Creatures of Circumstance

MY ROLE:

My main role in the development of EchoUnderground was programmer. I would receive and collaborate on designs from Steff, Heather and Emma and then transform those designs to a digital interface.

Although this was my main role, alike everyone else, we were not restricted to this title. For example all members contributed in written documentation. For the practice run of the ARG I gave designing a turn and created the posters for the peace rally.

POSITIVE ASPECTS:

We had a great team for the development for this ARG. All members had varying skill sets and were given multiple opportunities to exploit their strengths. The length of time for this ARG definitely pushed my technical abilities. The ARG development time is scheduled in the middle of most student’s assessment timetables. This forces everyone to bring their best to the table. I’ve never had to learn so much about programming in such little time so that I could be a successful contributing member.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS:

This task was extremely challenging. To suddenly have to work at full speed to reach a deadline with other students is always difficult. For example, I find it difficult to show initiative in group tasks as I prefer more defined roles. However this experience changed my opinion. When testing the websites I had developed, Steff had imagined it differently and shared this view with Brian. Brian had a lot more programming experience than myself and thus was invaluable when evaluating my work.

The most negative aspect I experienced was immersing myself in the story of the ARG in time. It took me a while to understand another’s work in time, however Steff is an awesome leader and did a great job of keeping everyone on track. 

SKILLS I LEARNED/NEED TO WORK ON

I am a visual learner. During assessment week I have various visual stimuli alerting me graphically to upcoming tasks. Thus for future group tasks creating more Gantt charts etc, updating members tasks etc, would help me greatly.