Josh's Weekly Report from 2/23 - 3/1

What was planned? Getting the linked list and SuperArray classes implemented in the tool, allowing each body part to check itself for overlaps with dance moves of the same type.

What was done? Got the SuperArray class working with the linked list. Got all of my code to Evie and integrated into the project. Helped design the project class (for storing Dance's to be played, saved, and loaded) and wrote a document about it - which was added to the Tech Design Document. Got the drop down menu working (it actually allows you to choose songs).

Problems encountered? Not much to report this week. Still having trouble with the GUI on the windows platform.

What did you learn this week? As Evie said, Debug.Log is incredible. It allows you to write debug messages to the console.

What's planned for next week? Creating and implementing the Project class and the XML structure for storing Dance's. Also, setting up a more efficient sort method in the SuperArray class

Hours worked? 15 hours.

Thoughts On Creativity in Programming:
Measuring creativity is definitely a difficult endeavor.
I would definitely say that I feel most creative when I am in an environment that lends itself to creativity. The Global Game Jam is a good example of this; I was not present on campus, but I worked with my group remotely writing music and creating sound effects. It was alot of fun, and I felt very creative while doing my part (especially writing the music). I think was due to the open ended topic (i.e. not much restriction on what we had to do) and the severe time limit.
I also feel more creative when I am doing something creative, which may sound kind of circular. What I mean by that is that, if I am struggling with coding or designing a game or part of a game, I will play the imrovise some melodies on the piano, or sketch abstract pictures. When I return to the code, I am often inspired.
Coming up with a way to measure this feeling of creativity is tricky. Asking for a subjective measure of the person's feelings doesn't seem too effective (i.e. "on a scale from 1-10, how creative did you feel while...").
My first thought would be to ask a test participant who just played a game questions like, "how difficult was it for you to beat this level?", or "What thought process lead you to try your solution?" Similar questions could be asked of a game developer solving the problem of writing a particular method. Analyzing and categorizing the answers would be tedious and may not lead to siginificant results, but it's a thought.
That's all I've got. Hope it helps a little.