Delux Cards and Final

Delux Cards -- (Not Final Project Idea)

Taking the original card idea and developing it further, the Delux cards emply the use of the royal card house which acts out on the stage depending on where the user places them according to hit points. Idle animations and various attack animations allow the characters to interact when the user drops them onto the stage.

The Cards are King, Queen, Jack, and Joker -- each preform a different animation when they are paired on the stage.

Final Story Board -- (Final Project Idea)

A further developing of the ideas created in the early project to create several flash drawings. The Slave Sale comic will be an interactive comic strip that is linear in nature; however, allows the user to make actions happen within the panels, drag and drop the characters to different panels, and progress the story either through using the interface or actually moving the characters around.

The Project has four major chapters, each can be instantly visited via the interface.

- Introduction: During this phase the user can progress the story by clicking and selecting panels. The user can activate other actions within the present panel of the story by clicking on it.

- Travel: User can drag and drop characters to different locations to progress the story.

- Sale: User can attempt to make a selection for the main character, but will of course be forced to pick the right one in the end.

- Conclusion: Ending scene which allows the user to remove objects from the scene to continue it, such as removing the slave's collar from around his neck.

Artist Inspiration:

www.jaynaylor.com
Scott Ruggles
Trent Halverson

Analyzing

Jeremy Hodge
Analyzing
http://www.natzke.com/

After playing with the project for sometime, if becomes obvious that the product itself responds to mouse over commands. Such as simply sliding the mouse across the screen, not needed to press. Yet, the project itself begin with an on(Press) command, what follows after can either follow its own pre-set path, or be overridden by the mouse. When a path is made, either by the program or the mouse, several movie clips spawn in that location. They proceed to duplicate over and over again to create complex designs. There are so many different movie clips you can play with the product for several minutes and see all sorts of different kind of patterns emerge.

Every movie clip is made up of several instances that are set to their own path. Each frame creates a new instance, which in the end makes a ribbon effect just by constantly layering the same shape one after another. The instances do not vanish when the movie clip completes either. Staying on the stage, many thousands of instances begin to layer up creating a virtual painting that will never be the same twice. The more you play with it, the more the painting changes and evolves even though the same movie clips may repeat over and over again.

Spawning a movie clip upon mouse over command is a technique I’ve yet to master myself, but it certainly has a lot of power. It’s a very simple project, but an effective tool for creating interactive web art that is as static and brief as the time in which the user has to offer to it. So ultimately, a solid product.

Comic Midterm(s)

Comic Midterm:

Throughout the course of the week the idea to produce a solid flash comic was to be simple yet complex in the presentation. The narrative of choice was to take a ball and to allow the user to kick it around the world so that it lands exactly where it started. The ball is the major interactive feature, by clicking it you move the comic panels along to progress the "story" and in the end it all repeats as many times as the user desires.

Comments On Fellow Artists:

Breedlove:

The work produced was graphically interesting, but a certain lack of interactivity was present. In the end only one noticeable feature was interactive, and it didn't seem to combine into a narrative or story. The idea of creating a comic, which you progress and move along seems to fall short, but the work still "looks" good. I'd like to have seen more of a progression where you move on an interactive scale and also access a number of options through action script.

Cierra:

Death by burrito is an amusing piece and is certainly simple. If it is a comic, it is a comic without panels and therefore loses any sort of feel of a narrative. Use of movie clips and action script is present, and it functions nicely. Yet it is unclear what the user has to press and you have to do a great deal of searching to find those moments of interactivity. Not exactly user friendly in that field, so that does need some work.

Ashley:

Simply but it does give a feeling of a comic, however not at all too progressive in a narrative. The background suggests newspapers, yet the foreground suggests weather. It would have a greater effect if you use a Weather Section of the newspaper as a background for such a project. The foreground does change when you select the clouds, yet there just needs to be more. It feels as if the project is going somewhere, but surprisingly short. Try to tell a story somehow by interacting with the environment.

Breaking Down Testimony

Testimony is an interaction between the author, computer, and the user of the content. the author is the one who has designed it, allowing the computer to randomly place the material within given block and locations. All of the content can be managed by the user, though not fully controlled. Because of the the random nature of the images which appear and text within the balloons, it makes recreating the same scene over and over again very complicated and hard. -- Much like an actualy Testimony.

Question:
Why now allow the user to have more control over the comic? Perhaps the ability to allow users to type into text bubbles to further "create" their own story might be a successful take on a comic of a similiar, yet different nature.

Testimony Comic Responce

The interactive comic strip, "Testimony: A Story Machine" is a very interesting example of interactive flash elements. By pressing several panels you can change the image, there-by constructing your own comicstrip. The dialogue that the characters say is also as random as the images themselves, so the story is never really there. But it's enjoyable to watch how it all evolves and unfolds, allowing the user to play with the elements for several minutes at a time to see what is all there to offer. The most ineresting element is the dream-state which combines several animations and various "rollover" and "mouse location" commands.

http://www.myballoonhead.com/storymach.html

Assignment 7 Write Up

Turned in March 6th 2007, the project was an experiment with time lines and and action script adjustments to objects already on the stage. The idea was to originally make a "screen" in which the user would have to erase, while erasing they'll locate the button at the center of the screen. Upon pressing it the large doors will open up and load up the small mini-game within. The transition between opening doors and mini-game was a time-line trick where I would control the master-time line from a movie clip.

Once the movie clip hit a certain section of code, it would switch to the main time line and complete the animation. After the screen loads, a reset button can also be seen on the stage. As the user plays with three pieces of fruit, they can press the reset button as many times as they like to set the fruit back on the belt for transformation once again. Each fruit has two effects, a drag-over and a press effect that is activated by the user. I had some problems with a would of drag-over elements, such as the banana turning. The button at the very beginning had problems too, because it didn't seem to respond correctly the custom pointer while everything else on the stage did.

1. netart; (n)

Describes a form of artwork that exists only in the computerized realm. Not tangible, work of this sort can be found on the World Wide Web, also considered cyberspace or the Internet. The media created is a consistent string of repeating animations, which can or cannot be interactive. The most abundant source is found in various advertisements throughout the Internet.

Other forms attempt to allow users on their personal computers to use keyboard and mouse functions to either play with or control the work itself. Media such as this cannot be appreciated anywhere beyond these basic functions.

2. Is "netart", Art?

Whether or not “netart” is actually artwork greatly depends on how the work functions, and how it is does or doesn’t have an impact upon the viewer. Much of what if often considered netart isn’t art at all, but a simply construction of basic loops and layers that replays endlessly.

For a piece of Internet artwork to be considered art means it has to go beyond that which tangible work can go. There are limits to sculptures, painting, printed media, and various other forms of artwork that art on the net does not have. Since artwork on the net doesn’t technically exist, it has the ability to allow users to touch the work in other ways.
Users can become part of the work itself and not only allow the artist to drive a message, but to further carry home in ways other works cannot. Very few pieces meet this objective and probably few ever will.

3. Work and Peers

No, I personally have no constructed a piece of netart. My fellow peers have made their own attempts, and many of them did experiment with different fashions of execution of these criteria. However, a further ideal form of net artwork has not been produced by the class and may only come to light if the entire class actually functions as a whole.

Larger complex internet structures can be built by young digital architects in due time since it is just very hard to really put together something of real meaning alone.

No Project Feb 6th

Please do not search for a project on this Blog, one was never completed. ^^

Word Render

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The Cave

Daniel Sandin and Thomas DeFanti were just a few behind the production of the virtual reality environment, the CAVE. This allowed viewers to actually enter inside a computer generated environment without the need of head sets of special devices, they were actually immersed in the scene. The very concept of it was always far more interesting than the actually practice, and certainly there are limits to its present condition. But what of the idea of being immersed completely in a space entirely of your own design seems to completely unrealistic? Did equal minds but eighty years ago feel that perhaps something a huge and complicated as the computer would ever be small enough to fit in your hand? Perhaps, but it wasn’t exactly an optimistic thought among the majority.

Multimedia seems to only go as far as the limits of not only its creator, but also the one interacting with it. The very idea of a total emersion space is there, but the technology has not even remotely come to a point of even making it worth the time and patience of it. Yet let us entertain the notion of being able to not only water your ideas come to life, but to be able to manipulate a virtual universe where one person alone sets the stage, characters, script, lighting and more without the need of a crew or the highly technical complexity of rendering a computer animation. Right now it takes several people and several machines to power virtual environments inside a computer, much less outside of one.

Yet perhaps one day the technology may allow for the ability of a single person to quite literally be the god of their own little universe that they can touch, see, hear, and smell.

What Is Technology?

Advancements of modern day living that we’ve all come to know and love. This includes but isn’t limited to computers, all modes of transportation, refrigeration, central heating and air, most forms of footwear, refined metal objects (most eating utensils), plastics, heaters, fan, cell phones, telephones, television, radio, and so much more. You are constantly surrounded by this each and every day at home, work, and school. It becomes so familiar that is starts to become difficult to imagine life without these things. Could you possibly imagine living a day without them?

What Isn’t Technology?

Basically, mandatory requirements such as standard clothing, fabrics, books, basic artistic supplies, sandals made primarily of leather, and all that is required to keep you alive for a 24 hour period (Such as mandatory medication, which is a technology but we don’t want you dieing for the wrong reasons). You can do without telephones, radio, television, all modes of transportation, and other basic forms of modern day living for a single day.

Technology Use Record:

• WindMachine Standing Floor Fans x2 – 24/7
• Florissant Lighting - 18 hours a day
• Personal Computer – 15 hours a day
• Lap Top – 3 hours day
• Entertainment Systems (Gaming) – 2 hours a day
• Refrigeration Unit – 24/7
• Center Heating and Air – 24/7
• Plumbing – 24/7
• Writing Utensils – 2 hours
• Eating Utensils – 1 hour

What is a Technology Fast?

Normally a Fast is an absence of all food, sometimes even drink for religious or medical purposes. But what is a Technology Fast? Now this is an entirely different question altogether. This is an absence of all, if not most of the benefits of modern living for the duration of a 24 hour period. The goal is not just to allow one to appreciate their surroundings more, but it is to obtain a better understanding of oneself and their state of existence.

Is a Technology Fast Possible?

At times it can be hard to picture oneself outside of the normal shell of use of technology, and often people can forget what it may have been like where you could not readily take water for a fosset, flip a light switch, or endure the comfort of a heater in the middle of a cold night. In an attempt to better oneself, it may be wise to attempt a complete absence from technology at one point or another. Perhaps it will give you a great appreciation of it, or more ideally – it will allow you to start developing intellectual ideals toward for a better humanity.

Yes, a fast such as this is possible. But it takes dedication, and certainly a lot of planning. It can not be done simply upon a whim, for you will find that breaking away from technology is a lot harder than you might think. Making plans, gathering materials, and perhaps even relocating yourself to a new location entirely may be the smartest plan. If you were to indulge yourself in a fast within your own home, you will be far too used to a simply cycle and casual routine that you will mindlessly use technology and not even realize it. Alienation is the key to success.

For an example, consider a Bed & Breakfast in the middle of Ozark Mountains. Set up a weekend visit and set up one of the days to be a complete absence of the technology you are so used to saturating yourself within.

Preparation of a Fast

Once it has been determined what technology is, it is important to note that others will continue to assume you are still under the influence of it. As first step would be to inform those of your separation from the “network” of our daily lives, including computers, email, cell phones, telephones, and other forms of personal communication. Not everyone understands their position of being so fortunate as to have someone but a finger’s touch away, and that can be easily taken for granted.

Give yourself a goal, and making it a constructive one. This goal will be the one thing that will ultimately occupy your mind for the duration of the 24 hour period. And once you figure a goal, you can gather the needed materials for it. Let’s assume you desired to go out into the middle of a field and paint the landscape for a majority of the day. You’d need to consider that all your materials are not very modern in the technical sense, which means no hand watches, pocket devices, sun glasses, shoes, or etc. You will need a basic pair of sandals perhaps, an easel, canvas, and a basket of paints.

Let’s not forget a non refrigerated pouch for food, water, and other forms of sustenance. Also know that you will probably not paint for the duration of the whole day, so be sure to also make a schedule of what you will hope to be doing. Make it flexible, so plan for up to six major activities which can include drawing, writing, reading, crafting, weaving, and even contemplation. But you do not want to spend the day merely sleeping, for that is not the point. The whole idea is not just to see how long you can go without the use of technology, but it is also to entertain the several other options and pleasures of the human existence.

There is a world that some have actually forgotten existed, and that is the world of self discovery. We can entertain our minds for so long that we forget about the part of ourselves which yearns to be something more, and certainly this is a chance to see if that part of you is still strong enough actually inspire you to make something of yourself.

As We May Think -- But Can We Think?

To what point have we grown to find ourselves merely looking back to the ideas of a man spoken not even a hundred years ago, and only to find that everything he has dreamed of has somehow made its way from the logical pictures of his mind to the a tangible reality. Vennevear Bush spoke of not just of the ideal camera which could instantly render a picture for its taker but seconds after the fact, but also he envision a form of the personal computer that is more or less was meant to be a personal library. There was no computing involved really, just the mere implementation of code which would allow the user to scan through the thousands of texts that would undoubtedly be stores within a system consistent of microfilm.

It was indeed a form of what we could consider the computer today, for that is a library of information we often tap at the mere stokes of a few keys of a mechanized board. We interact with a machine daily, work from it, live from it, feed off it – he could not have possibly seen such an existent coming to light. Having exceeding the very bounds of even his imagination, we’ve taken the idea and built it into a complex network of peoples and places that is constantly wired as one. Some of us are utterly dependant upon the connection, as others are so ignorant of its use that they avoid it all together.

Our daily lives are often drowned now with the indulgence of possibly too much information, where there is quite literally the ability to find anything and everything you could ever want or desire. A child could just as easily flick a few keys and watch a real recording of men so firm in their beliefs that they would hold down another man and steadily slice away at his throat with a knife until his head is severed from the body to rest in a dark pool of useless life blood. Both gift and curse, the power we have is often underestimated and wasted. For when we sit and let our eyes become lost in a screen, we neglect to realize that it is but a looking glass into the venomous pit of the human existence.

The true trial is not to stay on the edge of technology; it is up to us to now learn the balance. To learn the means in which we can not let ourselves become consumed by the very things dreamt up by logical man of his age. The threshold of tomorrow has been passed, and today we must strive to shape the future -- not allow it to shape us.