Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Exploded Isometric of Box
The game box will be made out of cardboard. The top of the box will lift vertically off of the bottom. The box will be glued together with hot glue and glue sticks. Glue will be applied to the tabs on the corners of the box. Inside the bottom of the box will be two vertical strips of cardboard. This will designate a place for the question and activity cards and other game pieces to go when not in use. The game board will fold in half and rest on top of these cardboard strips in the box.
Placemat & Game Pieces
In order to win the game, a player must collect all six food pieces shown above and attach to their placemat.Monday, January 14, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Math and Science Report
Intro 
For my Capstone Senior Design Project, I am designing and constructing a fully functioning board game and package. The board game focuses on nutrition, with the intention of testing the nutritional knowledge of middle school students, ages 11 and up. Figure 1-1 is a picture of the most recent model of the game board.
For my Capstone Senior Design Project, I am designing and constructing a fully functioning board game and package. The board game focuses on nutrition, with the intention of testing the nutritional knowledge of middle school students, ages 11 and up. Figure 1-1 is a picture of the most recent model of the game board.
Figure 1-1: Game Board Model
Science
When I was brainstorming the different ways to test the knowledge of nutrition in students aged 11 to 15, many possibilities were evident. However, I chose a board game because of research I had done pertaining to certain psychological connotations that are associated to this type of game. According to Steve Nichols, most activities can be approached with either a playful or a non-playful attitude. Regardless of which attitude you hold, children’s game playing demonstrates an underlying system based on repetition and rules. So when children play games, they are stimulating their use of language and the games have a strong influence on constructing the children’s sense of reality. According to Jean Piaget, a psychologist, one category of game playing is called “playing with rules”. This stage of competition begins at the time that children begin their schooling. This stage is when children begin to understand cooperation and competition, and begin involving themselves in team or group activities. “Game playing removes the constraints of real life” (Nichols).
When I was designing my board game, I researched the psychology relating to emotions evoked by seeing different colors. Although perceptions of color is subjective, many colors hav
e universal meaning. Pick a color from Figure 2-1 and think of the emotion that first comes to mind. Warm colors are colors in the red area of the color spectrum, including red, orange and yellow. The warm colors evoke emotions from warmth and comfort to anger and hostility. Cool colors are the colors on the blue side of the spectrum, including blue, purple and green. The cool colors often evoke feelings of sadness or indifference.
When I was brainstorming the different ways to test the knowledge of nutrition in students aged 11 to 15, many possibilities were evident. However, I chose a board game because of research I had done pertaining to certain psychological connotations that are associated to this type of game. According to Steve Nichols, most activities can be approached with either a playful or a non-playful attitude. Regardless of which attitude you hold, children’s game playing demonstrates an underlying system based on repetition and rules. So when children play games, they are stimulating their use of language and the games have a strong influence on constructing the children’s sense of reality. According to Jean Piaget, a psychologist, one category of game playing is called “playing with rules”. This stage of competition begins at the time that children begin their schooling. This stage is when children begin to understand cooperation and competition, and begin involving themselves in team or group activities. “Game playing removes the constraints of real life” (Nichols).
When I was designing my board game, I researched the psychology relating to emotions evoked by seeing different colors. Although perceptions of color is subjective, many colors hav
e universal meaning. Pick a color from Figure 2-1 and think of the emotion that first comes to mind. Warm colors are colors in the red area of the color spectrum, including red, orange and yellow. The warm colors evoke emotions from warmth and comfort to anger and hostility. Cool colors are the colors on the blue side of the spectrum, including blue, purple and green. The cool colors often evoke feelings of sadness or indifference. Figure 2-1: Different Colors
Evoke Different Feelings.
Evoke Different Feelings.
Chromotherapy is an ancient practice coming from the Ancient Egyptians and Chinese where the use of certain colors was used as a healing mechanism. In this way, red was used to stimulate the body and mind to increase circulation, yellow was used to stimulate the nerves and purify the body, orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels, blue was used to soothe illnesses and treat pain and finally, indigo was used to alleviate skin problems. Psychologists continue to further examine the feelings associated with certain colors. Green symbolizes nature and also represents tranquility, health and can help improve reading ability. The color blue often creates feelings of calmness, serenity and security. Orange is considered an energetic color. This color evokes feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, warmth and is often used to draw attention. The color orange is used in the real world to catch the attention of drivers, such as in traffic signs. The color yellow represents cheer and warmth. However, due to the high amount of light reflected by the color yellow, it is often the most wearing to the eye. Yellow is the most attention-grabbing color due to its high visibility. When designing the coloring of the board game, I wanted to use as little of the color black as possible. This is because black is used to represent evil, death and mourning. When playing a board game, I want the players to feel happy and safe, not emotionally drained from the overuse of the color black.
Nutrition is the science that examines the relationship between diet and health. There are seven main nutrients found in the human body, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water. You must consume all seven of these nutrients on a daily basis. An excess or an overabundance of these nutrients can lead to various health problems.
Depending on the number of sugar molecules, a carbohydrate can be classified as monosaccharide, disaccharide or a polysaccharide. Polysaccharides are often called complex carbohydrates because they are made up of chains of sugar molecules. Complex carbohydrates take longer to metabolize than simple carbohydrates because they are processed one by one. Simple carbohydrates are processed quickly and immediately raise blood sugar levels causing rapid increases in blood insulin.
Protein is composed of amino acids which are the body’s structural material. The process of gluconeogenesis converts protein into carbohydrates.
Fats are classified as either saturated or unsaturated. In saturated fats, all of the carbon atoms are bonded to hydrogen atoms. In unsaturated fats, most of the carbon atoms are double bonded to themselves. Saturated fat is usually solid at room temperature and unsaturated fat is usually liquid at room temperature. When the process of hydrogenation occurs, adding extra atoms of hydrogen to unsaturated fat, Trans fat forms.
Minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms other than the four elements which are present in common organic molecules. The four common elements are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. Minerals can be added to the diet separately from food in the form of mineral supplements. Macro minerals which are a variety of elements required to support the biochemical processes of life include calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and sulfur. Calcium is needed for muscle and digestive system health, to build bone, neutralize acidity, clear toxins and to help the blood stream. Another type of minerals which are required in trace amounts in the body (usually less than 200 mg/day) are called trace minerals. These include cobalt, copper, chromium, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, vanadium and zinc.
Fiber is made up mainly of cellulose which is not digestible because there are no enzymes to digest it. Foods which are rich in dietary fiber include fruits and vegetables. Dietary fiber provides bulk to the intestinal contents and it also stimulates the rhythmic muscular contractions which pass along the digestive tract. If one does not consume enough dietary fiber, it leads to constipation.
To function properly and avoid dehydration, the body requires between eight to ten glasses of water per day, which is approximately two liters. About seventy percent of the non-fat mass of the human body is made up of water. 20% of daily water intake comes from food, while the remaining 80% comes from drinking water and other beverages,.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the food processing industry has changed drastically. New technologies have been created to help keep foods fresh longer. Heating techniques such as milling, centrifugation and pressing cause foods to loose their nutritional value. As a result, processed foods have to be ‘enriched’ with the nutrients which were lose during processing. These processed foods therefore have substandard nutritional value compared to their fresh food counterpart. These processed foods also often contain harmful matter such as trans fatty acids and oxidized fat.
Math
On the board game I designed, there are 32 spaces. 24 of these spaces are question spaces. There are 7 activity spaces and 1 free space, which is also the starting point for the game. Every time a player roles the die, they could roll a 1 through 6. There is a 16.667% chance of rolling each number. From the starting point, there is 16.667% (1 in 6) chance of landing on an activity space. There is a 83.33% (5 in 5) chance of landing on a question space.
The length of play for this board game has to be less than the average school period because the intended audience is middle school students in their classrooms. I determined this time by gearing each question to last approximately two minutes from the time read to the time answered. If there are six players who each need to receive six food pieces to make a balanced meal, and the questions take two minutes a piece, this would be 36 minutes. However, only one player will receive the needed six pieces and each player will land on activity spaces. So my approximation of 36 minutes will be a little off, depending on the exact situation. Also, depending on the level of knowledge of each player, they will get some questions wrong and have to land on more than six question spaces.
Math relating to the nutrition aspect of my board game pertains to caloric consumption. The caloric consumption per day varies from person to person and body type to body type. However on average, adults should consume approximately 2,000 calories per day. 55% of the calories should come from carbohydrates, 15% of the calories should come from protein and the remaining 30% should come from fats. During a typical day, everyone should read the nutrition facts, located on all products available. See Figure 3-1 for an example of a nutrition facts label located on most products.
Nutrition is the science that examines the relationship between diet and health. There are seven main nutrients found in the human body, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water. You must consume all seven of these nutrients on a daily basis. An excess or an overabundance of these nutrients can lead to various health problems.
Depending on the number of sugar molecules, a carbohydrate can be classified as monosaccharide, disaccharide or a polysaccharide. Polysaccharides are often called complex carbohydrates because they are made up of chains of sugar molecules. Complex carbohydrates take longer to metabolize than simple carbohydrates because they are processed one by one. Simple carbohydrates are processed quickly and immediately raise blood sugar levels causing rapid increases in blood insulin.
Protein is composed of amino acids which are the body’s structural material. The process of gluconeogenesis converts protein into carbohydrates.
Fats are classified as either saturated or unsaturated. In saturated fats, all of the carbon atoms are bonded to hydrogen atoms. In unsaturated fats, most of the carbon atoms are double bonded to themselves. Saturated fat is usually solid at room temperature and unsaturated fat is usually liquid at room temperature. When the process of hydrogenation occurs, adding extra atoms of hydrogen to unsaturated fat, Trans fat forms.
Minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms other than the four elements which are present in common organic molecules. The four common elements are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. Minerals can be added to the diet separately from food in the form of mineral supplements. Macro minerals which are a variety of elements required to support the biochemical processes of life include calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and sulfur. Calcium is needed for muscle and digestive system health, to build bone, neutralize acidity, clear toxins and to help the blood stream. Another type of minerals which are required in trace amounts in the body (usually less than 200 mg/day) are called trace minerals. These include cobalt, copper, chromium, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, vanadium and zinc.
Fiber is made up mainly of cellulose which is not digestible because there are no enzymes to digest it. Foods which are rich in dietary fiber include fruits and vegetables. Dietary fiber provides bulk to the intestinal contents and it also stimulates the rhythmic muscular contractions which pass along the digestive tract. If one does not consume enough dietary fiber, it leads to constipation.
To function properly and avoid dehydration, the body requires between eight to ten glasses of water per day, which is approximately two liters. About seventy percent of the non-fat mass of the human body is made up of water. 20% of daily water intake comes from food, while the remaining 80% comes from drinking water and other beverages,.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the food processing industry has changed drastically. New technologies have been created to help keep foods fresh longer. Heating techniques such as milling, centrifugation and pressing cause foods to loose their nutritional value. As a result, processed foods have to be ‘enriched’ with the nutrients which were lose during processing. These processed foods therefore have substandard nutritional value compared to their fresh food counterpart. These processed foods also often contain harmful matter such as trans fatty acids and oxidized fat.
Math
On the board game I designed, there are 32 spaces. 24 of these spaces are question spaces. There are 7 activity spaces and 1 free space, which is also the starting point for the game. Every time a player roles the die, they could roll a 1 through 6. There is a 16.667% chance of rolling each number. From the starting point, there is 16.667% (1 in 6) chance of landing on an activity space. There is a 83.33% (5 in 5) chance of landing on a question space.
The length of play for this board game has to be less than the average school period because the intended audience is middle school students in their classrooms. I determined this time by gearing each question to last approximately two minutes from the time read to the time answered. If there are six players who each need to receive six food pieces to make a balanced meal, and the questions take two minutes a piece, this would be 36 minutes. However, only one player will receive the needed six pieces and each player will land on activity spaces. So my approximation of 36 minutes will be a little off, depending on the exact situation. Also, depending on the level of knowledge of each player, they will get some questions wrong and have to land on more than six question spaces.
Math relating to the nutrition aspect of my board game pertains to caloric consumption. The caloric consumption per day varies from person to person and body type to body type. However on average, adults should consume approximately 2,000 calories per day. 55% of the calories should come from carbohydrates, 15% of the calories should come from protein and the remaining 30% should come from fats. During a typical day, everyone should read the nutrition facts, located on all products available. See Figure 3-1 for an example of a nutrition facts label located on most products.
Figure 3-1: Sample Nutrition Fact Label
Technology 
My Senior Design Project incorporates a wide variety of technology. All of the graphics for my game board, game pieces, and game box were created on the computers at MAST, such as the computer seen in Figure 4-1. The graphics were created by me in the AutoCad program.
My Senior Design Project incorporates a wide variety of technology. All of the graphics for my game board, game pieces, and game box were created on the computers at MAST, such as the computer seen in Figure 4-1. The graphics were created by me in the AutoCad program.
Figure 4-1: Technology used to
create graphics
Conclusion
After researching topics pertaining to psychology, board games, colors and nutrition, I decided that a board game was the most practical solution to the problem at hand. This board game will focus on testing the nutritional knowledge of middle school aged students. When designating the color schemes for the game board, I consulted sources to determine different psychological connotations associated with each color. I want to create a game that gives the players a sense of happiness as well as a sense of friendly competition.
Works Cited
Nichols, Steve. “Game Psychology: Part 1”. Games Monthly. October 1988. 9 January 2008..
“Nutrition”. Wikipedia. 9 January 2008..
VanWagner, Kendra. “Color Psychology: How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors”. About.com. 9 January 2008..
Pictures Cited
“Color Psychology” About.com. 9 January 2008..
“Computer”. Maycomb County Library. 2007. 9 January 2008..
“Nutrition Facts Label”. Answers.com. 2007. 9 January 2008..
After researching topics pertaining to psychology, board games, colors and nutrition, I decided that a board game was the most practical solution to the problem at hand. This board game will focus on testing the nutritional knowledge of middle school aged students. When designating the color schemes for the game board, I consulted sources to determine different psychological connotations associated with each color. I want to create a game that gives the players a sense of happiness as well as a sense of friendly competition.
Works Cited
Nichols, Steve. “Game Psychology: Part 1”. Games Monthly. October 1988. 9 January 2008.
“Nutrition”. Wikipedia. 9 January 2008.
VanWagner, Kendra. “Color Psychology: How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors”. About.com. 9 January 2008.
Pictures Cited
“Color Psychology” About.com. 9 January 2008.
“Computer”. Maycomb County Library. 2007. 9 January 2008.
“Nutrition Facts Label”. Answers.com. 2007. 9 January 2008.
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