Project Blog - Human Body 2.0 Board Game

Picture of my board game and all of its elements

Summary

In the process of making this project, I learned several things. This doesn't apply only to science, this also applies to software I had to learn better in order to do some of the things I wanted to do. Some of these things including adding images and text into the software. I had to learn how to do this because this isn't an option that comes with the software, but there is a work around. The only reason it doesn't have these basic features is because its originally an open source painting software, called paint tool sai. So, it didint come with options such as text boxes. As far as science goes, I learned quite a bit more about the human body, as well as the organs it contains. I learned about these things because in order for my game to make any sense, I had to research (and re-research) a lot of things. This includes organs and just random facts.

Backward Looking - What process did you go through to produce this piece?

I went through quite a long process to create the board game. First things first, I needed to plan out my game. This included how my game was going to function, and create basic rules. Once the basics were done, I moved onto create my questions. I tried my best, and eventually thought of 6 questions for each body system, ranging in difficulties. This was a lot harder, and a longer process than I expected it to be, especially since I wanted to create quality questions for my game. In this process, I used my drawing software to create question templates that looked like this.

After I was done with making my questions, I copied the text onto the template using google draw. Once all of this was complete, I moved onto making my actual board game and box. This didn't take very long, since I already had all of my stuff planned out. I drew out my game board, box, and of course, added the rules to the back of the box. A that, pretty much summarizes the whole process of making my board game. 

Inward Looking - What was especially satisfying to you about either the process or the finished product?

What was probably the most satisfying in the end was how the fun factor of the game rolled out, and my questions. By the time mostly everyone has tried out my game, the majority said that it was overall a really fun game. All that was important to me is if they had fun and they learned something, and they did! That's probably what was especially satisfying for me. If I were to go and select something else, it would probably be the questions. I feel as if I categorized the questions well, and made them not to hard, but not too easy either. People also said that my cards were sturdy, thanks to the 2 layers of cardstock, and felt like actually cards you would find in a legitimate board game. These are probably the things in my board game that I was especially satisfied with their end product with.

Outward Looking - What do your classmates particularly notice about your piece when they look at it?

One thing that I faintly noticed, but my classmates especially noticed was how the overall board in my game was designed. They noticed that the board game, looked somewhat cramped. They noted that the spaces were a bit too close together for its own good, and things got a bit complicated. That was pretty much all they had to comment on, how I should probably have a bigger game board if im going to have that much material on it. 

Forward Looking  - What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again?

I would probably change the overall physique of my board game. Especially my board and box. I feel as if I could have drawn characters, and all sort of other stuff, and have been able to print the out and put them on the box and the board itself. I overall think that I could've made it look alot cleaner, appealing, and less cramped. This is definitely what I would redo if I had a chance to redo the project. 

Human Body System Project: Making my Own Board Game! - Weekly Blog #8

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Summary

This week in science, I worked on my board game for my human body 2.0 project. I designed my cards that will be used in the board game, most of the questions in my board game, as well as the characters that the player will play as. I learned how to put text into my drawing software through mediums such as Google Docs, Word Documents, and more. I also learned about the different types of brush setting I can use in my drawing software. This week, I mainly focused on getting most of the questions done, such as laying them out for each of the body systems in difficulty (easy, medium, and hard). This is what I learned in science this week.

S&EP - Analyzing Data

I used data to analyze the performance of a design under a range of conditions. I changed the rectangle shape in my original design for my board game to an octagon because of the different body systems sections. I wanted to have each side dedicated to that specific body system. this is because each side of the board representing each body, and having the cards of fate (A card that you pick when you land on a square, to affect the outcome of the game) in between would serve as a much more unique design. This would also give a lot more dedication to each of the body systems, so they are divided equally. 

XCC - Systems and System Models

I like to think of my game as a system with all of its different components, and rules to the system. My system works on a 2 dice randomly giving numbers 2-12. Depending on what number you get determines how far you go on the board. You can only claim an organ if you belong to that body system, and whoever can create a whole body system first will win. Of course this system has its limitations. The cards of fate will mess around with the game, and throw obstacles, or help out the user. This is why my board game is like a system.

Is it Healthier to be an Omnivore or a Vegetarian? - Science WAC Essay

Introduction

Having an omnivore's diet is a lot more beneficial than pursuing a vegetarian diet. This is because of the several nutrients that are provided by meat, that you can't find in plants. This includes protein, Vitamin B12, and other crucial nutrients for your body. In an Omnivore's diet, the protein in meat is easily utilized in your body, giving you healthier bones, muscles, and brain. Overall, an Omnivore's diet is much more beneficial than a vegetarians diet. Here's why.

Reason #1

Meat provides several vitamins that are essential for you body. These vitamins include vitamin B12, B13,B6, iron, and many others. Vitamin B12 can only be found in a diet consisting of animal foods. This is supported in the article "Is It Healthier to Be a Vegetarian or an Omnivore?" by SENCER where they say "Without meat in the diet, humans cut out vitamin B12 and limit DHA/EPA (active forms of omega-3 fats), nutrients which promote health." This essentially proves my point of not getting enough of these vitamins. in another article called  "7 Reasons not to avoid meat" By Kris Gunnars he believes that we have evolved through history as being omnivores, and our digestive systems have developed to become used to this behavior. This was stated in the article when he said "Throughout evolution, humans and pre-humans have been eating meat. Our digestive systems are well equipped to make full use of the fats, proteins and nutrients found in animal foods." This concludes my first reason, of not getting enough of these nutrients in a vegetarian diet.

Reason #2

Another thing that an omnivore diet provides is creatine. This creatine provides energy for your cells, as well as it benefits your brain, and muscles. Again, said in the article "Is It Healthier to Be a Vegetarian or an Omnivore?" Authored by SENCER, they also explains that your muscles, brain, and bones are benefited from this creatine in you body, and largely benefit the organs, and/or body systems. This is further explained in the article, when they say " Meat products contain creatine and carnosine, which are beneficial to the brain and muscles." This conclude my second reason, of not getting enough support from creatine.

Reason #3

Adequate amounts of proteins and calories are essential in any diet, and an omnivore diet seams to be better in supplying you with these. Calories and proteins are high in this diet, providing your body with high quality proteins, as well as adequate amounts of calories. In Kris Gunnars article, he also supported this claim. This was said in the article in "A leading concern for those who prefer a vegetarian diet is making sure adequate nutrients are supplied, particularly calories and protein." Because meat consists of these high quality proteins, you are able to stimulate growth in your bones and muscles, as well as creatine does. These are the reasons why lack of calories and proteins in my 3rd reason.

Counter Arguments

Many may argue that a vegetarian diet is the healthier diet, because it reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, as well as other disease linked with animal fats. In the article "Should People Become Vegetarian" By ProCon.org, they said "People found that eating red meat was associated with an increased risk of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease." This fact was also supported in the article made by SENCER, where they explain "studies have shown an increased incidence of chronic disease among those who eat meat." As the fact is presented in processed meat, there is no evidence for un-processed meats. This is yet again another fact presented by Kris Gunnars article, where he said "In the past few decades, meat has been blamed for all sorts of diseases. But we've been eating meat for a long time and blaming new health problems on old foods doesn't make much sense." He elaborates more on this towards the end of the article, where he explains " If you want to avoid chronic disease, then it makes sense to avoid processed meat as much as possible. But unprocessed meats seems to be fine." This is my counter arguement for the claim against cardiovascular disease.

Conclusion

To conclude this essay, you can clearly see that the omnivore diet is a lot more beneficial for you life. In this diet, you are provided with high quality vitamins, proteins, calories, and creatine. All of these are largely beneficial to your muscular, nervous, and skeletal system. So, you can conclude that the benefits of an omnivorous diet outweighs the vegetarian diet.