Reponse to the Onride of Pirates of the Caribbean Shanghai

We were shown a full ride through of the Shanghai Pirates of the Caribbean ride. At first, when the ride was starting to move and there was narration/talking over still skeletons, I was starting to het very disappointed and thought it was going to be entirely like that, but then Jack Sparrow was magically brought from the skeleton and I immediately felt surprised and intrigued, even though I could barely understand what was going on. The animatronic work was fairly believable, much more impressive than I expected at first. The full screen parts were the most effective for me, as I'm sure in person they would take up more of my view and suck me into the experience much more.

However, there were some parts where the immersion was broken, and for an experience ride like this one, those parts were painful to sit through, such as the part where the screen up ahead was visible when changing. The audio work and music definitely helped, and was the most integral part of the whole experience, as even if the effects were stellar, without the audio and music it would have felt fake or fell flat.

I did not understand the language that was spoken, because I don't speak Chinese. Despite this obvious setback, the viewing was still really enjoyable and immersive for me, and it was definitely the audio work and immersive fullscreen parts that sucked me into the experience. It reminded me of the times I rode on the experience rides at theme parks, and how in that environment everything felt so much more real. Not being actually there makes my eye more critical of the flaws I see, and I think this ride would have effectively connected with me much better if I was there. The sense of adventure, the excitement throughout the ride, I felt some of it, even if it wasn't all of it. I have to really give props to the music honestly, the audio work made me feel things even if my brain was skeptic and unwilling to be truly immersed.

This experience, from what I've got it, was an adventure you were pulled along with viewer interaction. From an adaptive standpoint, the only true medium that has genuine audience engagement on a one on one basis is video games, and for this type of immersive experience, I would adapt this ride to Virtual Reality. The headset would seal in the eyes in darkness, and allow full control of what the person can or cannot see, making it easier to cater the experience for specifically one viewer.

The changes I would make are simple, more audience engagement, and if budget would allow, there would be a 4D seat for the player to sit in that would move in accordance to the movements shown in the VR scene. The animatronics would be replaced with real actors or CGI ones shown in the screen, and won't have to have that uncanny feel to them. It would feel quite real, but without danger of having water splash onto you. (Unless you wanted to have extra immersion, we could have someone with a water bucket on standby.) There would be more player engagement of course, more choices, input, control over where the boat is headed, etc. This would let there be a reason for some people to choose the VR ride version over the actual ride version, because if it was exactly the same, there would be not much novelty in trying out the VR version if there was already the same physical ride.

World of Wakanda Initial Proposal

We were given 15 acres of land and $1.5 Billion dollars to design a theme park after the concept of the nation of Wakana from Marvel's The Black Panther. The story for the theme park is that after the events of the movie, King T'Challa has opened up Wakanda to the outside world, sharing people it's technology, culture, and enlighten foreigners to the Wakandan way of life.

The central structure 'weinie' of the whole park will be the grand waterfall that is shown during the ceremony for the crowning of the King of Wakanda. This waterfall will be visible from anywhere in the park (besides indoor areas and underground areas), and will also make a water park attraction where visitors can cool off during especially hot days. Around this waterfall will be a simulation ride in which the visitors are shown the creation of Wakanda, it's rich history, and allow the viewer to be immersed deep within Wakandan's culture. This ride will take it's architectural theme from the Wakandan Palace, and the realm of spirits. The realm of spirits theme will be built around the waiting line of the attraction, decorating the area with an ethereal glow and the flowers that have lights in them, so they appear to shine.

The concept of multiple tribes in Wakanda also are showcased in their respective sections around the park. As you explore more of the theme park, you will be able to gather pins, symbols that signify you have associated and learned about that tribe. These pins can allow you to get specific reactions from certain areas of the theme park, much like how your score in the Star War's Millennium Falcon ride decides how you are treated in the bar. In addition to this interactivity concept, there will be necklaces like T'Challa wears available for sale, showcased in a laboratory like setting where merchandise with a more techlike vibe can be sold here. These necklaces can allow certain interactions around the park, much like the wands from the World of Harry Potter at Universal.

To tie together the theme of acceptance of differences and learning of other viewpoints, the park will have a memorial area for Killmonger in the park. This area will let people know of Killmonger's story and his motives for what he had done, but in a respectful manner. This area will satisfy the fans of the character, providing more content for the deceased character, while also staying in character of T'Challa, who ended up coming to terms with him, not forgiving him or anything but respectfully acknowledging his perspective and wishes.

Cuisine will be served in small shacks and also come with a themed restaurant serving African cuisine, the examples of which are jollof rice, plantains, etc. There will also be drinks themed after the purple flower drink, and alcoholic drinks for adults themed after the characters in the movie and other things. There will be vegan options available, along with gluten free to accommodate various dietary requirements.

Planet Panorama

This is a panorama of one of the environments my planet will contain. The ecosystem that is displayed contains a few very important creatures that all play their part.

Primary Producers: Liliac Blooms are the producers, and are characterized by their quantity and petals. They not only produce energy by absorbing light from the nearest sun, but also gather energy and power from the crystals that contain magical power. This is in turn, passed onto whoever consumes it.

Pollinator: Jeweled Flapper Bugs drink the sweet nectar from the flowers which gives their chitin shell a nice sleek shine like a jewel, giving them their name. They also pass pollen from flower to flower as they feed off of the nectar.

Primary Consumer: Ruby Eyed Igunara are the primary consumers, scurrying around and hunting flapper bugs to feed off of. They are very fast and are equipped with tongues that can not only sense vibrations from approaching predators or nearby prey, but their tongues are sticky to aid in hunting and also maneuvering their environment.

Secondary Consumer and Decomposer: Gargantuan Death Worms are named after their size and appearance rather than reality. They mostly prey upon small consumers such as the igunara and are known for digging holes deep underground. Their reproduction cycles take very long periods of time, and only emerge when prey is plentiful, otherwise stay deep underground for most times of the year. Their digestion is crucial to redistributing nutrients back into the soil. They say that every time a gargantuan death worm is killed without having laid any offspring, it foretells of a very harsh season for flora and fauna in that area, as worms usually stay in their respective territories, migrating being very rare.

Planet Skin

Using the power of random terrain and photos courtesy of NASA, I present to you... my planet skin!

I used a few pictures to construct the land mass, while using another image to have some interesting water. I'm not sure if I like it completely yet, so we will have to see how I feel after class and looking over it a bit more.

World Building Planet Ideas

For my world building planet, I want to focus on a planet that isn't just simply one biome, as many science fiction had "desert planet" and "snow planet", when you think of it, Earth isn't the largest planet ever but still manages to have multiple types of biomes and more than just a few species of life on it. It will be difficult to portray that much variety with my planet that I will be conceptualizing in a few weeks, so I will be downsizing from that concept.

Perhaps this planet has two main biomes, a colder biome that has their version of "snow" and "ice" and is mostly barren and a warmer, lusher biome that supports most of the life. I've wanted to incorporate magic into my world, but I have wanted it to focus on magic (perhaps its a type of science really) that is harnessed by effecting the crystals that contain energy. The main civilization/society I will be developing will have found means to harness this energy/magic, and thus developed as a species to progress in technology and society.

This source of magic and power wouldn't have let only these people progress, but have advanced the local flora and fauna as well. I have thought of certain more "primitive" races to coexist with this main one, but are in good relations as they do not waste time fighting rather interact regularly to share technology and ideas to help the others grow.

I've also thought this planet would harbor some more threatening natural occurrences, as the magic in this world will ebb and flow, almost like the phases of the moon and when the magic is too intense and strong, there will be storms or disasters that would be a constant regular threat to the people that live there. This is why the societies will have to develop ways to combat these occurrences, with the energy harnessed from the crystals.

World of Oz Map Assignment

Going off of my last entry on my character for the Oz universe, I made a map depicting where she would live in the world of Oz.

The town of Twinkinton has it's name originate from the twinkling of ruby ores found within it's deep mines. The town originally began as a small mining settlement, but expanded to become a busy town with many Quadling inhabitants. 

Due to it's proximity with Winkie Country, and the issue of the Wicked Witch that lived there, a tower was built to keep watch on the border, to make sure no thieves or criminals would ransack the town and pillage the wealth that it had amassed from it's mines. 

Soon after, Glinda the Good Witch would bestow the town with a protection spell in the form of her apprentice, the Witch Flora, who is tasked to protect it. She settled into the tower were she cast a powerful spell around the town, with her vision from the tower allowing her to see who would come in contact with it's borders. 

Many travelers stay at this town, as they are either going to Glinda's Palace from Winkie country, or going to Winkie Country itself. As the Wicked Witch's reign collapsed, so did the strict hold of the country and many more people travel back and forth between the two countries, bolstering the town of Twinkinton's business and economy.

World of Oz Character Exercise

For this exercise, I created the character "Flora, The Good Witch of the South-East". Her actual origins are unknown, but she was taken in by Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. She was raised by her, for Flora was a witch even though most do not know where witches come from. She was given the title of "South East" because Glinda stated she had found the child in the land of the East after the Wicked witch was removed from power. She has settled in a small castle on the Quadling country side of the border between nations, although her castle is very close to the border.

Flora is a calm and collected lady, with her powers she uses to help those she finds reason to believe that need her help. She tends to urge people to give up something in order to receive her help, which she excuses by saying "Every quest requires sacrifices, it will help you from relying on things you are too comfortable with, as they may be your flaw." Her help extends to how long she finds the people who are aiding her useful, which her help usually coincidentally runs out and the heroes strangely plummet to their doom or are mauled by viscous animals.

Her dress is adorned with sparkles and shiny things, typical of what you see from a Good Witch. However, her sleeves are long and her hands are hidden by them, in addition to dark gloves.

When Flora steps out of her house and faces East, she sees a country full of slaves, unknowing and willing to serve their ruler blindly. She faces the ruins of the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West, and thinks. She sees a country that has wrongfully mistreated a ruler who had united them and provided for them, and sees people who fail to see the truth. She is inspired to fix the broken and right the wrongs of the so called "do-gooders", and retain the legacy of those who have been blankly labeled as "evil".

When Flora faces South, she collects and gathers magic, knowledge, history of the Quadlings and of her mentor, Glinda. She learns and she discovers history that has been written by the victors, and finds magic that has been forbidden due to users being labeled as "evil". Magic is magic, and Flora wishes to use whatever magic to serve her intent, which is helping those in need. She sees the Land of Oz in need of her, to do what she thinks is best for the entire land.

When Flora faces West, she can gaze out towards Emerald City, a land of deception and foolishness, with citizens who believe they are happy and peaceful. She wants to tell everyone the truth, wether it will make them said or angry, it doesn't matter. They should be upset about being blinded, they should be furious from being hidden from the truth. Emerald City is a shining beacon of lies and a nation of beings who willingly surrender themselves to the power of deception.

When Flora steps closer to the North, she can see a small village in Winkie country. She watches as the workers gleefully work, mining, smithing, and laboring in the name of a violent and unstable ruler. She will ignite a flame of truth in the people, and if they fail to take suit, she will make it happen. Starting a revolution, or a war, something in pursuit of making things right. She will begin her quest here, a land she knows very well that can and will succumb to her plans.