Tinkering with Blubbo - no plan forward, but backward trace the binary decisions

Theme: Tinkering

Context:

This was influenced by the binary choice representations used in Netflix's Bandersnatch and the traditional binary decision tree used in statistics.

Method: 

Iterate through adaptations with the moving blob: make two options then choose one. Next take this one and make two options then choose one. The iterations were mapped in googles flowchart draw.io, and the adaptations were made in Unity. Each iteration was led by what was fun to watch, without any target or planned end state.

Response:

This was an invaluable learning exercise. I realised my creative process is rushed, if I'm not happy with a change I'm rushing to undo it and do something else. This means I'm missing out on the opportunity to reflect and figure out what's not working before I decide to do something else. The final option with the light trails was ugly, but backtracking one step gave me time to think about what I wanted to achieve. I discovered I wanted to achieve a sense of past movement, this is something I could try to do with particle effects if I do further iterations. 

Simplifying the design choices into a binary choice achieved the desired effect of slowing down my decision process. This is a tool I'll continue to use when I feel I'm falling into a patter of making design changes without making progress.

I've also learnt that I was feeling dismayed that it takes me a long time to get somewhere. This negative emotional response is tempered with a visual traceback of the things I've tried. Following the fun pathways was both rewarding and surprisingly productive.