Week Three - Finding a Company

Finding a Company

So, now that I have my idea and proceeding with the implementation of a network as my project. My next task is to find a business willing to listen to my ideas, allow me to come into their company and start spending their money.

So Monday I decided to create an advert which I could then advertise on social media and take to local business’s, I’ve never been known for being an artist so I kept my project poster brief and simple by creating it in MS PowerPoint.

I then contacted a local computer repair company (Cavalier Computer Services), and asked if they could post my advert on Facebook and twitter. Fortunately, they were happy to do this for me, I wasn’t until Wednesday that I had a response from a local company wanting to invest in some new IT hardware, they also required an emailing platform and printing. The company was actually a piano teaching business that teacher’s pupils to play the piano, I asked why would a teaching company need a small network setting up? The owner replied with… “We also sell piano’s, music and accessories, we also have a payment system we need setting up online, we are currently paper based but would prefer if we could send invoices via email.” I took some notes down of what the owner was after and arranged to set up a meeting for Sunday morning (29^th October 17), in my next post I will be able to update the blog with exactly what the owner of the piano company is after, we will be able discuss costings and time frames.

email sent from R. Carter -> 28/10/17

I later phoned Mrs. Carter to Confirm the meeting for the 29th.

Week Two - Decided Project Idea

Decided Project Idea


Over the past week I have been thinking about which idea I will be using for my project, the three ideas I originally put forward was the game, the website and finally the network. I have narrowed my project ideas to just two, these being the network and the game.

I have decided to not go ahead with the website as I feel it wont be challenging enough, I have created websites in the past and have found them pretty simple. I feel for my degree project that it requires a more in depth solution and this is not that difficult, so this leaves me with two choices.

The game idea is a great opportunity for me to display my design and coding skills, it will require me to create a storyboard of what the game is going to consist of. Will it be a racing, shooter or football game? these decisions can be a hole problem of there own. I would then elect to create my game in Unreal Engine as I have had experience making games in that engine, in unreal I made a zombie game and found this very enjoyable. The only factor I found difficult in Unreal Engine was the AI, creating the blueprint was a challenge and because of this I may chose to use another piece of software.

The network would be a project that really suits me down to the ground, its something that interests me and will challenge me. It will be a real start to finish plan, finding a company, planning a blueprint, price matching and equipment purchasing, installation and configuration of a network and finally testing and fixing the bugs. Out of the three this will be the most challenging and will require putting in the hours, I know I will come across a lot of issues along the way but for me I feel this would be the best option.



Decided project Idea - Network

After some thought and now it has come towards the end of the week, I have decided to carry out the task of creating a network for a business, I have had experience of this in my past projects and have enjoyed working with a companies employees to complete the project. It will be a tough project to complete which is the reason I have chose to build a network, my first task will be to find a company with this desire and is able to funds my ideas. It will be a fun but challenging project, in the next coming week I will be calling round some business's to enquire about my desires implementing a network.

Week One - Ideas for Project

Ideas for Project


Idea 1 - Game

My first idea is to create a game, perhaps a first person shooter
- Zombie game (AI characters chase after the main character)
- War game (AI soldiers shoot at the player character)
- Racing game (Driving game where the player races against the AI)

How would I go about this project? I would first decide what type of game I will be making (shooter or racer), from there I would have to consider which software I would use to make the game (Unreal Engine 4, Unity). Then would be the design of the game, working on the layout, how I want it to do and what I want it to achieve.


Idea 2 - Website

My second idea is to create a website for a business
- I will need to find a company first who wishes to take there company online
- Would the website requirements include just advertisement or selling products
- How much will it cost? hosting and hardware

How would I go about this project? First I would have to find a company who requires a website building for them, Once I find that company we can then discuss the finance and see how much we can spend on getting the website live (I will be building the website for free). Then we will need to consider the design of the website and the functionality, will it be used for users to go online and buy items (e-commerce) or will it be used for contact information and product information.

Idea 3 -  Network

My third idea is to create a network for a business
- Again like the website, I will need to find a company who desires a entire network setup
- Costings, this would be a pricey project - putting into account hardware and software requirements
Computers, Printers, Switches, Leads, Operating System, Software, Server.

How would I go about this project? This would be a much larger projector and much more financially involved so we would need to find a company with a willingness to spend money. Once I find the company, we will need to look into the layout and how much equipment we will need to buy. This will involved comparing pricing and specs of machine which would benefit the business, working to a budget and finally implementing the system, hardware setup, software install and configuration.

Introduction - Project

Introduction

- This double unit (40 Credits) is the culmination of the BSc Creative Computing degree - it gives students a chance to demonstrate all they have learned. It is be the most demanding part of this degree. Although students are supervised, they are on their own to a large extent. The project can be based on one of the units delivered this year, but does not need to be. The First step of a project is to come up with 4 or 5 initial ideas the student has. The student discusses these ideas with the project supervisor and from these initial ideas the student chooses a project. This then is presented (technically this is a viva) and graded.

- Then after a successful viva the students implement the project creating a weekly blog as they go. This blog contains what the students do each week on the chosen project and is eventually submitted and is graded. 

Aims and Summary
- Through the execution of a challenging and complex Final Major Project students will demonstrate their progress and professional development. Students will be required to initiate, negotiate and manage the project and are encouraged to work collaboratively with clients, organisations and audiences to establish realistic and externally tested concepts and products. Students will be required to carry out contextual research and investigation to inform and direct ideas towards high quality, challenging and creative computing outcomes or products. These must be presented professionally and will demonstrate effective utilisation and application of appropriate techniques and processes to meet industry standards. Students will be required to ensure that their work conforms to appropriate codes of practice and meets the ethical requirements your College or University. Support and guidance will be provided by a project supervisor who will be the primary point of contact for a student on this module.

Intended Module Learning O

- On completion of this module students should be able to:

Produce and present an informed Final Major Project Proposal under supervision of an academic staff, and plan, appropriate to the form, content and style of the project. 

Carry out contextual independent research and conceptual development informing and strategically directing ideas towards resolving a complex and challenging creative project brief(s) 

Demonstrate evidence of synthesis and application of production processes and technical skills, utilising these effectively to produce finished outcomes reflecting practice and professional management. 

Produce and appropriately present finished outcomes to industry standards.