Brief - Open
To come up with an imaginative idea based on different practices of Digital Art, and show a technique of how you can implement one of these ideas into an interactive project or installation of some kind.
PROJECT PROPOSAL
Through being inspired by various artists and delving into game theory research, I propose to create an interactive wall installation that will give the user the opportunity to experience another dimension, where they can get a glance of an entirely new digital gaming world beyond their own boundaries, through looking into what is known as a portal.
In our contemporary society, the filming and gaming industry are trying to catch their audiences through a more 3D immersion use of practical assets. For example the Nintendo Wii allows the user to become more proactive and immersed within their environment, or with the latest Play Station 3, the visual graphics and effects have been improved to mimic real life experiences, making the user drawn into a sense of false reality. However what if you were to turn your world into a digital gaming environment, where you can gain points through doing various jobs, or fight your never ending enemy, or smash boxes similar to Super Mario. What would this world look like?
OVERVIEW
how it works?
Using Flash computer software, a projector, and a motion camera that will detect people’s movements. I plan to create an interactive wall installation, which will display a landscape digital scene of how a basic Super Mario platform game would look like, if you were to look at it from the prospective of a house window or to be more futuristic, a portal. The installation will start with a blank canvas, with nothing to show. But when the user moves closer to the wall, a hole will appear and open up, displaying a digital landscape of a game world. Then once the user steps back, the hole will then shrink back to being a normal blank canvas.
The idea behind this installation is to portray how modern games are being integrated into our every day lives, making us constantly unaware of what is going on around us in our real world.
KEYWORDS
These six key words describe the critical assets that need to be integrated into my installation and research to make this project fully functional.
Motion or Mic – Utilize camera tracking and microphone devices to detect movement or sounds based on user activity.
Layers & Depth – Layers is a design technique used to give the audience a greater depth of field when looking at a picture.
Interactivity – Research - How the audience react to the installation and how the installation functions with the user.
Simplicity – Keeping the graphics simple ensures that the graphics or concept will appeal to audiences of any age.
Creativity & Theme – Giving the installation design elements something that the user can relate to. E.g. Super Mario graphics.
Research -
Field Leaders
In this section for my research, I will be investigating a few of the field leaders that have made their names through Digital Art installations.
Jefferey Shaw
An installation artist by the name of Jefferey Shaw (born 1944). Has created a number of unique installations that have inspired the contemporary ways of media. One piece in particular that Jefferey Shaw has created was called The Distributed Legible City. This installation enabled the audience to sit on a stationary bike and by looking at the screen ahead, they could travel through a virtual city made up of letters. This classic installation has not only just touched on virtual realm of interactivity, but has with it a multi player element, for example when a multiple of users sit on their bikes looking at the screen in front of them, they can engage with one another whilst cycling through the city of Letters. Much Later on in 1990 in Amsterdam the letters were scaled and were changed for fictional monologues by people such as Ex-Mayer Koch, Donald Trump and a taxi driver. I guess you could state that Jeffrey Shaw was one of the pioneers of video games, even without realizing it. With a vast difference in technology and visual style, you could relate The Legible City with the latest Nintendo Wii devices, because from a certain aspect they are achieving the same thing.
The Legible CityRafael Lozano-Hemmer
Rafeal Lozono produced an interesting installation called the Displaced Emperors in 1997. This projected was designed to demonstrate a link between Mexico and Australia through projecting unrelated historical oddities onto the side of famous buildings. The interactivity of this installation consisted through using wireless motion sensors that would detect movement and display a large hand on the wall, that would reveal certain insides of the building.
Displaced Emperor installation
The thing intrigues me is that this concept of trying to make a link between two different cultures is similar to the idea that I am wanting to achieve for my project proposal, because although mine is based on video games and how they effect people, the project is still trying to make a link between the real world and the game world and what perfect way to do it through means of projections.
Ref:
Book: Digital Art
Author: Christaine Paul
Year: 2000 Thames & Hudson
INTERACTIVITY
Here is an interactive installation created by an artists called Jay Yan, this installation, which is called Turbulence shows 20 lines of solid colour projected onto a wall that reacts to various human movements.
Jay Yan - Turbulence
Jay Yan - Pond - Mirrored image created through Daffodil flowersJay Yan has created a variety of different interactive installations, certain ones such as the Untitled Red Stripe project and Pond, these are classic examples of demonstrating different ways of interactive art.
Reference source: http://www.jay-yan.com/
Chris O'shea - Objects and Space
Chris O'shea is a creative artist who produces interactive installations for public institutions and private companies. Chris O'sheas' projects bring forth a unique and productive way of showing our perception on objects and space.
Chris O'shea - Out of Bound installation.A large portion of Chris O'sheas' installation projects are quite unique. One project of his that caught my attention was this particular installation called "Out of Bounds". This installation demonstrates the idea of having super powered X-ray vision and giving the user the ability to see through to places, which they can not normally see with the naked eye.
I thought this project was quite fascinating, I think the project offers a lot of interactivity between the user and the installation. Through the project being fun and interactive makes the user want to unleash the kid within, this concept of being able to look through walls is the kind of thing one would read about in comic books.
Reference online: http://www.chrisoshea.org/projects/out-of-bounds/
Out of Bounds from Chris O'Shea on Vimeo.
Super Mario Installation
One particular installation that has inspired me, is this one created by Antoinette J. Citizen, which is based on the game Super Mario, this installation allows the user to move around the room, and interactive with various objects, Super Mario himself would encounter in the game. The game design of the installation is taken after Level 1.1 of the Mario Brother's game.
The boxes in the installation when interacted with, mimics the sounds used in the original Mario game
I think this is a really unique installation idea, just because it is demonstrating a different method of how you could implement a digital game into reality, with taking the Nintendo Wii approach and making it more interactive and fun for the user.
If this installation was to be taken further, you could always make an obstacle course, that could mimic the elements in the game, which you could then climb and run along in. But doing this would take a long time to make, plus you would need the funding to make all the interactive objects possible. Another way of creating an installation similar to this, is to have a projection onto a wall, and then display the game on the wall. Then through using motion tracking web cams, you could make it possible for the viewer to go up and touch the wall and act like they're in the game.
Daniel Rozin - X by Y
Daniel Rozin is a Jewish artist who specializes in developing interactive digital art in a wide variety of places. From being trained as an industrial designer, Rozin lives and works around New York city. A lot of Rozin's work consists of computer generated artwork that changes due to how audiences interact with it.
The chips on the wall change and move in tune to the different movements of the user, creating a mirrored effect.
The way Rozin has constructed his artwork is a very unique and clever, because in a way it is not just Rozins piece of digital art that makes it stand out, but the way in how the audience interact and manipulate it, is what makes it a very unique piece of art, because it enables the user to become the artist and become in tuned with the same vision as the original artist (Rozin).
This particular piece X by Y also known as BitForms, which I was luckily enough to see when I journeyed to New York, is an interactive piece created by using wooden? chips that move according to how the user moves in front of it. This kind of mechanism I guess is generated through using in for Red motion tracking camera and a very clever computer algorithm to enable the chips to move accordingly.
To view more information about Daniel Rozin, visit his website at:
http://www.smoothware.com/danny/newbio.html
Ref:
http://www.bitforms.com/index.php - Bitforms website
Immersion in games
Through reading a book by Mark J.P called The Video Game Theory Reader, I did some basic research into game theory on why games can effect human behavior.
The video Game Theory Reader - Discusses the questions about what exactly are video games and how do they function? How do video games relate to other forms of media and culture? what is their effect on the lives of the players?
Delving into the chapters of 3D video game immersion, Alison McMahan summarizes why people play video games. She states that video games allow the viewers to engage actively in the scenarios presented are temporarily transported from life's problems by their playing, experience a sense of personal involvement in the action when they work the controls, and they perceive the video games as not only a course of companionship, but possibly as a substitute for it.
This statement by McMahan could also be aimed at not only video games, but computer games in general.
Interactive Portal
Through following the specifications of my project proposal, within my installation will be integrated a portal of some kind, which will give the user the ability to interactive with the installation.
The type of portal I am hoping to create, are generally known in fiction as gateways to other locations, or they change the dimension of time and space. Examples of portals have been demonstrated through a number of well known fiction films such as Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Star Trek and so on.
Portal Concept
The concept behind having an interactive portal for my installation is to demonstrate how we can be blind to the things that are going on around us and how close we are making certain elements such as games, become essential assets in our lives.
Portal idea sketch
The sketch above is a demonstration of how I would like the interactive portal to work for my project. The installation starts off with a larger projection onto a wall which will display a plain white canvas with a small dot in the center (see picture above).
The second phase scales the dot in the center to a larger size, revealing more of the landscape. This is caused through the users interaction when they walk or talk in front of the projection.
The third stage is a continuation from the second stage, where the dot will keep scaling to a larger size until it reaches the edge of the projectors boarder.
Through making the style of the portal circular, means that when the circle reaches the edge of the projector it should then transform into an arch way, giving it a door shape effect.
This interactive portal effect will be created using Adobe Flash CS3. Flash is a unique piece of software that can give the ability to make anything interactive in any field or create animations. Due to not having a web cam connection, I will be testing my experiments using the microphone levels.
Testing -
The development process of making a portal effect in Flash, is through creating a Clipping Mask. A Clipping Mask is a technique that allows the user to create a shape like a circle for example. Then through having any picture behind that shape, once you have submitted the clipping mask effect to your circle object, any picture underneath it will be displayed within the perimeters of that circle.
Clipping Mask in Flash Reference: http://www.ehow.com/how_2183064_layer-mask-flash.html
First stage of Clipping Mask
Second stage of Clipping Mask
mic.setLoopBack(true);
stage.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, scaleCircle);
function scaleCircle(E:Event) {
trace(mic.activityLevel);
if (mic.activityLevel > 10) {
if(Circle.width <>
CREATIVITY AND THEME
Most interactive interfaces whether they be games, websites or digital art installations. Require a certain theme to draw the right target audience. Without a theme or style to go with your interface, it would make the interface less noticeable and attractive. My task is to research various styles of game interfaces, which would be unique and recognizable that people can relate to.
Making the World Digital
There are many different styles of video games, for example the latest Call of Duty video game with it's realistic scenery and game play, gives the user the sense of being within the game. It is also a non fiction game, which enables the user to relate to it through seeing similar experiences in real life or movies.
Call of duty Screen shot
Another example of style that is worldwide, is the unique style of platforms games such as Super Mario, Sonic and Tekken.
Super Mario screen shot
These games don't strive for realism like Call of Duty. However, whether this is due to the level of technology at the time, the games were made up of fantasy worlds, to make things more interesting for the audience.
Chosen Theme
The theme I have chosen for the digital world of my installation, will be a crossed between a variety of video game styles. Firstly for the main structure of my digital world, I will be mimicking the world and style of the Super Mario games. I have chosen this style due to its popularity and simplicity, it is like coca cola, it will be displaying something that the audience can relate to.
Super Mario Theme - Although Super Mario is classed as being retro, it can offer a piece of nostalgic when looked upon by gamers.
Secondly I will be introducing a three dimensional depth to the world, quite similar to how the game Crash Bandicoot is laid out, the reason for this is so it will give the land scape more depth of field.
Crash Bandicoot - Demonstrates a unique way of navigating through a game.
Another aspect I will be including within the land scape of my digital world, is having actual real life buildings integrated into the Super Mario design. The concept being is that video games are slowly manipulating the way we live our lives, for example including buildings such as, McDonald's, Burger King and Mark and Spenser, anything that can link the connection between the digital world and our real world.
McDonalds store - Integrating real life objects to make the connect between games and our lives.
SIMPLICITY
When projects and interfaces become complicated and untidy, sometimes the best solution is to make things look as simple as possible. A good example would be Coca Cola, although this is not a game, they are one of the biggest marketing products out there on the streets. The style of Coca Cola is very unique, but it offers a very simple and clean style, so if you were to just see the monotone colours red and white on any other product it can give sometimes give the effect of making you think of coke, even though the object itself isn't anything to do with coke.
Simple Coke website
This concept can also work with games, sometimes the most in-depth games are the worst kind of games, because the user finds it too difficult or visually frustrating. A newly developed method of making games visually simple is to make the HUD (Heads up Display) invisible to the user. Doing this clears the screen of any information that the user doesn't need to see, however most games make the HUD optional, so the user can chose whether to see them on the screen or not. Original the HUD used to be an important asset for games, because it told the user information on their performances and show elements such as lives, points, objects picked up and weapons.
Racing game - Displaying HUD
If this installation was to be taken further, you could always make an obstacle course, that could mimic the elements in the game, which you could then climb and run along in. But doing this would take a long time to make, plus you would need the funding to make all the interactive objects possible. Another way of creating an installation similar to this, is to have a projection onto a wall, and then display the game on the wall. Then through using motion tracking web cams, you could make it possible for the viewer to go up and touch the wall and act like they're in the game.Daniel Rozin - X by Y
Daniel Rozin is a Jewish artist who specializes in developing interactive digital art in a wide variety of places. From being trained as an industrial designer, Rozin lives and works around New York city. A lot of Rozin's work consists of computer generated artwork that changes due to how audiences interact with it.
The chips on the wall change and move in tune to the different movements of the user, creating a mirrored effect.The way Rozin has constructed his artwork is a very unique and clever, because in a way it is not just Rozins piece of digital art that makes it stand out, but the way in how the audience interact and manipulate it, is what makes it a very unique piece of art, because it enables the user to become the artist and become in tuned with the same vision as the original artist (Rozin).
This particular piece X by Y also known as BitForms, which I was luckily enough to see when I journeyed to New York, is an interactive piece created by using wooden? chips that move according to how the user moves in front of it. This kind of mechanism I guess is generated through using in for Red motion tracking camera and a very clever computer algorithm to enable the chips to move accordingly.
To view more information about Daniel Rozin, visit his website at:
http://www.smoothware.com/danny/newbio.html
Ref:
http://www.bitforms.com/index.php - Bitforms website
Immersion in games
Through reading a book by Mark J.P called The Video Game Theory Reader, I did some basic research into game theory on why games can effect human behavior.
The video Game Theory Reader - Discusses the questions about what exactly are video games and how do they function? How do video games relate to other forms of media and culture? what is their effect on the lives of the players?
Delving into the chapters of 3D video game immersion, Alison McMahan summarizes why people play video games. She states that video games allow the viewers to engage actively in the scenarios presented are temporarily transported from life's problems by their playing, experience a sense of personal involvement in the action when they work the controls, and they perceive the video games as not only a course of companionship, but possibly as a substitute for it.
This statement by McMahan could also be aimed at not only video games, but computer games in general.
Interactive Portal
Through following the specifications of my project proposal, within my installation will be integrated a portal of some kind, which will give the user the ability to interactive with the installation.
Lion Witch and the Wardrobe - Image Reference: http://thequintessential.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/10-most-famous-doors-in-history/
The type of portal I am hoping to create, are generally known in fiction as gateways to other locations, or they change the dimension of time and space. Examples of portals have been demonstrated through a number of well known fiction films such as Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Star Trek and so on.
Portal Concept
The concept behind having an interactive portal for my installation is to demonstrate how we can be blind to the things that are going on around us and how close we are making certain elements such as games, become essential assets in our lives.
Portal idea sketch
The sketch above is a demonstration of how I would like the interactive portal to work for my project. The installation starts off with a larger projection onto a wall which will display a plain white canvas with a small dot in the center (see picture above).
The second phase scales the dot in the center to a larger size, revealing more of the landscape. This is caused through the users interaction when they walk or talk in front of the projection.
The third stage is a continuation from the second stage, where the dot will keep scaling to a larger size until it reaches the edge of the projectors boarder.
Through making the style of the portal circular, means that when the circle reaches the edge of the projector it should then transform into an arch way, giving it a door shape effect.
This interactive portal effect will be created using Adobe Flash CS3. Flash is a unique piece of software that can give the ability to make anything interactive in any field or create animations. Due to not having a web cam connection, I will be testing my experiments using the microphone levels.
Testing -
The development process of making a portal effect in Flash, is through creating a Clipping Mask. A Clipping Mask is a technique that allows the user to create a shape like a circle for example. Then through having any picture behind that shape, once you have submitted the clipping mask effect to your circle object, any picture underneath it will be displayed within the perimeters of that circle.
Clipping Mask in Flash Reference: http://www.ehow.com/how_2183064_layer-mask-flash.html
First stage of Clipping Mask
Second stage of Clipping Mask
To create the interactivity between the user and the screen I will use Action Script, which will scale the size of the ball when the noise level rises.
var mic:Microphone = Microphone.getMicrophone();
var mic:Microphone = Microphone.getMicrophone();
stage.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, scaleCircle);
function scaleCircle(E:Event) {
trace(mic.activityLevel);
if (mic.activityLevel > 10) {
if(Circle.width <>
CREATIVITY AND THEME
Most interactive interfaces whether they be games, websites or digital art installations. Require a certain theme to draw the right target audience. Without a theme or style to go with your interface, it would make the interface less noticeable and attractive. My task is to research various styles of game interfaces, which would be unique and recognizable that people can relate to.
Making the World Digital
There are many different styles of video games, for example the latest Call of Duty video game with it's realistic scenery and game play, gives the user the sense of being within the game. It is also a non fiction game, which enables the user to relate to it through seeing similar experiences in real life or movies.
Call of duty Screen shot
Another example of style that is worldwide, is the unique style of platforms games such as Super Mario, Sonic and Tekken.
Super Mario screen shotThese games don't strive for realism like Call of Duty. However, whether this is due to the level of technology at the time, the games were made up of fantasy worlds, to make things more interesting for the audience.
Chosen Theme
The theme I have chosen for the digital world of my installation, will be a crossed between a variety of video game styles. Firstly for the main structure of my digital world, I will be mimicking the world and style of the Super Mario games. I have chosen this style due to its popularity and simplicity, it is like coca cola, it will be displaying something that the audience can relate to.
Super Mario Theme - Although Super Mario is classed as being retro, it can offer a piece of nostalgic when looked upon by gamers.
Secondly I will be introducing a three dimensional depth to the world, quite similar to how the game Crash Bandicoot is laid out, the reason for this is so it will give the land scape more depth of field.
Crash Bandicoot - Demonstrates a unique way of navigating through a game.
Another aspect I will be including within the land scape of my digital world, is having actual real life buildings integrated into the Super Mario design. The concept being is that video games are slowly manipulating the way we live our lives, for example including buildings such as, McDonald's, Burger King and Mark and Spenser, anything that can link the connection between the digital world and our real world.
McDonalds store - Integrating real life objects to make the connect between games and our lives.SIMPLICITY
When projects and interfaces become complicated and untidy, sometimes the best solution is to make things look as simple as possible. A good example would be Coca Cola, although this is not a game, they are one of the biggest marketing products out there on the streets. The style of Coca Cola is very unique, but it offers a very simple and clean style, so if you were to just see the monotone colours red and white on any other product it can give sometimes give the effect of making you think of coke, even though the object itself isn't anything to do with coke.
Simple Coke website
This concept can also work with games, sometimes the most in-depth games are the worst kind of games, because the user finds it too difficult or visually frustrating. A newly developed method of making games visually simple is to make the HUD (Heads up Display) invisible to the user. Doing this clears the screen of any information that the user doesn't need to see, however most games make the HUD optional, so the user can chose whether to see them on the screen or not. Original the HUD used to be an important asset for games, because it told the user information on their performances and show elements such as lives, points, objects picked up and weapons.
Racing game - Displaying HUD
LAYERS & DEPTH
Layers, what are layers? Well layers consist of elements that are overlapped one another and can be used to show depth of field. The physical property of objects and layers consist of the follow factors: Size, Distance, Texture, Density, Weight, Speed, Motion, Time, Colour and Depth. It is these factors bind together that gives us a 3D world. Thus it is our eyes that generate for us our perception of objects on how they are formed.
Perceiving depth and size
Oculomotor cues
- Positioning of eyes
- Convergence and accommodation
Convergence and accommodation is when both your eyes focus on an object and adjust depending on how close or how far away the object is.
Binocular cues
- Cues from single eye
Binocular cues is when your left eye focusing from a different angle from your right eye, this is what give your eyes depth of field.
3D immersion
Binocular vision is also how 3D anaglyph movies and images are created, through using Red and cyan glasses the audience is able to look at a 2D image in 3D. This is produced through taking a camera shot from each individual eye, showing a slight change in prospective. Then the red and the cyan is there to help focus your eye on the right image.
Monocular cues
- cues from single eye
Monocular cues is based on how you perceive different objects. For example, is the cat behind smaller or is it bigger due to it's further depth of field?
Monocular cues
Development Process
Now that I have chosen a theme and style for my digital world, I can now start the design and making process.
Step 1. sketching the foundations
Sketch of digital world Due to mixing a variety of different video game styles, I have started to draw a concept drawing, which will display what my digital world land scape will look like.
Step 2. 3D production
In creating a three dimensional scene I first started to experiment with other methods of how I could create 3D objects without having to resolve to a 3D program.
Experimenting
I started Building this 3D block using 3D Effects within Adobe Illustrator, however the block seemed to lack in realism and it meant you could only apply the block in one position, where as in 3D programs such as Blender, Maya, or 3DSMax, they enable you to move the object in any position you want. Thus I feel using a 3D program would be the best solution for creating my digital landscape.
3D Cube made in Adobe illustrator.
3D Cube using Blender
This is phase one in trying to produce your stereo typical Super Mario cube within the editing section of Blender. I was able to use the Extrude (push E) and scale (push S) tool on the x and y axises to generate the slanted side panels.
Phase Two - Continued the same steps as phase one, and created the slants on all four sides.
Phase Three - added colour
Phase Two - Continued the same steps as phase one, and created the slants on all four sides.
Phase Three - added colourstep 3. Integrating real life assets
Within the digital landscape of my world I will be placing in certain buildings or objects that people can relate to through personal experiences. Buildings or companies such as
Coca Cola, McDonalds, Nike, Burger King, M & S, Top Man, Mr Wimpy, Vue cinema, Sony, Apple, Tescos, Sainsbury, Game, Disney and so on...
The reason behind having a few of these shops within my digital landscape is to demonstrate how interactive video games are distracting us from our every day lives. What if however, you were to add in real life's assets into a video game, for example you could play a game that involves going shopping down at Marks and Spenser's. So it would be contributing time to your life than detracting time from it.
Second phase of 3D Mark and Spenser's building - Without Colour
During the second phase of the development of the Marks and Spenser's building, I decided to keep things as simple as possible by just using the companies brand logo which is M & S. This scene was created in Blender, by stacking up the blocks that were generated in step 2 of the production. The M&S type is originally a well known font by the name of Helvetica Neue, this font is renounced for it's slick and simplistic style. However due not being able to embed the Font into Blender, I was narrowed down to using the standard type used within Blender.
In this scene I have also added in a plastic texture that will complement the game style I am trying to achieve.
Burger King
Mario game inspiration elements
These game elements are to give the audience more of a feel of being immersed within a video game scene. I started by creating the back drop mountains that are commonly seen in Super Mario.
Original Super Mario scene
First phase - Mario Mountains - without textures
Within the digital landscape of my world I will be placing in certain buildings or objects that people can relate to through personal experiences. Buildings or companies such as
Coca Cola, McDonalds, Nike, Burger King, M & S, Top Man, Mr Wimpy, Vue cinema, Sony, Apple, Tescos, Sainsbury, Game, Disney and so on...
Marks and Spenser's store
The reason behind having a few of these shops within my digital landscape is to demonstrate how interactive video games are distracting us from our every day lives. What if however, you were to add in real life's assets into a video game, for example you could play a game that involves going shopping down at Marks and Spenser's. So it would be contributing time to your life than detracting time from it.
Second phase of 3D Mark and Spenser's building - Without Colour
During the second phase of the development of the Marks and Spenser's building, I decided to keep things as simple as possible by just using the companies brand logo which is M & S. This scene was created in Blender, by stacking up the blocks that were generated in step 2 of the production. The M&S type is originally a well known font by the name of Helvetica Neue, this font is renounced for it's slick and simplistic style. However due not being able to embed the Font into Blender, I was narrowed down to using the standard type used within Blender.
In this scene I have also added in a plastic texture that will complement the game style I am trying to achieve.
Burger King
Burger King store - Final render stage
Mario game inspiration elements
These game elements are to give the audience more of a feel of being immersed within a video game scene. I started by creating the back drop mountains that are commonly seen in Super Mario.
Original Super Mario scene
First phase - Mario Mountains - without textures
I have also included other game elements such as the rings and the interactive boxes, that gain you more points in the Mario games. These objects will also be animated in the final render.
Animated elements in the digital world
Final Digital Game world Render with Animation
Evaluation
After being handed an open brief, I started to think up different ideas that would be best suited for my project proposal. During the time I wanted to create something that would be beneficial to me and to other people, I therefore came up with the idea of building my own local food website. After consulting my tutor however, he stated that this project would be better off as a personal project rather than being developed for a university project. Through this being the case I took my teachers advice and started to delve into the realm of interactivity and digital art installations, where I could experiment in creating different artistic styles and research into human interaction.
The idea for the project installation I made called The Digital World, originated after becoming interested about a 4000-word essay I wrote, which was based on the subject of computer games and how they affect our contemporary society. I wanted to create something that would make people be more aware of how much impact these video games make on our every day lives, so this is when I came up with the concept of having a hidden Portal or gateway that leads into a digital video game dimension, which people can discover through interacting with. After doing research on the theory and style of games, I was able to gain a good idea on what I wanted my digital landscape too look like. Thus I started to experiment different ways of how I could create a realistic three-dimensional landscape that would mimic the style of a stereotypical game. At first I wanted to try and create a 3D illusion effect using Adobe illustrator, however I also wanted to broaden my skill based knowledge and progress onto 3D modelling software, which is when chose to model my landscape in Blender.
Using Blender was challenging and enjoyable at the same time, because I had to make sure that I got every angle and size right to create the landscape objects, also the interface of the program itself can become quite complex and untidy, but the final renders that were produced for my final project came up well. The aspect I enjoyed the most was being able to act as if I was designing my own game, doing this part of the project has certainly boosted my confidence in what I can achieve using 3D animations in Blender.
The next stage was to create the portal hole for the people to interact with. I found this most interesting due to researching a variety of unique and very talented digital artists such as Chris O’shea and others. Chris O’shea’s work was most inspirational in helping me gain ideas for my project. When creating the interactive portal I was able to use action script code that I had learnt in the past to be able to create the microphone interactions. If I was to re do this aspect of my project I would use motion tracking cameras that detect movement, I feel that cameras would have been a better means of interaction for the user than microphones, however I was never able to get the camera tracking to work, due to not having the availability of a web cam. Overall I feel that this project has been successful and has challenged me various ways. If I were to do it again, I would improve on my animation skills, to make it seem more real and smooth and I would like to do more thorough research into how game theory works.
Overall I feel that this project has been successful and has challenged me various ways. If I were to do it again, I would improve on my animation skills, to make it seem more real and smooth and I would like to do more thorough research into how game theory works.
After being handed an open brief, I started to think up different ideas that would be best suited for my project proposal. During the time I wanted to create something that would be beneficial to me and to other people, I therefore came up with the idea of building my own local food website. After consulting my tutor however, he stated that this project would be better off as a personal project rather than being developed for a university project. Through this being the case I took my teachers advice and started to delve into the realm of interactivity and digital art installations, where I could experiment in creating different artistic styles and research into human interaction.
The idea for the project installation I made called The Digital World, originated after becoming interested about a 4000-word essay I wrote, which was based on the subject of computer games and how they affect our contemporary society. I wanted to create something that would make people be more aware of how much impact these video games make on our every day lives, so this is when I came up with the concept of having a hidden Portal or gateway that leads into a digital video game dimension, which people can discover through interacting with. After doing research on the theory and style of games, I was able to gain a good idea on what I wanted my digital landscape too look like. Thus I started to experiment different ways of how I could create a realistic three-dimensional landscape that would mimic the style of a stereotypical game. At first I wanted to try and create a 3D illusion effect using Adobe illustrator, however I also wanted to broaden my skill based knowledge and progress onto 3D modelling software, which is when chose to model my landscape in Blender.
Using Blender was challenging and enjoyable at the same time, because I had to make sure that I got every angle and size right to create the landscape objects, also the interface of the program itself can become quite complex and untidy, but the final renders that were produced for my final project came up well. The aspect I enjoyed the most was being able to act as if I was designing my own game, doing this part of the project has certainly boosted my confidence in what I can achieve using 3D animations in Blender.
The next stage was to create the portal hole for the people to interact with. I found this most interesting due to researching a variety of unique and very talented digital artists such as Chris O’shea and others. Chris O’shea’s work was most inspirational in helping me gain ideas for my project. When creating the interactive portal I was able to use action script code that I had learnt in the past to be able to create the microphone interactions. If I was to re do this aspect of my project I would use motion tracking cameras that detect movement, I feel that cameras would have been a better means of interaction for the user than microphones, however I was never able to get the camera tracking to work, due to not having the availability of a web cam. Overall I feel that this project has been successful and has challenged me various ways. If I were to do it again, I would improve on my animation skills, to make it seem more real and smooth and I would like to do more thorough research into how game theory works.
Overall I feel that this project has been successful and has challenged me various ways. If I were to do it again, I would improve on my animation skills, to make it seem more real and smooth and I would like to do more thorough research into how game theory works.
