Gotta face ‘em all: Pokémon, Japanese animated characters, and the emergence of playful visual animism

As a result of technological innovations and new cultural practices, the contemporary mediasphere is increasingly populated by digital(ized) faces. The phenomenon is not limited to human faces, but includes a vast universe of fictional animated faces, variously called ‘characters’, ‘mascots’ or ‘kyara’. In Japan, while certainly not new, kyara have been spreading thanks to globalization, digitalization and media-mix strategies. Through the connection between visual design, fictional narratives and socio-cultural consumption, kyara can be considered semiotic figures of in-betweenness, key symbolic mediators in the Japanese mediascape. Their anthropomorphic face design mediates the cultural boundaries between the human and the non-human, the animate and the inanimate, nature and culture. Furthermore, their post-modern narratives mix inspiration from the past and the present, from myths to science fiction. Lastly, they involve an encyclopedic reworking between fiction and reality, mythical references and secularization, between the domains of seriousness and playful make-believe. The article aims to explore the semiotic dimensions of kyara in contemporary Japan, with emphasis on their logic of representation and cultural outcomes. These will be investigated through the analysis of the Pokémon franchise, which will make it possible to describe the emergence of new semiotic patterns of ‘playful visual animism’ in the process of media facialization of everyday life.    &nbsp

Retailtainment: Popota fun experience

This project was developed in the context of master thesis, and it has the objective to develop a strategic marketing plan. In this respect, and applying the knowledge acquired over the last four years, it is developed the “Popota Fun Experience”, a retail toys store of a well-known character by Portuguese population. Popota Fun Experience is a retail store target to children and it is based in two important concepts: entertainment and education. Having said that, the main objective is to educate children while they are playing. It is a new retail store concept with a different positioning from the main competitors and that will stimulate the market growth. In order to support the opening of Popota Store, it is defined a marketing strategy and it is designed the retailing-mix variables.Este projecto foi desenvolvido no âmbito da tese de mestrado e tem como objectivo o desenvolvimento de um plano de marketing a nível estratégico. Neste contexto, e aplicando os conhecimentos adquiridos ao longo dos últimos quatro anos, é desenvolvida a “Popota Fun Experience”, a loja de brinquedos de retalho de uma personagem bastante conhecida pelos portugueses. A Popota Fun Experience é uma loja de brinquedos orientada para as crianças e tem como base dois importantes conceitos: entretenimento e educação. Desta forma, tem como principal objectivo educar as crianças enquanto brincam. É um novo conceito de loja com um posicionamento diferente dos principais concorrentes e que vai dinamizar e estimular o crescimento do mercado. De forma a suportar a abertura da loja da Popota, é definida a estratégia de marketing e são desenvolvidas as variáveis do retailing-mix

Computational design of skinned Quad-Robots

We present a computational design system that assists users to model, optimize, and fabricate quad-robots with soft skins. Our system addresses the challenging task of predicting their physical behavior by fully integrating the multibody dynamics of the mechanical skeleton and the elastic behavior of the soft skin. The developed motion control strategy uses an alternating optimization scheme to avoid expensive full space time-optimization, interleaving space-time optimization for the skeleton, and frame-by-frame optimization for the full dynamics. The output are motor torques to drive the robot to achieve a user prescribed motion trajectory. We also provide a collection of convenient engineering tools and empirical manufacturing guidance to support the fabrication of the designed quad-robot. We validate the feasibility of designs generated with our system through physics simulations and with a physically-fabricated prototype

Playful Materialities: The Stuff That Games Are Made Of

Game culture and material culture have always been closely linked. Analog forms of rule-based play (ludus) would hardly be conceivable without dice, cards, and game boards. In the act of free play (paidia), children as well as adults transform simple objects into multifaceted toys in an almost magical way. Even digital play is suffused with material culture: Games are not only mediated by technical interfaces, which we access via hardware and tangible peripherals. They are also subject to material hybridization, paratextual framing, and processes of de-, and re-materialization

Playful Materialities

Game culture and material culture have always been closely linked. Analog forms of rule-based play (ludus) would hardly be conceivable without dice, cards, and game boards. In the act of free play (paidia), children as well as adults transform simple objects into multifaceted toys in an almost magical way. Even digital play is suffused with material culture: Games are not only mediated by technical interfaces, which we access via hardware and tangible peripherals. They are also subject to material hybridization, paratextual framing, and processes of de-, and re-materialization

Playful Materialities

Game culture and material culture have always been closely linked. Analog forms of rule-based play (ludus) would hardly be conceivable without dice, cards, and game boards. In the act of free play (paidia), children as well as adults transform simple objects into multifaceted toys in an almost magical way. Even digital play is suffused with material culture: Games are not only mediated by technical interfaces, which we access via hardware and tangible peripherals. They are also subject to material hybridization, paratextual framing, and processes of de-, and re-materialization

Perancangan Karakter Mobile Game Bertemakan Sejarah Perjuangan Kemerdekaan Indonesia Sebagai Media Pendukung Pembelajaran Untuk Kelas Viii Smp Dengan Gaya Gambar Manga Super Deformed

Perancangan karakter mobile game bertema Sejarah ini berdasarkan hasil data jajak pendapat koran Kompas 9 Juli 2010 dan kuesioner kepada 155 siswa SMPN 1 dan SMPN 6 Surabaya bahwa terjadinya penurunan minat dan minimnya pengetahuan terhadap Sejarah Indonesia dikarenakan pengajaran yang konvensional dan hal tersebut bertolak belakang dengan metode tematik yang diberlakukan pada Kurikulum 2013 dimana pembelajaran Sejarah tidak lagi sefokus dan sedalam sebagaimana seharusnya. Karena itu untuk membuat Sejarah menjadi bagian gaya hidup bagi siswa adalah dengan pemanfaatan aplikasi teknologi dalam pendidikan sebagai salah satu media interaktif yang menggabungkan hiburan dengan pelajaran. Gaya visual Manga Super Deformed pada game memiliki range umur yang lebih luas sehingga diterima baik dengan target audiens maupun masyarakat. Metode pada perancangan ini menggunakan kuesioner, FGD, dan wawancara untuk pengambilan sampling, pengembangan konsep dan proses desain, dan uji coba rancangan yang dibuat; yang dilakukan kepada 155 siswa SMP, Guru Sejarah SMP, Pengamat Game, 2D Game Artist, dan Illustrator. Serta studi visual diperoleh berdasarkan hasil observasi baik pada game serupa dan mengunjungi museum, dan studi pustaka sebagai hasil referensi untuk proses mendesain karakter yang digunakan dalam game, khususnya desain karakter utama, yaitu Pahlawan Nasional. Hasil perancangan berupa karakter mobile game Sejarah dengan mengadapasi gaya gambar Manga Super Deformed yang diimplementasikan baik dalam in-game maupun ilustrasi, dinyatakan mampu memberikan dampak positif dengan menampilkan visual yang berbeda namun dapat dengan mudah dikenali oleh siswa karena setiap karakter masih memperlihatkan keunikan tersendiri ============================================================================================== The Character design for mobile game with Indonesian Battles for Independence as themed was based on polling result that published by Kompas July 9, 2010 and a questionnaire to 155 students of SMPN 1 and SMPN 6 Surabaya that Lack of interest and lack of knowledge of the history of Indonesia due to conventional way of teaching and it is contrary to the thematic method that imposed on the History Curriculum in 2013 where learning is no longer as focused and as deep as it should be. Therefore, to make history to be part of education or lifestyle for students through the use of technology applications in education by using it as one of the interactive media that combines entertainment with learning. The goal is to increase student’s interest in the National Heroes and making history more understandable in a more enjoyable manner. Use Manga Super Deformed as visual style in the game has a wider age range that was well received by the target audience and the community. Research conducted by questionnaires, focus group discussions, and interviews method for the sampling, concept development and design process, and test the designs; committed to the 155 junior high school students, History Teacher, Observer Game, 2D Game Artist, Character Designer, and Illustrator. As well as visual studies is obtained based on the observation such as similar games and visiting museums, and literature as a result of a reference to the process of designing the characters used in the game, especially the design of the main character, which is a National Hero. The results of character design for mobile game with Historical themed with Manga Super Deformed style implemented either in the in-game as well as illustrations, otherwise be able to make a positive impact with different visual displays but can be easily recognized by students as each character has retained its own uniquenes