The Road To Olympus

For the second action project of my Electives course, Game Changers, we were asked to showcase the games we created. Some games were solo and some games were duo-created. I had a partner who just so happened to be a great visual artist. Since I have a very creative mind as well, our partnership came to be very successful. We created a Greek Mythology themed game, where Hades has sent 7 demigods to the underworld and they must make their way up to Mount Olympus. Hades has put several different creatures on the road in hopes of tethering the young heroes, but 3 demigods must win! The process of creating this game was time-consuming and really fun! The most difficult thing about this project was definitely the creative part; specifically looking at the lore of the story, and the abilities and roadblocks. Our project was very well-thought-out and has really gotten better over the last couple of weeks. I hope you guys like it!

Our quick elevator pitch: Hello I am DR and my partner is NVA and together we have created the game, Road To Olympus, a Greek Mythology game where you can play as one of 7 demigods. Hades has captured these 7 demigods and now they must make their way back to Olympus. They must go through 5 creatures the Sphinx, the Cyclops, the Hydra, the Minotaur, Medusa, and Hades himself to get to Olympus. They can pray to the gods to help them, but their prayers can be heard by any god, even Hades. Only 3 of the demigods can be victorious in making it to Olympus.

Below is a slideshow, showcasing our failures and successes throughout the creation process:

Below is a video, explaining gameplay more in depth:

The game-creating process is no joke. This class has really showed me that some games were a lot harder to create than they are to play. Even with our almost pure random game, the experience was just really hard. I enjoyed every second of working with my partner, but we did struggle, and there's beauty in the struggle. If you ever feel as if you are struggling, then that means you are improving. The hardest thing that we had to overcome was making sure there was smooth gameplay. We wanted a very balanced game. It was very important to us that the consumer is happy. If whoever is playing the game, thinks it is genuinely unfair. then we were open to feedback. Feedback was huge in creating our game. We had feedback that spanned from our classmates to professional game developers. This made our drafts a lot easier to create because we just tried to solve every problem that we encountered. My partner and I are extremely happy you guys took time to look at our game. We truly did put our all into creating this game. When people are having fun playing it, it actually means the world to us! The Road to Olympus stemmed from our love for Greek Mythology and for just have a good time. Our 7 player game is more fun, the more people that play, and we would really suggest it to anyone! Let creativity prosper and create your own game! Games are more than rolling dice and moving. This project has taught me that.

Some Afterschool Fun

For the first action project of my Game-changers course, we were asked to create a scenario and choose the correct game to fit that situation. Throughout the unit, we analyzed a bunch of different games to then write notes on those games. In the notes, we described the game in grave detail, pinpointing the things that work and the struggles of the game. We also discussed what a game was. We came to the conclusion that a game played with only one player is no longer a game; it is actually a puzzle. This project was actually really cool, but quite difficult. It took me a long time to complete this project because of my passion for video games. I wanted to make sure I could share some of my favorite games with my recommendee while making sure it meets the requirements of the situation. I ended up recommending Spades and Chess. Both of these games are some of my favorites and I'm happy that I got a chance to look deeper into these games, and take on the role of a game designer. I really enjoyed creating this project for you guys! I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

The classroom setting that I chose was a very simple one. In middle school, after school was a huge part of my life, both emotionally and academically. I met my best friend in after school, as well as some people who helped me turn into the man I am today. After school is a place of fun, but I tried to also make the games stimulating.

Here's a link to my Stat Sheet so that you can think about my games from an analytic point-of-view: Stat Sheet

I chose two games: Chess and Spades. I think they both are great fits for this setting. Chess is more stimulating than Spades, but in most cases, it is less fun. However, Spades is, in most cases, more fun than Chess so they are both great fits, but they lack some of what the other game has. Thinking about the age group I am trying to panther to; I believe that fifth-eighth graders (11-14) would have a lot more fun playing spades. The best part is that all they need is a deck of cards and a surface!

Future Plans

The second and last action project for my STEAM course, Economics, we were asked to create a financial portfolio. Throughout this unit, we learned quite a lot about the difference between a good stock and bad stock. We were specifically given a figurative amount of approximately $50 thousand to invest into stocks and bonds over a certain span of years. I ended up choosing Dollar Tree and Ulta because I used these companies' products a lot growing up, and I really remember their name more than most other companies. We also had to invest our money and set our goals pertaining to the SMART rule; Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Relevant/Reasonable, Time-bound. This project was very heavy and it was not easy to fully understand what I had to do, but I got through it! I would say that my favorite part was studying the stocks and comparing their recent and not-so-recent activity to help me choose which stocks I wanted to invest in. I hope you enjoy looking at my project as much as I enjoyed creating it for you!

For this project, we had to really analyze the market to determine what companies we wanted to invest our financial life into. I am not scared of a little risk; no one should be. According to the Investment Risk Tolerance Quiz, I have a high-risk tolerance. The results are below:

The scenario given to us is as follows: "18 years ago, your guardian angel set up a college savings plan for you with an initial investment of $8,500. Your angel contributed $50 each month to the college savings plan ($600 yearly). After 18 years at an average annual interest rate of 7%, compounded annually, the plan is now worth a hefty lump sum. Yesterday, you cashed out your plan and deposited the money in a brokerage account to invest on your own." My SMART goals are presented below:

• 1-year goal: Go on a trip with my closest friends to California before college departure ($2,500)

• 5-year goal: Move into a place I can call my own ($80,000) 

• 25-year goal: Have accumulated money for over 24 years and I wish to be debt free and have money to open up my own recording studio ($1,000,000)

What drew me to these companies the most, is that they stay out of the news, and it doesn't seem like they put their workers through harsh conditions. I choose morality over profit when investing in companies because I wouldn't want to be a part of something whereas I can't sleep at night, but I'm making money. I love a business that is for the people and not just for the profit, although I still love the profit.

Dollar Tree:I chose Dollar Tree because it's prominently known in the neighborhood I live in. The economic moat of Dollar Tree is their ability to maintain $1 prices throughout their stores. Centered in tough parts of the city, aiming to help people with less money and are very useful for those with money as well. $1 prices are always great for everyone! Dollar Tree, with an estimated 2016 growth of 40.7%, is well known for it's exceptionally reasonable prices and will never fail to impress the stock market. Nothing but growth in the near future!

Ulta: I chose Ulta because they have a large brand, and are known around the world as the cosmetics brand. Growing up, all I saw was Ulta brand cosmetics. Makeup will never die. I only see this company expanding from now on. Ulta has a projected 2016 growth of 18%, and they have an annual revenue of over $3.5 billion dollars!

One of the most important things in this business is the profit. My Return On Investment (ROI) is presented below:

For one year:

(Total: $2,548.65)'

21 shares of DLTR for $1,579.41  ($75.21 each stock) 62%

4 shares of ULTA for $969.24  ($242.31 each stock) 38%

ROI:

.62 x .2829 +

.38 x .1877

=.246724

=24.7%

total x 1.247 = $3,178.17

For five years:

(Total: $14,430.22)

46 shares of DLTR for $3,459.66 24%

45 shares of ULTA for $10,903.95 76%

ROI:

.24 x .2829 +

.76 x .1877

=.210548

=21.1%

total(1.211)5th power = 1.62961673e21

For twenty-five years: 

(Total: $32,216.51)

41 shares of DLTR for $3,083.61 10%

120 shares of ULTA for $29,077.20 90%

ROI:

.10 x .2829 +

.90 x .1877

=.19722

=19.7%

total(1.197)25th power = 4.51144909e114

With a leftover amount of $55.70.

There's something called a stock sector. A stock sector is how we organize different companies into categories, such as Disney being an entertainment company, etc. I chose to focus on primely retail trade stock sectors. I love the retail business. I think the idea of creating stuff cheap and selling it higher, is smart because if people need it, they will buy it, regardless of the price it cost to create that good.

References:

"Dollar Tree, Inc." NASDAQ.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. Staff, Investopedia. 

"How To Use The P/E Ratio And PEG To Tell A Stock's Future." Investopedia. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.

"Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragran." Vuru. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.

"Our Story – ULTA Beauty Careers." Our Story – ULTA Beauty Careers. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.

"DollarTree.com." Dollar Tree, Inc.: Floral Supplies, Party Supplies, Cleaning Supplies. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.

"The Dollar Tree" Vuru. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.

The Man Who Can Do It All

For the second action project of my Journalism class, we were asked to pick someone from the 20th century, that we thought had a powerful voice. This person could be alive or dead. I chose Will Smith because I believe that his music is very underrated and his acting career overshadowed his musical talent. We were also asked to focus on radio-journalism so we used podcasts to portray our message. Although. the podcast did take a long time to complete, I think I'm pretty satisfied with the result. We were also required to create a script. This was not a easy task, but I was up for the challenge. I liked this project because it allowed me to use the creative bone in my body. Anything that allows me to be creative, I'm usually open to, and I opened up to this project and exposed myself to new things. I would suggest this project as a leisure type of thing to do because it's very relaxing and you can get your creative juices flowing while learning more about your favorite people in the world.

WHEN	WHO/HOW	WHAT
0:00 0:30 0:30 1:14	[Fresh Prince] [Me/end (Summertime snippet ends)] [The Fresh Prince- Parents Just Don't Understand Snippet/end] [Me/end (The Fresh Prince- Parents Just Understand Snippet)] THE END	*Snippet of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song plays* *Snippet of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song ends* Me (Snippet of Summertime by The Fresh Prince): This is Sean and I’m here on Sean Rivers radio to talk about Will Smith and his impact on the youth, specifically talking about his rap career in the 80s. I feel like Will Smith is prominently known for his acting career, and a lot of people call him a sell out because he didn’t continue rap. Was it for a pay check? Or was Will’s passion for acting stronger than his passion for music? Nevertheless, Will Smith has produced quite a lot of quality music and has made many movies a worth-while watch! Today I will be telling you guys, just how important Will Smith is to me, as a teenager. Will: There's no need to argue, Parents Just Don't Understand. Me: We have Nick here on SEAN RIVERS radio. Hey Nick, how you doing? Nick: Good, you? Me: I'm doing great. I just had a few questions for you. Of course we're here to talk about Will Smith and how important he was to us as teenagers, we are growing up now. In the 80s he was a rapper though, why is he important to you? Nick: He's important to me because I feel like his music resonated with me a lot and the way he tried to make it so relatable to the everyday teenager and that kind of stuff and how he was on Fresh Prince and his acting career and all of it was just so great and seeing him progress in that kind of way. The Fresh Prince: Mom what are ya doing, you'll ruin my rep. She said you're only 16, you don't have a rep yet. Me: Have you ever went to school in an outfit that your parents forced you to wear? Example? Nick: Not exactly a full outfit, but I remember my mom bought me these horrible pants and she made me wear them because she loved them (The Fresh Prince: she said if they were laughing, you don't need 'em cuz they're not good friends) so much and she got them at such a cheap price that I was forced to wear them, even though I hated them and it did not go with my style of the day at all. Me: I know how that feels! The Fresh Prince: You go to school to learn, not for a fashion show. Me: Has your mom ever yelled at you for something really minor? Nick: Oh, all the time, like of course. I feel like that's something that all parents do at some point. Me: Well, you ever do something and get into a lot of trouble with your parents? Nick: I have before. I remember I was playing with Nerf guns or something and I shot it at my dad and he all of a sudden got so angry at me. He stood up and started yelling at me. I didn't even do anything that much. It's crazy because parents, they just don't get it sometimes. The Fresh Prince: That was a hard ride home, I don't know how I survived it. They took turns, one was beating me while the other one was driving. Me: Thank you Nick, for coming on SEAN RIVERS radio. Nick: Thanks for having me, man! Me: Will Smith, born on September 25th, 1968, was an inspiration and voice of the teens. I love to watch his growth as an actor and I’m very happy I get to listen to his older raps because it helps me through my teenage years! Those parents tho….. The Fresh Prince: Can't live wit 'em, can't live without 'em!

Economic Dilemma

For the first action project of my senior year in my Economics class, we were asked to map out two different post-high-school paths. One of my paths is the typical 4-8 years of university, to get my Bachelors or Masters in Economics, ironic enough. My other path is pursuing a music career, which could very much make me rich at the cost of college experience and plenty of time. I used the google spreadsheet to map out my cost for school each year and my salary each year after college, to see my lifetime earnings. I also included how long it would take me to pay off all my debt according to my predicted salary. I had a lot of fun doing this project, but it is definitely one of the hardest projects I have ever done. Google spreadsheet is not an easy program to tackle.

Explain Life In 1000 Words If Possible

For the first action project of my Journalism class, we were asked to essentially define the meaning of life in 1000 words. We also had to get some help with answering this question. I chose to interview my cousin, Darius. I chose Darius because he is one of the most insightful people I know, and we just so happen to be very close. We were also asked to take a picture of our subject, which is more connected to the course itself if you think about photo-journalism. There's different types of journalism though; photo-journalism and newspaper editors are just two examples of journalism. I had just a little bit of difficulty writing the 1000 words because this assignment is very open-ended, and I didn't have many guidelines to go by. Conceptually, this project is one of the greatest I've ever had and I had a great time digging deep down into my brain.
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What would you do if you were asked to define life? For some, this question may be quite straightforward, but for others, this question may be very difficult to tackle; I am one of those people. My views on things of this nature are normally anything but straightforward because I'm such an open-minded individual. Nevertheless I am still stubborn so majority of the time when I believe something, I'm not looking back. This project, and my cousin was an eye-opening experience. Questions like, "what's the meaning of life," are what actually gets my brain working, and makes me feel like I have to dig deep to answer them. "What's the meaning of life," is probably one of the most open-ended questions ever; I could say that this question is the most open-ended question ever.

My subject's name is Darius, and he is quite the character. My cousin's views are always different and insightful. As soon as the question for this project arose, I knew exactly who I wanted to interview because my cousin loves to preach to me about his mistakes, and how I can avoid making the same ones. As I have gotten older, he has proven as a really big role model for these stages in my life. Darius' opinions are very abstract, in a sense where you really understand him after you have thought for awhile. Although, most times Darius can be very straightforward, his mind is anything but that.

Since you have pretty much met my interviewee, I would like to show you all what happened when I presented him a couple questions, surrounding what the meaning of life is. When my subject was asked, "what's the meaning of life, in your opinion," Darius responded, "No meaning to it until you put one on it, can’t generalize the meaning of life because it’s different from person to person just live it." Just from his first answer, I knew this would be a great interview. The answer he gave was very expected, and I loved it because it really was a good intro into the interview. My second question was for him was, "has life always meant the same for you, or did this meaning change to you and why," and Darius said, "I always knew life is what you make it, just in the process of learning the full extent of it." Then there was that answer I was awaiting the whole time; when I asked him for a story that explains his view of the meaning of life, he then responded with, "Umm.. I was born in 1993, it’s 2016. 1+1 always equals 2." I wanted to ask him to elaborate on this statement so bad, but I believe it's better off not explained, and thought about. The meat of the interview began to saute when I asked the question, "what image would represent this meaning of life - would it be you yourself, something of yours with sentimental value, a favorite book, etc, and would you please describe it?" My subject then responded with,"the seasons. Life is like the seasons. As far as growth and its representation, you can’t be specific because it means different things from person to person. Just like a stop light or 100 cent means different things to different people, depends on how deep you want to look into it. But when you reflect on what those things mean, it’s a representation of ourselves as well. First thing that comes to mind when I answered seasons is change, process, and progress which is what I’m going through. Any analogy can apply to anyone at any point in time, just a matter of what part we are going through. We can be as deep as in what specific season and its meaning or just as general as the season itself and let you imply what you wish. Life is everything and nothing at the same time, depends on how deep you want to look at something or how shallow you wish to be." I want to stop here for a moment because there's a lot of stuff going on here, in this answer. My subject says that life is like the seasons, and he continues to explain the importance of point-of-view. He flexes change, process, and progress as his main support for answering "the seasons."

Fortunate enough, I have more questions; they are not going to be the same as the last ones. The following questions are going to get a lot more personal. I started this series of questions with what I would say, is the most important question of them all, "how important is money to you." as Darius answered very straightforwardly, "money is essentially one of the most important things in life. In order to do things or not, it usually comes down to finance. Most of life’s decisions come down to money and the ability to acquire it or spend it." I then tried to dig deeper; I asked him if there would ever be one thing in the past he would have did differently and he said that he wish he never would have realized being untrue to himself because it's one of those bad habits that are hard to shake now, as he gets older. I asked my subject two more questions; one of those questions was, "would you risk your life for your family's," and he responded with "indeed." My last question was quite the outro; I asked him "would you rather have a better life now or a better life later," and he responded with, "later, because life would be worse later otherwise."

DR. "Darius" (2016)

Above, is a photo of my cousin Darius where I just asked him to turn around and snapped a photo of him. I wanted to capture the emotion and full persona of him. I interviewed him in the living room and took this photo in the dining room where there was a bit better lighting. I tried to focus on him in the photo and blur out the background, but it was hard because my photo was sudden and not prepared. You can see the emotion of Darius, a bit of a faint smirk with a very serious face, capturing who he is as a person. The photo came out not as perfect as I would have thought, but I'm still proud of what I depicted in the photo.

Lake Redline Renovations

For the last action project of my Urban Planning course (the last STEAM course of my Junior year), we were asked to pick a street that we wanted to redesign. I chose the street that’s home to the Lake Redline stop. I chose the Lake Redline stop (188 N State) because in the last few years, I have frequently gone down this street to get to and from school. Now, of course, in many cases there are a lot of improvements to be made involving infrastructure and urban planning, but I have only have a few. I honestly love this street and I feel like architects did a great job acknowledging the surrounding buildings and places around the Red Line location. The name of this unit is “Flow” because it was basically about the flow of a city. I learned a number of terms, such as Eminent Domain and Redlining. Eminent Domain is when the government forces someone out of their property against their will, while paying them money to cover moving. Redlining is when the government denies services to certain areas based on ethnic/racial background. I feel as if this project is quite clear and easy to understand so I’m happy that this project was pretty fun.

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The area I tried renovating is located on 188 N State in Chicago, IL. This street is mainly used for the Red Line, transferring from line to line, attractions for tourists & citizens, and jobs. This popular place is full of opportunity and I believe it could use more restaurants and more civilian-friendly things, such as seats and mobile charging stations. That's essentially what I tried to tackle as an architect of this space. I tried to make this space more citizen-friendly.

The space I chose is shaped like a rectangular. The length of this rectangle is 374ft and the width is 110ft. The area of a rectangle is length X width. 374 X 110 = 41140ft (squared). Below I will show a diagram of this space and I've labeled a few things I found wrong with it.

DNR "Issues with Lake Red Line Area," Web. 24 May, 2016.

Below I have a diagram that I created, highlighting the changes that I will try to make to this space. I chose the same layout to explain my improvements so the scales are similar.

DNR "Resolved Issues with Lake Red Line Area," Web. 24 May, 2016.

My designs were inspired by one area. I was definitely inspired by the idea of mobile charging stations, which I learned about from the AT&T mobile charging stations in New York City. My other inspiration is also from New York, where Metropolitan Transportation Authority created better looking and much safer train grates for New Yorkers with high heels and others.

Below is my 3D model of the improvements I chose to make. In my model you will see a number of different structures and shapes. The light grey boxes are representative of the 3 buildings and the one wedge shaped building is my new gas station design, with the small rectangle shaped structures in front being gas tanks. The two small white shapes represent the new and improved clear train grates. The three small yellow pyramids represent some of the seating arrangements. The one cylinder represents one of the mobile charging stations.

The volume of the seats (pyramids) in my 3D model is: height: 11mm X length: 11mm X width: 20mm/3 = 806.67mm (cubed). The volume of my charging station (cylinder) in my 3D model is: height: 11mm X radius: 10mm (squared) X pi = 3455.75mm (cubed).



There’s a concept called “T.H.I.S” that I will briefly address. T stands for transportation, and my improvements relate to transportation because of the renovation of the Lake Redline area and my idea of blocking off the alley for safer bike commutes. H stands for housing, and my improvements relate to housing because the Lake redline is transportation to an assortment of different homes for Chicago civilians and even hotels for visitors. I stands for infrastructure, and my improvements relate to infrastructure because I plan on implementing charging stations which requires an alternating current system to carry power far distances. S stands for services, and my improvements relate to services because the charging stations will require an electricity company to make it happen.

First I thought about the traffic that would generate from there being a gas station and no alleys, but then I thought that maybe I could only make one alley for bikes only. I learned after a while that this street isn’t as perfect as I once thought. Next time, I would definitely look into making the charging stations cost money, just to make more money.