Category: Student Posts

After completing the first podcast, Jasmine and I had a better idea of what to do with the second podcast. We realized that our second podcast on the popular game Mario Party needed more depth in terms of our content because we primarily focused on telling about the game in the first one rather than the purpose of the game. Our one-on-one with Professor Morgan helped us wrinkle out the small details we needed to work on and also some of the things that we did well. One of the things that we kept in the second podcast was the interesting intro that served as our hook. We acted out a small scenario about a friendly rivalry and perplexing question at hand: How did Jasmine win the entire game by losing the most games? We then slowly delved into the analysis.

We introduced the game at first from an objective standpoint. Then we flooded the podcast with subjectivity in terms of the purpose of the game. We talked briefly about how Mario Party is a fun game that has a series of short mini games to give people a small sense of accomplishment, thus giving them an incentive to play more. We then touched on how Mario Party brings people together and provides them with something to talk about to break the ice and also the realistic aspect of the game. We found the importance of tying the game to real world concepts. We talked about how there are always people with an unfair advantage who will beat you simply because of luck or just the advantages they grew up with. Unlike most games, you can’t really predict the outcome of the game because people get points for improvement and even completely losing. People would feel stressed when anticipating the next minigame outcome and just hope that they rank above their friends.

In terms of editing, we used Audacity and found it easier to the second time around. However, it was still a complex process trying to piece together which music clip or song goes best with the message we were trying to convey in our podcast. We used a script throughout the podcast and tried our best to make it sound as candid as we possibly can. I think we improved the structure of the podcast as well because we introduced the game at first and dove into the critical thinking aspect after we gave the audience a firm understanding of what the game is and its objectives. I am glad that we received the chance to do a second podcast because this overall process was very enlightening and gave us a firm idea of how to convey a message without the use of an essay.

The process of making the second podcast was a lot easier than the first time through. It took a little bit of time to adjust our writing style to fit the podcast rather than write an essay the first time through which meant that the whole process took longer than. Something that we did during both podcasts that led to our success was starting early. We once again started working on the podcast a week before it was due which was very helpful. We were able to get all of our ideas together and written down in a basic script before meeting with professor Morgen about our ideas.

We used a similar structure in our Minecraft podcast as we did in the previous podcast. We started off with a little bit of description about the game and how popular it is. Then I described why the game has accrued so many awards and why it is such a unique and cool game from a personal perspective as an avid Minecraft player. After that we played the game and related it to a chapter in Ian Bogost’s novel, How to Do Things With Video Games.

Even though the structures were similar, I felt that the process of making the second podcast was very different than the first one. One key difference was that Ben had actually played Minecraft before. This made the process easier because it felt more natural to have a conversation about something that we both knew about instead of a more one-sided argument. This also made the whole process more fun for both of us.

Now that we are approaching the conclusion of this course, I can say confidently that making these podcasts was my favorite assignment of the year. It was a really interesting way to explore a new form a writing in a new medium. I learned a lot about how to make a podcast and how to use audacity which is a useful thing to know how to do. Not only was it good for me to be exposed to this different type of writing but it was also really fun. It was great to be able to pick topics that we were passionate about and I think it lead to higher quality podcasts. Overall, I thought these two assignments were the most interesting of the whole semester and I definitely recommend assigning them again in future classes.

The second podcast was much more of a smooth process when comparing it to our previous one and Andrew and I also corrected some of the problems that arose earlier podcast.  However, there is still room for improvement as although we made changes we still fell short in certain ways.

The process of brainstorming was different as we decided to take a more different approach with this episode. Rather than focus on a big and expansive game such as skyrim, we wanted to hoan in on a smaller game that shows no real significance at the surface. By this strategy, we felt we wouldn’t feel as overwhelmed and be able to go deeper on a couple points as opposed to covering wide range of topics. Along with our meeting with professor Morgan, Andrew and I felt we a stronger and more organized outline going into recording and editing. This time around, we wrote a more comprehensive script in order to stay on point rather than ramble as we did at times in our last podcast. However, we made sure that we also talked off-script when it came for analysis and personal experiences. This allowed our episode to feel more well done while also not dry in terms of content. This combination of having a script but also have room to push the boundaries led to an overall better episode. However, there were still some challenges when making the episode. We only squeaked over 9 minutes of content which felt a little short. This means that our analysis in my opinion could have been stronger because there has to be more to talk about when it comes to a game like Bloons Tower Defense. Even with this shortcoming I still feel we did better  than our earlier episode. Lastly, while doing this episode I started to notice how writing an essay is not as different than recording the podcast. Both require organization and analysis in order to convey your message to the reader or listener. But what I believe the whole point of the podcast assignment is to realize that I have the same creative freedom in writing essay. For so long we have been bogged down with rules when it comes to essay writing. But in terms of analysis, there is still a whole lot of freedom like in the podcast episode.

In this specific instance, one of the learning objectives that was addressed was Collaboration. Initially, Andrew and I were pretty confused on what to talk about on the Bloons Tower defense series. We talked it over with one another and still really didn’t have a clear direction. It was once we met with our professor and we all talked out our ideas the episode began to have a direction. We would build off of one another and came up with an entirely new question going into recording. Without collaborating, we would have never created an episode close to what we produced.

The first podcast that Andrew and I created was certainly an experience as this was our first time ever creating content together. Although there were strengths in our episode, I personally felt that this assignment really served more as a learning experience rather than purely content generating.

After listening to the podcast’s before us Andrew and I wanted to create something different, essentially an episode that felt more unscripted and conversational that still had meaningful analysis. I felt that this approach would allow the listener to more easily follow the points as well as be more engaging. Therefore, for our script we kept it pretty open ended where we could generate ideas by talking rather than reading off the sheet. This strategy I felt enabled us to be successful in certain aspects while also having areas we need to improve on. Firstly, I felt that our analysis was better as we were focused on the points we were trying to make in regards to transit and skyrim. This comes in large part due to the meeting we had with Professor Morgan before recording and editing our podcast. In addition, this style also allowed for creativity in my opinion. The typical essay has many rules and guidelines and without a strict script I felt we were able to go in many different directions. However, due to this style there was also many shortcomings in our episode. Firstly it was tricky getting the hand of audacity especially because both of us had never used it before. Editing was annoying because there were so many pauses and mistakes so we went second by second ensuring there was less awkwardness. The biggest weakness within our episode was the unpolished nature of it. There were moments that were obviously edited and awkward pauses within our speech patterns. However, even with these problems I still believe we met our goals in making a more casual but still insightful podcast.

The entire experience definitely changed me as a learner and how I approach new projects. This was the first time I had ever made a podcast so I carefully tried to study the
nuances and differences from a typical paper. What I found out quickly on the other hand was that in order to really learn you have to dive in fully into the project. The podcast assignment address critical thinking in regards to the overall learning outcomes. You and your partner to create cohesive and meaningful idea while putting those ideas on an unfamiliar platform. By using these critical thinking skills, we were able to generate a podcast that completed our goals and set us up for a better podcast in the future.

After completing an Assassin’s Creed podcast, my partner and I gained some experience using Audacity. We learned how to delete segments easily, put two segments together and where to put blank space. Because of our experience, my partner and I had a much easier time editing our second podcast. We also were able to learn some new ways to edit the segment , including softening the sounds of different segments.

Because I had previously completed a podcast, I was more comfortable completing this assignment than conducting the first podcast. We had a script, but I was able to improvise more. This made the second podcast sound more natural than the first. My partner and I also collaborated better. We knew our academic strengths and weaknesses and we trusted each other. I was able to design the structure and discuss basic information about the game’s history. My partner was able to discuss his experience with the game.

Both podcasts used a similar structure. First, we explained some basic information about a game series. Then my partner, a veteran gamer, discussed his experience with the game series and why he enjoys it. Next we would play a game from the series and talk about what we were doing as we played. Finally, we related the podcast to Ian Bogust’s novel, How To Do Things With Video Games, and describe what we gained from playing.

Despite their similar structure, our first and second podcasts had some key differences. The biggest difference is the games we chose. For our second podcast, we decided to play Minecraft because it was the only game I know a lot about that we could access besides Madden, which was used in another podcast. Minecraft is a sandbox game. It is more of an art and a relaxation tool. Because of this, our goal for the second podcast was to discuss Minecraft as a relaxing art form, not a history teaching game. We spent less time discussing the history of the game and how it relates to the real world and more on how it relates to the art and relaxation chapters of Bogust’s novel. I also enjoyed the second assignment more. I felt more like an artist and that I was learning subconsciously. I was able to relax while building my own world.

Although I produced a podcast on a game I was familiar with, I would like to complete another podcast on a game I play frequently. I also hope to perfect my Audacity knowledge and learn to use other audio editing computer programs. Creating podcasts was one of my favorite assignments of the year, and I hope to make more in the future.

In reflection of my most recent podcast upload with Jose, I believe that we did a good job at covering the objectives of the assignment. At first glance, 10 minutes of length seemed quite daunting at first to tackle. Fortunately, time would reveal that 10 minutes of production, in actuality, was shorter than expected. We ended up having to edit out quite a significant portion of the uncut audio to fit the time limit.

Pokemon Go was a go-to option for our game choice because Jose had extensive experience with the game. I had personally not played the game itself but was familiar with the gameplay and the nuance of what it was about. I purposely waited until the actual recording to play the game so that we could capture a raw, first hand experience of Pokemon Go.

After we chose what game to play came the preparation phase. Jose and I did preliminary research on the effects of the game on society and the underlying histories that served as the foundation of the inception of Pokemon Go. We compiled the research and assignment parameters into an outline that we used as the guiding force of the podcast.

During the actual recording, we had a guest speaker, Sam Han, to assist us in the production of the game. He contributed as an extra member of the podcast. We chose to do this because I purposely waited to play the game. Having a firsthand experience may offer unique benefits in terms of analysis, but has several drawbacks concerning a detailed explanation of the game. In bringing a new speaker onto the podcast, we hoped to make up for the lack in gaming experience.

Editing the podcast went smoother than expected. Majority of the editing was spent on trimming down audio when necessary to increase the overall flow and transition of the production and to cut down the length of the audio to the specified 10 minutes. By far, the learning objective that served most valuable was collaboration: having a new member meant that we had to collaborate and communicate with an extra person. We all worked together, both during and outside of production, to bring forth a quality podcast for the world to enjoy!