ProjectProposal-StuartBottom

From CS 160 Fall 2008

Introduction

The general concept for this proposal is a fine arts appreciation game, designed to help players increase their knowledge of music and the visual arts. Ideally, the game would adapt to different player levels in real time, and could be configured for various levels of difficulty. This makes it potentially suitable for a wide range of users.

Target User Group

The set of ideal users for this game can be divided into two primary groups. The first group consists of students (perhaps even children) in an art-specific educational context, such as an art history class. This group has presumably been charged to learn about a specific art type or period, such as ancient Roman architecture or contemporary classical chamber music. They are very interested in retaining various key facts about the art they are studying, which has good potential to boost their grade on exams. The second group is much broader, and consists of anyone who wants to learn more about art or increase their understanding of it. Within this group there are two subcategories, the first being anyone who wants to learn more about art in general. This group values art as a cultural experience, and they may wish to concentrate in either the visual or musical space. They may wish to learn more about art for art’s sake, or perhaps they are simply interested in becoming more cultured in their understanding of fine art forms. The other subcategory consists of those who are already art aficionados. They may feel their art knowledge is limited in certain areas or genres, and so they are much more interested in in-depth facts on a particular composer or artist, for example.

Problem Description

Art appreciation is very much an acquired concept, and can only be developed through exposure to various art forms. Many people either do not have this necessary exposure well-integrated into their lives, or are not sure where to begin integrating it. If someone wants to deepen their knowledge of art in a particular form, or begin exposing themselves to new artistic ideas, the problem is that it is difficult to know where to start. For example, it is not possible for a person to know they like a particular composer’s music if they have never heard it before. This game has the potential to solve that: by showing people a kaleidoscopic sample of art forms, it enables them to decide what they like and what they want to learn more about. In turn, the game can provide the solution to this as well, giving a fun way to expand a player’s knowledge by drilling deeper into something they never knew about before. This first-time exposure to new artistic ideas, facts, and movements is key, and can encourage players to go far beyond the game by stimulating them to expand what they view or listen to in real life.

Problem Context and Forces

“Art” is a very broad term, and the premise of this game is by no means limited to oil paintings or classical music. A primary force for this problem is population growth: more and more artists continue to redefine what it means to be entertained and moved by art in every form. The number of styles and genres continues to expand at an ever-dizzying rate; this is art at its essence, for it demands experimentation and welcomes new forms. But for the average person, this means their problem only continues to increase in size. One person can only sample so much art, and most of us don’t have much time to figure out where to look next. A game showcasing art from a multiplicity of areas would not only be able to serve the needs of students, but the needs of anyone wanting to expand their horizons or improve their knowledge. Consider the specific case of art students. Like any other discipline, some memorization of key facts, important dates, notable people, and fine samples is necessary to master knowledge of art in any genre. Art as a topic lends itself particularly well to a learning game format; players can be continually entertained while they are learning. As people’s lives continue to become busier, students will become less and less likely to read a textbook if they can learn the material by playing a simple game instead. The closest game to this concept already in existence can be found at http://www.jamsbio.com/games/songBlitzSolo . It allows players to gain points by correctly identifying songs played to them, but it falls short in terms of the additional facts, context, information, and content it could provide. For this reason, it is probably best classified as entertainment; it is a game that challenges players’ knowledge of a particular artist or album, but it is not intended to educate them per se.

Solution Sketch

This most immediately apparent form of this game would likely involve a multiple-choice selection, where players would be presented with a particular piece of art and then asked to answer a specific question about it. This could be as simple as naming the artist, or as complicated as identifying the date a piece was produced, the media it was painted in, the location of its premiere, etc. If a player gets a right answer immediately, an additional fun fact or information about the piece or artist could be displayed; if not, hints could be given to guide the player to the correct choice. Points could be automatically added or decremented based on the amount of time used to make a decision or the difficulty of the question, and a running point total kept or recorded for individual play sessions. Players could presumably configure the game to their preferences and/or desired difficulty level. For example, a user who cannot read music might have no use for a sheet music display of the piece being played, but would instead prefer to see a picture of the artist or composer as a clue. Controls could be set on the system to restrict it to questions about a particular genre (classic rock, 60’s R&B), artist (Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright), style (ancient South Indian art, 19th-century Japanese woodcuts), etc.

Example of visual mode game screen