Reflection

Reflect on making this project. What did you learn? What would you do differently? Did you get where you wanted to? If not, why not? What do you need to get there, etc?

Of course our project is not perfect, but we feel that we achieved a version of our vision that enabled us to create a compelling story and conversation around the world we created.

We received very useful feedback from the zip-crit session in class. One of the most thought-provoking pieces of feedback was the idea that all of our memories were treated as similar objects with equal importance. We now notice that memories are all unique and therefore carry varied weights within a person. In future revisions we would likely be successful in capturing this in some way. One possibility is to have the speed of a lantern's ascension inversely related to how long a person spent reminiscing over a memory before placing it in the lantern. This would essentially mean that if someone were to spend a long time reflecting on a memory before ultimately letting it go, then the lantern would ascend into the sky very slowly. This effect could then be mirrored by the duration of the light effect on all of the Particle devices to allow a deeper level of empathy from others.

Another consideration for future revisions is to think more about how memories may be able to be taken back, or if they should be permanently inaccessible. If we did decide to allow memories to be taken back, then we imagine that the process would have to require some effort beyond just clicking a button. This would give the act of retrieval more meaning and hopefully cause the user to consider the potential consequences of opening old wounds.