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Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever said, just one more game, be it in a video game, a carnival, or a casino? This is called gambling and this used to be something that you had to go somewhere for, but with more technology in the world we can gamble anywhere, causing addictions to happen more frequently. In my capstone project, I wanted to explore how technology promotes, develops, and supports gambling addictions through a 20 page comic with a dark yet hopeful tale of a gambler hitting rock bottom and trying to get help.
Image from: Yokogao Magazine
Literature Review: Artistic Influence
Literature Review: Artistic Influence
One of the artistic influences that helped me choose this kind of project was Junji Ito. I was very inspired by Junji Ito’s horror and graphic style that mixed simple comic images with very detailed and magnificent artworks. In a video essay about Junji Ito on youtube by matttt - comic & manga history, he states, “As you look across Ito’s work you’ll frequently find the same technique of a ghastly realistic image on the same page on the same page or panel as a simplistic face reacting to it,”(Matt, 3:20)
Literature Review: Scholarly Influence
Literature Review: Scholarly Influence
One scholarly study that I found called “A Psychophysiological and Behavioural Study of Slot Machine Near-Misses Using Immersive Virtual Reality” helped a lot in the creation of this project. This study researched some of the impacts near-misses have on a person. They state that near misses are known to be a strong part of developing a gambling addiction, which the gambling industry takes advantage of by manipulating the outcomes(Detez). The study performing this article is done with virtual reality and monitoring the near misses reactions from the virtual reality slot machines.
Image from: Sophia College
Methods:
Methods:
As for the methods of this project there was a long road. First, I started with finding my influences both artistically and scholarly. Then I started with the writing of the story and deciding on where I wanted it to go. After writing, it was on to the designing phase, in which I had to design the main characters and the world in which the comic would take place. The next step was to storyboard the entire of the comic and plan out certain shots for each frame. Then I sketch out the full pages and then ink them. Lastly, I created a scan of the documents and uploaded them digitally to add words and speech bubbles.
1. Research
3. Character Design
2. Writing
4. Storyboards
5. Page Sketches
6. Inking
7. Digital Upload
8. Add Text
Image from: Twin Peaks: The Return
Audience & Impact
Audience & Impact
The audience that I am trying to reach are firstly those who have issues with gambling and have addictive tendencies, because I feel that with all the technology in my life, I have found myself in having an addiction. I have become addicted to the mind numbing brain rot of the internet, and have found myself putting off doing work to a point where it makes it harder for myself. I want this comic to serve as a cautionary tale to stop people from reaching these addictive states and help people in such states that there is a way out.
References
References
Detez, Louisa, et al. “A Psychophysiological and Behavioural Study of Slot
Machine Near-Misses Using Immersive Virtual Reality.” Journal of
Gambling Studies, vol. 35, no. 3, Sept. 2019, pp. 929–44. EBSCOhost,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-09822-z.
Matt. “How a dental technician became the master of modern horror.” YouTube, 21
October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF-nVvU_uHc.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to thank my roommate Noah Millholland, who has been there to help me get through artists and writers block. He helped bounce around ideas and make decisions for the comic to help keep it fun for me and fun for the audience. He has been probably the biggest help for this project, with all aspects, including: narrative, style, and design.
I would also like to thank my faculty advisor, Irene Park, who has helped me in choosing my final exhibit layout and gave me feedback on artistic ideas for my project.
Lastly, I would like to thank those who are in my CPSA 250 section, you have all given me very helpful and formative feedback on my project. The current state of the project wouldn’t be where it is without those critiques.
About Me
About Me
E-Portfolio: https://sites.google.com/umd.edu/carlosacosta/home
Carlos Acosta is a Sophomore from Baltimore City studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Maryland. Besides an interest in STEM, his has interests in exercise, art, reading, movies, and video games. He likes to use art as a way to express creativity and new ideas in a way that becomes visible to others and himself, it allows him to ponder his own thoughts in a tangible way. However he also uses his interests to gather inspiration to expand his creativity, allowing him to grasp ideas from outside the box and look at things with a new light. This combination creates a flow of ideas being created and tested, and then reflected on to understand what worked. After graduating with a bachelors in Aerospace Engineering, he plans to work for a aerospace research branch of the government such as NASA, to explore new paths in space technology.
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