Abstract:

Project-based courses in Art + Design and Computer Science curriculum foster innovation spaces that require creative thinking and multidisciplinary problem solving for unorthodox scenarios and the interplay of technology, arts, and design thinking. It has been recognized that creativity plays an immense role in many if not all fields, and the benefits of thinking “outside the box '' reach far beyond the obvious areas such as design, engineering and arts. The need for an educational paradigm shift is an increasingly burning topic. The challenge to integrate creativity in a curriculum is complex and multifaceted because it requires speculative ideas and methods to support continuous active learning through problem solving in an uncharted territory; it needs a collaborative cross-disciplinary vision and flexibility by faculty, and last but not least it depends on student buy-in.

“Story-Go-Round” is an experimental physical development platform for producing augmented digital experiences, designed exclusively as an assignment to tell stories in a circular visual manner through interactive control and game play. The goal of the assignment is to provoke creative thinking on a different level by introducing a speculative digital media and game device that has no documentation, tutorials, technological standards nor any examples mass produced, published or shared, and is open to modification/hybridization. The platform is an example of an unorthodox digital interface that presents and communicates ideas that students develop for it ranging from augmented reality, game play, interactive art, to linear narratives and educational experiences.

Keywords:

Creativity, Animation, Games, Interaction, Narrative, VR/AR/MR.