Creating a Model Factory Town
Name of the town: Windwoods
Company Name: Willows
Resources available: Coal, minerals, lumber, crops, and cotton
Elements of the town: Spruce forest, mountains, lake, farms, mills, mines, housing, and dock
Population: 231
Explanation / Brief History: In 1798, Fredrick Willows along with his group of explorers discovered the land filled with mountains and trees. They were a wealthy group that placed their settlement there and began to create a larger town where jobs could be easily gained in the mines, mills, and farms. Fredrick named the town Windwoods due to the land’s large spruce forest and fresh winds that breezed during the spring. The work was tedious and harsh, but you’d be paid fairly as well as have access to cheap housing. Eventually, the population continues to increase as more factories are being built and foreigners start to travel to Windwoods for its accessible jobs, however, housing prices increased.
Media Fluency Reflection
A. How was the ease of access in building the town, and what software did you use specifically?
The software I used is called Inkarnate which is a program that allows users to create fantasy maps. I am quite familiar with using Inkarnate and had access to an account so it wasn’t too difficult to use. The program did limit my creativity, however, as I didn’t have the full membership. I couldn’t access some of the tools and stamps that could have added much more detail to the final result.
B. Were you able to apply the skills you learned in the planning stages appropriately to a digital environment?
Before creating my design, I listed what I wanted in the factory town then sketched it out on paper. This made it easier to create on the program as I had a guide to where each building would be. If I didn’t plan ahead, I would probably be very lost and take more time on the program.
C. What were the sources you researched that made this an “authentic make-believe” town?
I used a source from Khan Academy to research resources that were prevalent in the Industrial Revolution such as coal. I also used the novel Lyddie as a reference when creating the town as I remember how the setting of the book included many tall buildings. I gathered inspiration from pictures online as well as a place called Oldham which used to be a factory town. Additionally, I used facts I learned in my classes such as housing becoming expensive due to the overpopulation in cities.
D. Is there other software online that could have done the job better? Explain.
I think Minecraft could have been a better software to use as the details and intricacy you can put into the buildings you create bring out a level of realism to the project. It’s very easy to use as well once you’ve gotten the hang of it, and it takes about an hour or two to create a satisfactory build. I think that the software I used limited the smaller details that could have been done in Minecraft.
