Set up the project repository properly — CLAUDE.md and README files created with Claude. Gave Claude the quarter question as a guiding framework. Caught Claude up on the Session 2 prototypes and got its feedback on which direction was strongest. Then pushed back on that feedback and made a different decision: expand scope from a single game to a multi-test platform.
Prompt: Shared the Session 2 prototypes and asked Claude to evaluate which best connected to the quarter question. Also asked for help setting up CLAUDE.md and README structure.
Output: Claude said the VibeWord idea was irrelevant (agreed) and recommended the hand gesture game as the strongest single direction. It suggested focusing on one polished prototype rather than expanding scope.
I disagreed with Claude's recommendation to stay with one game. The quarter question asks what happens when AI turns everyday devices into tools — plural. "Track" implies multiple measurements over time, across multiple domains. A single game answers "what happens with one game," not the question. I chose to expand the scope to a multi-test platform that would incorporate the bilateral game, the reaction test, and more. This was the foundational architecture decision for everything that followed.
AI can be leveraged for project organization — structuring files like CLAUDE.md and README. It's a useful tool for setup and scaffolding, not just ideation. But when AI gives direction on scope and creative decisions, it defaults to the safest, most achievable interpretation of the brief — not the most interesting one.
The multi-test platform idea wasn't something AI suggested. It came from reading the quarter question carefully: "test, teach, and track" implies a system, not a game.
This session clarified the quarter question by resisting AI's narrowing of it. "Tools" (plural), "test, teach, and track" (multiple functions), "everyday devices" (multiple sensors) — all of this points to a platform, not a game. The platform decision was the first time I made a creative choice that AI explicitly disagreed with and I did it anyway.
Research practitioners working in cognitive assessment (ACE-X, NIH Toolbox, Jose Azuara). Understand the landscape before committing to a specific approach. Then write the Position Statement for M2.