Week 4: Waiting Game, Setbacks, and Adjustments

Hello everyone! Unfortunately, this week is slow compared to the previous weeks. Since the start of this week, I have been playing a “waiting game” of sorts for the consent forms, so I haven’t been able to hold the group gameplay sessions. 

For the majority of the week, I have been waiting for the remaining consent forms and sending email reminders to the participants. While I have received some back, I am still missing the majority of the consent forms, so I can’t hold the group gameplay sessions. This delay slowed progress, but it is a necessary step to ensure that my participants are aware of what my research includes. 

In the meantime, I checked in again with my high school directors to make sure that all the materials (i.e, iPads) and logistics were on track. During this discussion, I ran into an unexpected problem: although I had access to multiple school iPads, I would not be able to download the rhythm game on them. This was a bit of a setback, since my original plan relied heavily on using those devices to play the rhythm game during gameplay sessions. 

Rather than let this stop progress, I adjusted how I would get the participants to play the rhythm game. To the list of rules I made in week 2, I added a new instruction for participants: students will need to download the rhythm game Project Sekai: Colorful Stage (PJSK) on their phones. While this isn’t exactly what I originally planned, it allows me to continue moving forward without relying on the iPads.

Speaking of progress, despite all the challenges that came this week, I was able to hold a mini gameplay session with 3 seniors. Although it was a really small group, it helped me identify small adjustments I may need to make moving forward. Additionally, it was nice to experience what the sessions will be like in a real setting.

Overall, this was a pretty slow week with some unexpected challenges, but I was still able to make some progress. Next week, I hope to receive the rest of the consent forms and hold my first group gameplay session.