Design principles are valid whether you are creating a game, app or event a physical event. The primary benefit of basing your design around a single theme is that all of the elements will reinforce one another, working towards a common goal.

Single theme

To understand how you can reinforce the theme again and again in your design, we will look at an example. The author Jesse Schell, who is a video game developer, worked on a virtual reality game for Disney based on Pirates of the Caribbean. He used a number of elements to bring about the central theme - "being a pirate".

Reinforce the theme

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride is not about pirates; it is about being a pirate!

Computer Augmented Virtual Environment (CAVE) is basically a small room with 3D projections on the walls.Square and hexagonal CAVEs are common, but they built a new four-screen CAVE shape that was better suited to a pirate ship simulation.

CAVE Shape

Not every CAVE experience uses stereoptics, but they chose to do so, because it gives a sense of depth. Letting your eyes focus on infinity makes it feel like you are out at sea.

Stereoptics

To give the feeling of a rocking, swaying boat they custom built a platform using pneumatics, because it felt the most like a ship at sea.

Motion platform

The sound designers created a custom ten-speaker sound system that could play sounds from all directions. Some of the speakers were designed only to play cannon blasts and were placed at precisely the right distance from the boat so that the waveform would collapse in your stomach, so you would not just hear but feel the cannons firing.

Audio

Part of the pirate fantasy is steering a ship, and part of it is firing cannons. They could have used joysticks or other off-the-shelf hardware, but that wouldn’t be very good theming. Instead, the ship is steered with a ship’s wheel, and they had real metal cannons that players would use to aim and fire.

Interface

Special filters on the light that made it look like it was light reflected off of water.

Lighting

People who step up to the controls need a place to put their bags, purses, etc. A shelf would work but instead, they created bags out of fishing nets that really look like they belong on a boat.

A place for my stuff

The vents were placed at the front of the ship, blowing back, so players feel a breeze as they sail their ship.

Air conditioning

Everything they did and every decision they took were focused on whether it would reinforce the theme and deliver the essential experience they wanted to get across i.e. "feel like a pirate".

Conclusion

How the Pirates of the Caribbean themed virtual reality game at Disney was designed by using game design principles.

Presents over 100 sets of questions, or different lenses, for viewing a game’s design. Written by one of the world's top game designers, this book describes the deepest and most fundamental principles of game design, demonstrating how tactics used in board, card, and athletic games also work in video games. It provides practical instruction on creating world-class games that will be played again and again. New to this edition: many great examples from new VR and AR platforms as well as examples from modern games such as Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us, Free to Play games, hybrid games, transformational games, and more.

books

Books

product

Product & Design

Presents over 100 sets of questions, or different lenses, for viewing a game’s design. Written by one of the world's top game designers, this book describes the deepest and most fundamental principles of game design, demonstrating how tactics used in board, card, and athletic games also work in video games. It provides practical instruction on creating world-class games that will be played again and again. New to this edition: many great examples from new VR and AR platforms as well as examples from modern games such as Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us, Free to Play games, hybrid games, transformational games, and more.

Jesse Schell

The Art of Game Design

The more attention and care you give to a plant, the more the yield.You may either get a thorny bush or a fragrant flower. It all depends on the seed and how much work you put into it.Given a choice, you'd naturally want more of one kind and less of other.

Plants

Come to think of it (pun intended). Thoughts are like plants. We prefer some - childhood memories, vacations, achievements. We dislike some - unpleasant memories, past experiences, stress, anxiety.Most of us trim the flowers and water the bushes, unknowingly.

Thoughts

We are constantly working on our garden (mind) which has all kinds of plants (seeds).Everytime we ignore or escape from the thought, we are still giving attention to it i.e. watering it.Sometimes we are aware of this, most of the time it is subconscious.

You are the gardener

First step is noticing that the a thought has arisen. Don't fight it or run from it. Acknowledge it, say 'hello'. Think through if this has any relevance in your present.If it does, plan the best step forward.If it does not, take a deep breath and just visualize that you have chopped of a part of this bush with hedge shears. Wait a few moments and then carry on with your day.

Trim thorny bushes

Brain has the ability to be influenced by thorns and flowers equally. Use this mechanism to your advantage.If you naturally feel grateful and relive good memories, great! Otherwise, set some time during the day for this activity.Pick any thought - a person, a moment, nature, god, whatever makes you feel at peace. Fully live this thought, take a deep breath and imagine you are watering a flower pot.

Nurture fragrant flowers

With consistent effort, over a period of time your garden will have almost no thorny bushes and full of flowers.Maybe a few trees as well :)Use the power of visualization as that too is just a thought. A strong one because you are aware of it.

Garden of your choice

Use your brain's natural tendencies to your advantage. Tips to control your thoughts the way you like.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

mindfulness

Mindfulness

habits

Habits

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Gardening your mind

Anxiety, anger and distress create rapid breathing as a "fight or flight" response to increase oxygen in our system.A calm nervous system creates slow, deep, relaxed breathing to supply the required oxygen to the system, using least effort. The oxygen requirement is much less compared to what is needed for fight/flight.

Emotion affects Breath

A study was conducted asking people to breathe in particular "patterns" and they were asked to report the associated feeling.Surprisingly, what they reported corresponded to the right emotion, even though they weren't aware of the patterns.

Breath affects Emotion

Breathing is not just about oxygen, it's also how we receive odors which contain important sensory information.When we encounter a rotten smell like decomposting eggs or a dead rat, we automatically start to breathe fast and shallow. This is because our body is trying to invoke the 'flight' response so that we move away from this potential threat (bacteria or nearby predators).On the other hand, scents like roses or fresh bread leads to slow, long breaths (inviting you near the smell).

Breath responds to Smells

One study analyzed 9,500 people watching 16 different films, from rom coms to horror, and looked at the air composition throughout the film.Suspenseful moments showed upticks in CO2 and isoprene, a chemical associated with the tensing of muscles. Isn't that fascinating?

Suspense = CO2

Understanding this bi-directional relationship can be really helpful. Try this simple exercise.<ul><li>Be aware of your emotions throughout the day: while working, going out or watching a movie.</li><li>Observe your breath, does it differ with emotion (angry, happy, stressed, irritated)?</li></ul> With practice, you can consistently be aware of your emotions and breath. <ul><li>When you notice an undesirable emotion, consciously change your breathing pattern (slow, deep, effortless) and verify if this alters your emotion in any way.</li></ul>

Breath <=> Emotion

The relationship between Emotions & Breath. How can you use this understanding for your benefit?

Every time somebody tells you to slow down your breathing, or asks if you're upset because you're huffing like a pug, they're tapping into decades of research about the link between human respiration and emotion — and it turns out that it goes…

health

Health

mentalhealth

Mental Health

Hack your emotions (using breath) 

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties. It can be a verbal agreement that is based on trust or a legally binding written agreement.

Contract

<ul><li>Licensing deals: one company sells another's product</li><li>Loans: promise that borrower will pay back money</li><li>Employee-employer contract</li><li>Product aggregator: amazon can sell my product and charge me 20-30% commission</li><li>Delivery aggregator: uber connects consumers with riders and charges a commission</li><li>Personal relationships: (non-binding) contract of trust</li></ul>

Contract Applications

A smart contract is a piece of digital code that can execute predefined agreements between parties.Can it be used for all types of agreements? No. It can only be used when the agreement can be configured, conditions can be verfied and actions can be executed digitally.

Smart Contract

The biggest advantage is you do NOT need to trust the party you are getting into the agreement with. As long as the agreement can be configured in a smart contract the parties themself can not alter it.This can be particularly useful where middle-men are paid to facilitate trust between 2 parties.

Smart Contract Advantages

Farmers heavily depend on their yield for income. Claiming crop insurance is a slow and burdensome process.Smart contracts enable a simple and quick process for farmers and insurance companies. Since weather conditions can be fed into the system, this makes verification easy.

Application 1

Taxes. We hate 'em. Not because we pay a lot, but because we do not observe the same gain in value for us.The lack of transparency and accountability in the process can make it easier for self-interest and corruption to creep in at various stages.Smart contracts and decentralized ledgers can help in accounting for every tax dollar spent and make information easy to access for common people.

Application 2

In many cases middle-men exist to ensure trust between parties. Smart contracts can be used to cut out middle-men to save cost. This is already being used in various trading activies.

Application 3

In the years to come we'll see more and more adoption of this wonderful technology. It has the potential to increase efficiencies in various systems across sectors and help create more robust, secure and fair platforms.

"Smart Contracts". Heard this term many times but what is it exactly and how can it make the world a better place?

crypto

Cryptocurrency

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Technology & The Future

How can smart contracts help us?

By acting on any side of the seesaw we can get the desired state. Either push A down or pull B up, the result is the same.

2 sided (A-B) seesaw

Whenever we feel any emotion, it can be observed in various physiological factors like heart beat, breathing pattern, hormones, sweat, muscle movement, etc.Each emotion is a package deal of these physiological factors.

Emotion is a state machine

If we can control any one of the physiological indicator and change it, then the state can be changed.

Breaking a state

Format: [goal] - [solution] - [affected factor]Prevent low emotions - antridepressants - balance of neurotransmitters.High confidence - alcohol - increase dopamineRemove anger - slow deep breathing - breath patternRelieve PTSD - cognitive therapy - mind perception

Examples of state control

Of all the physiological factors that create emotion, we have the natural ability to control 3 things - perception, breath, posture.The quickest and easiest are breath and posture as they are purely physical.

Which sides can we control?

Controlled breathing exercises can be found everywhere:<ul><li>Chi Gong from China</li><li>Ryosuke from Japan</li><li>Pranayama from India</li></ul>

Did our ancestors figure this out?

The state machine can be controlled in many ways. Decide how you want it to change it and explore ways that you find most effective for you.

Understand emotions from a physiology perspective. Learn how this state machine can be controlled.

Understand yourself and those around you.

The Art of Game Design

Gardening your mind

Hack your emotions (using breath)

How can smart contracts help us?

Body is a n-sided seesaw

Think Deep