Creation of App: Just Play

Dreaming and Conceptualizing 

1. The pain that we identified that sparked the development of our app is a pain that is becoming progressively larger, but many don't recognize as a pain. Our society revolves around technology nowadays, even when we are in a group of people, we still engage with our device more than the person sitting beside us. This pain is causing individuals to lack communication skills, and even worse the desire to possess communication skills and actually talk with one another is flying, quite speedily, right out the window. Simply stated, we want to bring the value of face-to-face interaction with other human beings back into society.

2. The market that we chose to get into to revive human interaction was that of games. Entering the gaming market means that we have to compete against games that can be downloaded on a single device and then played with a group of people (games that use a device, but still require face-to-face interaction). Some specific games that we found that fall into this category are, Heads Up!, You Don't Know Jack, Charades App, Would You Rather and Truth or Dare Spin The Bottle. Along with these particular apps we also compete against Pinterest, a site/app that you can look up countless games on. We also compete against lifestyle blogs where writers have shared their favorite group games.

3. Realistically, this app will probably be just a small drop in the ocean. It'll simply give people an app that they can consult and trust to give them exciting games to play with friends so everyone doesn't spend the whole get together on their phone. Ultimately this game could have a huge impact on society, maybe not through the content of games, but at least through the push of remembering the importance of interacting with the people that are around you, rather than scrolling through Facebook, pinning tomorrows dinner on Pinterest, loving your friends photo on Instagram, re-tweeting TSwift's latest tweet or texting someone that you could really text a different time. If this app caused people to put their phones down and truly engage, it would be monumental.

User Interface Design 

Colors:
The colors we decided to use are orange, purple and white. I actually really dislike both the colors orange and purple so, this decision was hard for me, but when looking at the what colors mean it is the best option for the app that we are creating and what message we are trying to send with out app.

Orange mixes the energy that is associated with red with the happiness that is associated with yellow. Orange represents enthusiasm, creativity and stimulation. I especially like that it represents stimulation because our app is working to stimulate interaction between a group of individuals.

Purple isn't the direct complimentary color of orange, but it is close, and there was no way we could go with blue and orange together. While I root for the Broncos on occasion I definitely don't like their color combination. Anyway, purple blends the calmness of blue and the fierceness of red together. Purple is a representation of ambition, which I also thought played into the idea of our app and motivating people to do more than just play on their phones all of the time.

Fonts:
We want to do a straightforward font for the majority of our app so that users are able to easily read what is going on. We'll use black text on a white background, most likely bolding the names of games, and using a bit smaller font for the descriptions. The actual name of the game is where we will have a little bit of fun with the font. We'll use a more playful font to show users from the beginning that we are interested in provoking adventure and excitement.

Prototype:

Architecture Design 

We want our app to be extremely easy to use from the moment you download it from the app store. To increase the ease of the app we drew a mock up example of our app so that we could figure out the flow of the app.

The app would open first to a simple welcome screen,

a simple tap on the arrow will take you to the next screen where you will be prompted to set up a user profile.

If you don't log in with Facebook then you'll have one extra step, entering your birthday. We ask for your birthday so that we you have more opportunities to meet up with people in your area and play games. 

Then you'll be asked a few simple either-or questions that will gauge what type of games you are most interest in. 

The questions will include:

1. Indoor or Outdoor

2. Active or Brain

3. Large Group (11+) or Medium Group (5-10) or Small Group (2-4)

Once those few simple questions have been answered your profile will be ready, and you'll be taken to the home page. 

Each of the buttons on the home screen will take you to a different aspect of the game. For example, by clicking the "settings" icon at the bottom, right you'll be taken to your profile, 

where you will be able to update your information whenever you see fit. For example, I would go to my profile and change every aspect of my "Interest In" section. 

Why? Because I like small groups so I could define that more. Unless it is nice and warm outside, I'd much rather be inside. Meeting new people terrifies me most of the time, and I really don't care for competition at all. 

The flow continues as each icon on the home screen is tapped and a new screen appears. As we worked through the creation of our icon pages the app developed more and more, which resulted in us changing a couple of the home screen icons. This experience is proof that with each collaboration meeting more information will be revealed and the development of the app will continue to progress. 

The start a game option will no longer be on the front page, but rather when you search for a game you will have the option of creating a game if there isn't already one you would like to join. You will be able to search a couple of different ways, either by the name of the game or by particular demographics. With the demographics you'll be able to enter vital information; including, what age range, indoor or outdoor, brain game or active game, etc. Entering those demographics would limit your options of games to create, like giving you a more focused search. 

We also added the idea of sponsored games, which you can see on the "join a game" page. The idea behind sponsored games is that a company can put on big events and get the word out through our app. I haven't chatted about this withy my group yet, but as I typed that I wondered if that could be where we make some of our revenue? Companies could pay a set price to create a game and advertise it through our app. Just a thought. 

Other companies have had success in similar areas so, we looked to them for a little bit of inspiration. 

Proof of Concept and Distribution 

Proof of the app would come through daily use of the app by the creators. We would use the "start a game" function to see if the "play" function works, allowing people to join the game. We also want to prove the functionality of the app by playing a quick game with you. This is what we hope our app will be like: 

Our app would be available exclusively through the Apple App Store (at least for now). The App would be financially free for users, but they would have to pay in information. In order for the location based services to work (the meeting up for games) users would have to give up their location if they are trying to meet for a game. Users would also have to give up their names, age and gender.

App Review: Cameo

Cameo is a video editing service that allows you to shoot short clips, edit them together, add effects and audio and then share with friends. Cameo works hand in hand with Vimeo, a video sharing service. Because Cameo works hand in hand with Vimeo, the privacy policy is the same for both services. 

Before you are able to set up an account with cameo you have to create a profile, or in other words you have to give them some personal information. That information includes, you name and email address. Apart from the initial setup you agree that they have access to any of the information that is included in any videos you create with Cameo and share through Vimeo. The information they collect may be sent to servers located in the United States and other countries around the world.

My favorite part about this app is that it is easy! You record little six second scenes, sometimes it would be nice if they could be longer, and then stitch them together in whatever order you like. You can trim scenes to make them shorter, play music over the top of the scene or allow for the original audio to be a part of the cameo clip. When you decide to create your own Cameo you get to pick a theme, create a title and choose audio to go along with your two minute clip. Another downfall is the limited audio, but for a FREE app, it gets the job done. 

Technology is life, no questions asked.

Thursday, March 19th, 2015

[COPIED FROM MY NOTEBOOK]
At eight o'clock this morning I sent out a text to a handful of people letting them know I would be off the grid until Saturday morning. I then checked my social media, and finished up the conversations I was having with those I had texted. By 8:45 this morning my phone was not off (too scary), but it was put away along with all of my other devices.

I started doing homework at nine o'clock because what else was I supposed to do? I sat in the living room while I did homework so, my whole family was on a technology fast for at least a couple of hours until I went to work. I don't think they necessary enjoyed that, but they haven't kicked me out of the house yet so, that's a good sign.

Work was kind of tricky because music is constantly playing. The station that we use is commercial free so it was basically like listening to a CD. It was interesting because I couldn't hear the music the majority of the time due to how loud everyone inside was, but when I did hear the music it was unusual. I love listening to music, it is constantly on around me so the rare moments at work that i could hear a melody were the greatest. I'm sure that counts as cheating, but it was worth it.

After work I read and spent time with family. I'm ahead on homework and was fully engrossed in family dinner rather than distracted by my phone. It's been roughly 12 hours and I can already tell a difference in my productivity. On the other hand, I'm really glad that it's time for me to sleep so I'm not just watching the minutes tick by. Side note: I can still tell time from the analog clock on the wall in my house, but I'm not sure how I'm going to wake up on time because I don't own an alarm clock.

Friday, March 20th, 2015

[COPIED FROM MY NOTEBOOK]
My niece woke me up this morning because I didn't have an alarm clock. She thought no technology was a totally bizarre idea. She also questioned why I could still drive my car if I wasn't supposed to be using technology. Her question really got me thinking - I'll share my thoughts on this idea later.

After getting ready for school in complete silence, which never happens, I went to work on TalkingPoint. This is why I say that technology is life, no questions asked. It doesn't matter what my own agenda is when it comes to technology, I will always have responsibilities that require me to use technology. Life can't stop simply because I'm not using technology.

After TalkingPoint I went to work. Today at work I was on the register - yesterday I made sandwiches (technology free), but today I was on register so, I used technology all day. The radio was also on while I was at work, again commercial free, but still radio.

After work I went home and did some homework and took a nap to kill some time. When I woke up my phone was lit up with a message from my boss in Moab. She was working on payroll and needed me to confirm my hours. I couldn't make her hold off doing payroll simply because I wasn't supposed to be using technology (again, technology is life, no questions asked). I quickly sent her a one message response to confirm my hours and put my phone down again.

Tonight for entertainment I played Skipbo with my family and went to bed fairly early.

THOUGHTS ON NO TECHNOLOGY
I call BS on the whole thing. Yep, complete and total BS. Fasting from technology is absolutely impossible in the world we live in today.

Sure, I didn't check my social media, turn on my television, hangout in the movie room, do homework on my laptop or text for fun, but I still used technology every single minute of every day. I ate food from a fridge, lit my house with electric lights, drove my car from place to place, used my garage door to get my car out, cooled my house with an air conditioner, wore clothes made in a factory, slept in a house built using technology, obeyed electronic traffic lights. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point.

So, no technology is just absolutely ridiculous and entirely impossible. Even if I were out in the middle of nowhere I'm sure I'd still be using it somehow.

I'll admit that it was really  nice to disconnect from social media and focus completely on the schoolwork that I needed to get done. It definitely made me aware of how much time I spend on social media just passing time so, not wasting time on social media will be something I really work on. Other than the distraction factor I find technology to be more useful than negative. Writing out assignments on paper and then transferring them to a computer two days later is just a pain. And music - I've decided that I can't live without it. I've had music in my ears since I broke my fast this morning.

Device Review

The device that I chose to review is called the TempTraq. The TempTraq is a wearable patch that is placed on the body of someone who may be experiencing a fever. The patch can be worn by people of all ages, but its target audience is babies.

Babies are not necessarily able to alert adults when they have a fever. They can cry or scream, but  fever may go unnoticed, which can result is serious consequences. TempTraq tries to prevent those consequences by keeping adults aware of the child's temperature.

It is a patch that is worn under the arm. Once the patch is turned on it lasts 24 hours. During that 24 hours it is constantly monitoring the temperature of whoever is wearing the patch. Alerts are sent to the smart phone to keep the adult updated about what is going on.

If there is a spike in temperature, an alert is sent. If the temperature stays fairly constant, you can see that too. Whatever is happening temperature wise can be seen on the smart phone that the blue tooth device is connected to.

I think that the idea of a temperature patch is absolutely brilliant. I think that it could prevent a lot of extreme medical situations from going unnoticed. The patch alerts adults so frequently that it would give a chance to prevent rather than to repair.

My concern with this device is the actual patches themselves. Are they reusable, rechargeable? Or can they only be used once? Only being able to use them once could make it really expensive, which could make it nearly impossible for the majority of people to use the device.

48 Hour Fast

It wasn't possible for me to do my 48 hour fast over spring break. I spent a large portion of my break at work, on the computer and phone. When I wasn't at work I was blogging, posting on social media and connecting with friends via text or phone call to plan activities. If I would have done my fast over spring break I probably would have lost my job, and possibly my friends - haha. 

I have done a 72 hour phone fast before, and it was challenging. I couldn't pick when I did the fast, which made planning my life extremely difficult. I was in eighth grade, I couldn't drive and I spent a lot of time waiting for a ride because I couldn't call my mom to come and get me. 

Knowing first handed that going without technology will be extremely hard I need to be sure that I am able to go 48 hours without NEEDING, not just wanting, technology. I've decided to work hard this week to complete all of my assignments by Friday night so that I won't need technology at all on Saturday or Sunday. I plan to watch a movie on Friday night to get filled up on media, and to also let my friends and family know that I will be starting my tech fast. 

I think it'll be hard, but I'm up for the challenge because I think it also means using my time more effectively. I'm guessing that I'll be able to catch up on all of my reading and really enjoy time with family. We'll see on Sunday night just how I hold up without technology. 

Persona For Group Project

Cassidy is a college student who entertains at least once a week. As a college student she has a tight budget so, buying multiple different games isn't financially possible. She entertains both small and large groups, which means she needs games for all different demographics. She owns a smart phone, which allows her to search games, but she is sick of wasting time searching the whole Internet. She wants to be able to locate multiple games all in one place for a reasonable price.

Group Project APP IDEA

The app that my group has chosen to move forward with is an app that will compile different games that use minimal extra accessories. The app will ease the pain that so many have during group gatherings of "having nothing to do." The app will allow for different demographics to engage in fresh activities without breaking the bank. 

Currently we are searching for game ideas on the Internet, through own personal experiences and from friends. As we search we have found a ton of games, which worries me that there will be too much information for the app to run smoothly. We've talked about the app grossing money without having advertisements by offering a free version that would include like 15 games and offer another version that would include all of the games for actual monetary gain. 

My biggest concern for this app is that we will run into copyright issues. I think that this can be avoided by picking and choosing the games we include in the app carefully. I think that older games (in a pioneer realm) will make avoiding copyright issues easier. 

Adding the pioneering aspect to the game will open a whole different target market. Establishing a target market is something that we really need to focus some attention on. Currently the personas we are working on are college/high school students, young married couples and parents. I'm not sure what target market pioneering will fit into exactly.