Client Brief:
The corn-water-ethanol-beef (CWEB) system requires large amounts of freshwater resources and energy and has a large environmental footprint in terms of wastewater and greenhouse gas emissions. The overall goal of this work is to develop an educational immersive simulation game to enhance understanding of the complex interactions of the CWEB system nexus through outreach activities including 4-H programs, partnerships with high school teachers, and engagement of undergraduate students and the public. Specific objectives and tasks for reaching that goal include:
(1) Develop a simplified integrative CWEB model from existing individual sub-models and datasets that describes the complex dynamic interactions of the CWEB system. This will require evaluating and compiling existing data and sub-models of the CWEB system thoroughly, linking sub-models and utilize game theory to understand coupling of these models with social, economic, and environmental effects utilizing game theory to understand the coupling of these models with social, economic, and environmental effects; and validating the models for coupling based on historical data and events to analyze different scenarios to better understand their interconnectivity.
(2) Build an educational immersive simulation game to enhance understanding of the dynamics of the CWEB system. This will require designing a simulation game framework; and developing an educational immersive simulation game.
(3) Prepare FEW educational materials and conduct outreach activities to 4-H programs, high school teachers, undergraduate students, and the public. This will require conducting outreach activities to educate K-12 students through 4-H programs; providing curriculum materials, training, and support to high school teachers for incorporation into their agriculture vocational educational programs; and integrating experiential learning activities into the “Food, Energy, and Water (FEW) in Society” minor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Justin Smith Morrill Scholars program.
Expected outcomes include an immersive simulation game, a simplified integrated model, and educational materials for 4-H, high school, and undergraduate students.
>>Full client brief can be found here.
Personal Thoughts + Process
At first I was pretty excited about this project because we got to make a video game, something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid. However as time went on, it was soon clear that the game stage was in the very beginning and we had to come up with the very foundation. It was a little frustrating, but overall I enjoyed working on this project with my group and I think the end product was very well done.
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Logo
The logo was initially made with a combination of two group members ideas.
Digital Iterations
Finalized Logo
The end product ended up rotating the balance of black to white to add a more approachable look, the original inspiration behind this logo was corn ears, in which we took to a different approach.
Loading Animation
I first had an idea of using the main icon that holds together this logo as a sort of center piece. Then taking the color gradiant that confines 2050 and used that as a spiral-like loading animation, similar to other loading animations found on the web and in video games.