Class 2: Feedback & Critique

Due This Week

First prototype
Project journal started

Class Resources

Miro Board

Keyword Exercise

1. Words that describe my thesis:


memory	experience	body	sensation	Embodied Memory
preservation	Spatial Memory	interaction	engaging	perspective
3DGS	Virtual Reality	Immersive Experience	sound	Digital Heritage
share	space	reflection	Micro Gesture Interaction	Digital Archive
replication	explore	agency

2. Thematic Clusters:

Life	Form	Sensation	Objective
memory	3DGS	blur	Digital Heritage
experience	Virtual Reality	dream	Cultural Preservation
sensation	visual graphics		perspective
body	sound		explore
share	Hand Tracking		perception
	Thermal Haptics		reflection
	Spatial Audio
	Multi-sensory Experience
	Haptic Feedback

3. My 5 Main Keywords:


experience	memory	reflection	interaction	relationship

System Architecture

Three Domains:

Conceptual	Virtual	Physical
personal meaning	vr content	vr or mr
cultural meaning	3d space	airlink
	vr headset	standalone
	hand-tracking	webxr
	camera?

Components:

memory playback system — core concept
store memory — capture and archive
interaction — how users engage
capture — input method (camera?)

My Progress

Prototype Work

This week I focused on technical experiments to verify the pipeline:

3DGS Relighting - Tested XVerse Plugin in UE5.5
- Issues: quality loss after format conversion, model breaks with relight enabled
VR Integration - Meta Quest 3 with hand tracking
- Micro gesture: pinch left thumb to teleport
- Works well, inspired new direction
Third-person walkthrough - Testing different perspectives
- Need to compare with first-person VR

See Week 1 Documentation for full details.

Emerging Direction

Memory Editor & Playback System

Interact with spatial memory like video (play, pause, rewind)
Research 4DGS for temporal capture
Micro gestures for timeline control

Multi-sensory Integration

Haptics (heat) - thermal feedback for emotional recall
Spatial audio - soundscape as part of memory

Notes

Conceptual Distinction: Archive vs Revisit vs Edit

Term	Meaning	Implication
Archive	Preservation	Static, unchanged
Revisit	Personal return	For self, experiential
Edit	Adjust for sharing	Implies audience, like editing a post before publishing

Insight: “Edit” carries a connotation of preparing for others — color grading, trimming to watchable length. It’s not wrong, but it’s different from personal revisiting.

Two possible use cases:

Context	Purpose	Interaction
Personal Revisit	Return to your own memory	Play/pause, timeline scrub, change perspective
Edit for Sharing	Let others experience it	Color grade, trim, add narrative structure

Questions to explore:

Memory for self vs. Memory for others — are these fundamentally different?
When a memory is “edited” for others, is it still the same memory?
Does the act of editing change your relationship to the memory?

Lecture Notes

CM (Camila Morales) - Thesis Mapping

Schedule Reminders:

Demo Day: March 11 (one month away)
Papers due: April 13
Final critiques: May 6
Showcase: May 7
Design line opens tomorrow - get certifications/trainings done

Thesis Mapping Exercise:

Start with 5 main keywords that describe your thesis
Stream of consciousness writing - be playful
Physical writing (sketchbooks) can help vs. typing
Create maps showing hierarchies and relationships between words
Early table of contents helps identify research gaps

CM’s Thesis Story (RISD 2013):

Interactive architecture - technology embedded in architecture, not applied
Her column installation broke the night before thesis presentation
Key lesson: Don’t be afraid of failure - she still succeeded because of all the prototypes and documentation
The work continued after graduation - the failed piece eventually made it to a gallery

“Think about the work you’re doing now as the very beginning of the rest of your creative practice.”

“Being able to feel comfortable in failure is the biggest asset any student can have.”

MFG (Matt Griffin) - Three Domains

Core Concept: You’re making things three times

Domain	Description	Example (3D Printing)
Conceptual	Planning, decisions, requirements	Decide what to make
Virtual	Design, templates, digital models	Create in CAD software
Physical	Execution, material, final form	Print with specific material/settings

Exercise: Break down your project components across three domains

Identify blockers and decisions that delay future steps
Find the path from concept to physical result

Provocative Questions:

What is the most complex component of your project?
- What functional role does it play?
- What happens if you don’t succeed in making this?
- → Maybe simplify if it’s decorative, not essential
What single decision is delaying the most future steps?
- Can you make that decision right now?
- Imagine making a “crazy choice” and carry it through
- → Helps recognize your internal rudder
What component is the easiest to complete?
- Can you complete it today?
- If not, is there something easier you can do today?
- → Build momentum, unblock yourself

Key Advice:

Material selection is always key - don’t wait to decide
Identify “gotchas” - things that will unexpectedly take more time
Talk to instructors about fabrication processes, especially if parts are new to you

Note on “Material Selection” for digital/VR projects: For physical fabrication, this means choosing materials early (PLA vs resin vs metal). For VR/digital projects, the equivalent decisions are:

Platform: Quest standalone vs. PC VR (Airlink)
3DGS tools: PostShot vs. other training software
Interaction: hand tracking vs. controllers
Distribution: WebXR vs. native app

These foundational choices affect everything downstream — decide early so iterations stay focused.

Feedback Received

(To be filled during/after class)

Next Steps

Prepare questions for one-on-one meeting (Week 3)
Research 4DGS tools and pipelines
Continue prototyping interaction gestures
Start project journal documentation

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