more books, and to try to keep up with reading books in a busy life. Even though the pandemic is winding down, people may still want to enjoy these types of things that keep them interested while at home.

The choice comes from your ability to choose what books to read. You do not have to read your quota of books each month if you do not want to. You won’t be penalized, but you will get rewards if you do.

The change can come from increase of difficulty in challenges. I think maybe the app could do harder levels like read a 1,000 page book in one week. If there is a reward I think people would be interested in trying these harder challenges.

I don’t think chance really fits with this app as I have imagined it. But maybe there could be like a random book of the week kind of situation that would always be switched up.

The outcome of this app would be a fun way to track progress in reading. By giving out rewards are offering challenges this becomes a fun way to get people to read more books.

Digital games (which includes video games, apps and arcade games) emerge quite naturally from digital technology, because computation (keeping score), interactivity (making play choices), narrative (story worlds), social interaction (fun with friends) and random effects (rolling dice) are all quite easy to simulate on a computer. Choose a favorite video game from your childhood and apply a brief game analysis as described in section 7.2 of the Digital Games chapter. What about the technology of the time made the game leave such an impression on you?

I picked up RuneScape (RS) around the age of 12 and never turned back. RS was a semi-pixelated, java scripted, 3-D fantasy MMORPG that took on a life of its own at the time. The game was originally released in 2001 and has since lived through several iterations to-date with a dedicated user base that keeps the RS economy and community thriving today. On its inception, the game was entirely browser based, making it extremely accessible for anyone with an internet connection – no discs, no external downloads, just a loading screen on internet explorer or your browser of choice. As soon as you entered the game you were prompted to create a name for your character, customize their look and then immediately thrown into tutorial island with dozens of other people learning the mechanics of the game just the same as you. The game runs you through a brief introduction of certain skill mechanics such as cooking, fishing, and combat and before you know it, you’re thrown off the deep end into the world where you’re free to interact with who ever you want, whenever you want and explore the RS world as you see fit. This idea of exploration was massive for me at the time, I had never experienced anything like it. It felt like I was making decent headway through tutorials of how to progress my character, only to have my training wheels ripped from me and thrown into an enchanting and equally dangerous world with nothing but a few fundamentals on how the game worked. I was both overwhelmed and completely hooked. There was no handholding, and at the time there was little to no archival data that I could investigate to help me progress through the game, there was only me, the game, and the community who was attempting to dissect and navigate through the exact same world. It was a huge leap from the “point A to point B”, scripted video games that I was so used to playing as a kid on PlayStation or an old Sega Genesis. This was revolutionary to me – I was free to choose whatever path I wanted, complete any quest in any order I chose, skip things I didn’t want to do and interact with a small world of people along the way.

The opportunities and amount of things to do in this game seemed endless. I would find myself playing Castle Wars for hours, which was a castle siege, capture-the-flag style mini game, where you and your team would fight against a team of enemy players on a map disconnected from the proper RS world. You would be rewarded with certain armors, weapons, and other cosmetic items and it was an overall environment where people could come and flex the gear they had acquired from playing and grinding out content out in the RS world. There were dozens of mini games that you could play alone, with friends, or even with small armies that were fun, and were sometimes equally rewarding. It was the epitome of a “choose your path” type of video game for me that stood the test of time, as it is still fully operational today.

Bonus link on “Gamification of the Brain”

My game of choice growing up had to be Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64. This was a classic turn-based RPG based in the origami-styled Mushroom Kingdom. Analyzing the game using Jamieson’s four elements Challenge, Choice, Change, Chance I can distinctly find examples inside this game that has kept me in love with it to this day.

Challenge: For the challenging portions of the game it would have to be the puzzles and the battles. For puzzles, you have to use the fact that you are as thin as a sheet of paper and slip through cracks in walls or gaps between bars in order to solve rooms. This is a very creative way to apply a challenge to someone when normally they would believe they are a 3D model in a 3D world. The battles are just as challenging when bosses or special enemies are involved, as they can change and affect the fields where you are fighting. My favorite example of this is one mini-boss fight in the middle of the game where you fight the enemy in a pitch-black room. The only way to successfully hit him is to attack his lantern and light up the room, but if you hit the lantern too many times you can give him the chance to hit you even harder before he snuffs the lantern to make the room dark again.

Choice: Choice comes into play when you have to decide what kind of equipment you want to have while playing. In Paper Mario this comes in the form of Badges. With badges, you can unlock certain bonuses for Mario as you play. These can include stronger attacks, cosmetics, or special effects that unlock secret additional content in the game. The number of badges you can equip is controlled by the amount of BP you have unlocked. When you level up, you have the choice to upgrade your HP, FP, or BP. There is a version of the game serious players use when they want a challenge, which is to solely upgrade BP rather than HP or FP.

Change: Change occurs as you progress in the game. The goal of the game is to save all 7 Star Spirits and defeat the final boss
Bowser. Each time you rescue a Star Spirit you unlock the next level of the world, giving you access to a new part of the map in order to find and save the Star Spirits. This also comes with a difficulty increase, as the mobs and bosses become harder with each world. Change also comes in the form of extra mobs appearing in worlds you already visited. These mobs are 100% optional and won’t hinder your main-story progress at all, however, they do end up appearing in the world, and change the story if you choose to fight them.

Chance: Chance, while part of the game, is less of an important factor in the overall gameplay, as many portions of the game’s chance aspects have some way to turn the tides in your favor. Most of the chance comes from in-game items that inflict status effects on the players. These status effects can be sleep, poison, or dizzy, and they all affect how you are able to play the game. These effects can be inflicted by pure chance depending on the items used in battles.

At the time, the Nintendo 64 was one of the first 64-bit gaming consoles available. What seems like an ancient relic now was the pinnacle of gaming technology then, and that left a great lasting impression on me as a kid just wanting to kill time on rainy days. My brothers also were instrumental in making this game fun for me, and so there are memories I share with them that can affect my perspective on the game.

Based on the readings (and the videos in the 06 Data & Information chapter) above, do you think that big data and data analytics introduce real threats to human culture or do they promise revolutionary changes that will ultimately benefit human life? What can we do to ensure that our digital technologies work to improve human and nonhuman lives?

I think there is an endless scope of harm that big data and analytics can cause to human culture, if we were to manufacture and allow these means to take place. Douglas Rushkoff eloquently described the doomsday-prep scenario he experienced with a few modern-day tech titans and how this encounter was entirely against how we should be functioning as a society or community of values. He perfectly described that – we should be using the capabilities and technology we have today to propel EVERYONE towards a better future instead of using it to the exploit the many for the profit of the few. In the process of exploitation and attempting to squeeze every cent you can out of the world you live in, comes a price to pay, both on a global and personal scale. These systems effects take exponential effects and dehumanize people as “consumers” or data points and may even have long-term environmental implications. Social media exacerbates this principle through mass data gathering and analytics. It further drives the idea that people are around to be farmed for information to profit from said information. I think the evolution of this practice could eventually lead to an instance of a dystopian future we would typically see in Black Mirror or Blade Runner, where advertisements would be specifically tailored to your person wherever you go , or have a paywall to proceed with your day.

On the opposite end, this same data analysis and big data technology can certainly be used to project the world as we know it to a better place. With certain analytic systems in place that allow you to track how susceptible certain people are to contracting various diseases, how to reverse the effects of pollution and climate change, or even how to more accurately assess where you’re most likely to get a parking ticket and take action on what to do to prevent future occurrences of this from happening. The spectrum of benefits to detriments seems to extend infinitely both ways.