Seriously, we need to meet in person, not over screen
Last week, I heard my friend, who we’ll call Grant for anonymity, return from class, heavy footed and looking utterly defeated. At first I thought he was simply tired, but I realized he was returning from his video game design class, where him and a few of his classmates, a pair of animators, had been working on an idea he pitched to the class which was one of only a few accepted.
However, the class would no longer be advancing with his idea, as little progress was made before more projects were cut, and students were reassigned to what was left.
While he, as the programmer of the group, had been spending most of both his work and free time advancing his idea as far as possible, while his animators, practically did nothing.
The plan was for Grant to program, while the animators, we’ll call Bonnie and Clyde, created a total of seven models to use in their presentation which they had two weeks to prepare for. Clyde completed only one full model, and turned in one unfinished. Bonnie did not submit anything.
It appears to as if communication was an issue in the group, partly due to how there in person meetings went.
“Attendance isn’t required for the class, but it is a group oriented class where you are expected, many times, to work with your group members in and outside of class,” said Grant. He went on to tell me that in addition to meeting in person, their communication would weigh heavily on messaging apps while working throughout the weeks. Only Clyde showed up to class, while Bonnie frequently skipped, including on the day of their prototype presentation. Although Bonnie did occasionally respond to the group messages, Clyde only communicated during the in class meetings.
It does not feel coincidental that the only one that did any actual work, was the one that met in class instead of over screen. Face-to-face communication and meetings creates a sense of accountability that can easily be ignored if it is done through screens. It makes those working on projects feel more involved in it and passionate about what they are doing. So in Clyde’s case, there is certainly more of an accountability factor, and perhaps there were o
For Bonnie, it also goes back to what I touched upon in Dominic Boyer’s The Life Informatic in my last weekly piece. That while the jobs at the radio station in the news department were entirely screenwork dependent, not unlike the work done in this video game design class. Tt the very least though, being in close proximity to each other allowed for them to get that constant discourse between one another that challenges themselves and makes them feel more passionate about the project they are working on.
I am also curious as I continue my research, the distractions that may arise from screenwork. Is the fact they work on their computers part of the reason why so little got done? Did they make attempts to begin their work, and then get distracted by the wonders of the internet, like Facebook and Youtube?
