Space + Enviroment

The use of space in games and animations is very relevant in order to create a believable immersive experience. 

The environment usually is a very important element in interactive applications. Sometimes it defines the game-play, navigation and structure of games. Also though the appropriate use of space we can reveal the user important information about what he is supposed to do, how to do it also the path he must follow

Through the space and environment we can generate more than a location to place a character. for example we can generate changes in the environments to represent shifts of time, seasons, give the impression of waking though really long distances and even we can represent when danger is getting closer to the gamer.

One of the first examples I remember of playing in different stages where we were supposed to achieve different objectives in order to move forward in the game was Mario 64.

In this game every stage provided a mood tough the objects, the color palette and the music and also going though the space was a challenge itself.

Another game I remember for its use of space providing a challenge was ‘world of goo’. Where the gamer had to overcome each level building bridges and structures between pieces of the stage. 

And finally this video is about a game 'Echochrome' that has a very clever use of space by using the concept of optical illusions to generate and provide the resources to complete every level. And though it has a very simple appearance it actually helps to reinforce the idea of the game as a puzzle.

STORY BOARD

This is my story board. because of the lengh of my previous idea I changed the story. but the character is still the same.

The story is about a boy who is not allowed to play in the afternoon and is sent to sleep early.To give his father a lesson he decides to run away from home to some unknown destination.  He finds a phone booth. and calls his father in the middle of the night to let him know what he did.

Time + Perspective

By manipulating Time, we generate changes, sensations and responses from the users or the system. Even if we work on generation of simple and mechanical movements we are able to represent change of time, persistence or immutability, especially because time is a real constant and ongoing factor.

Using time as a stage or real factor in the enviroment, may change the mood and general sensation of any proguction. For example, is not the same if an animation about war develops in winter as it would be if it was on summer or autum. And is not te same if a ghost story develops during nigh or during the afternoon. Time used as an enviromental factor changes the image, afects the aestetics, the sound and the feelings it evoques.

Time considered as a moment or period is also used very ofthen in movies, animation an even games. In some games, the story of the character develops through a long period of time, passing from diferents stages of their lives. An example of this is mafia II, where the story develops representing a characters life and he has to spend 10 years in jail.

In games, time is a real factor that afects the jugability and interaction of the users, we may find timers, countdowns, deadlines and some other mechanism that change the interaction and strategies of the game.

In the same way, the interaction with a game is different when is played in real time, where you constantly have to shift strategies, because of the changes that are being generated as you play with it. In oposition to this there ae some games where you actually have the oportunity to pause and consider the next action you are going to take.

Form + Image

Fractal aesthetics is something that began long before the generation of computers, they are being constantly generated by nature and sometimes we not even realize they are around us. Some are generated in a macro scale like the patterns made by the rives and others can only be seen using microscopes. 

 
Maybe one of the reasons we feel so attracted to this shapes is the fact that we try to find some order and structure on them, even though sometimes for us is hard to understand the actual forces and causes that generates them in nature. 

in CG world fractals are generated in different ways. We create complex systems and patterns by the recurrent use of repeating a defined structures that are often very simple, in several iterations or levels. We may use mathematical formulas, algorithms or random generation. 

trying to find some more information about fractals I found that some artist are generating music trough the use of fractal patterns by assigning different sounds to the shapes or iterations. this music is not of my particular taste, but is very interesting to hear it. 

In interactive and even in animation, the use of self generative systems are widely used to provide a different outcome from the normal solutions we often find. We may find an animation that changes every time you see it. The events inside a game may vary in order, even if the outcome is always the same (winning or losing). 

By experimenting with self-similar auto generated shapes, lightning and sound an artist may generate a response over a person. But at the same time if the artist gives control to an user to change the conditions, patterns and responses from the system it could lead towards a very different experience from one person to another.

Gesture + Movement

Digital media has specific conventions established to lead and allow the user to interact with an interactive application through an interface. the variety we have now in media such as touch screens, cell phones, i Pads, game consoles and computers, allow the developers to generate new concepts and ideas that eventually become part of a big pool of resources. These resources are eventually taken by artist and creatives  and transformed into something unique.

Sometimes it not enough just to have an idea. this idea needs to be developed and polished trough a long and maybe complicated process in order to get the best of it, and part of being an artist or developer includes criticize your own work, view it from another perspective and also search for help and feedback from other people. 

The normal language used to interact with the user is formed by a group of already established symbols and preexisting conventions, but every developer is free to interpret the resources and capabilities of every tool in order to achieve a good interaction with the user establishing a bridge between the media and the subject. Also, by generating unique conventions and symbols is possible to provide a beautiful and aesthetic background to an interactive media application.

In the examples seen in class I felt really attracted by "ceremony of innocence". One of the things I noticed on the video we saw, was that the audio seems to be very attractive and it reinforces the idea of the user being interacting with the interface, using the space and generating changes in the environment.

we can shift and accommodate the tools in order to strengthen our ideas. Take advantage of the medium. By moving trough the space, we also give the sensation of moving in time. so one way to change the time in what is been shown is by managing appropriately the space inside the interface in conjunction with sound, and this is a big step moving towards an inmersive experience.

some time ago, looking some information about interactive experiences and the idea of animation, movement and change I found this website: http://anasomnia.com/

I especially liked because of the fact that I can interact with it using a webcam to generate changes in the light and actually trigger a very nice animation. Also the animation is very attractive and is a unlike way to relate darkness to a different world in this case the dreams, that in some cases don't have any sense but you feel the time moving and the action being generated and this to me is expressed in the animation by moving in a kind of vertical growth, repeating constantly some loops where the object generates itself over and over.

As a professional, I had the opportunity to interact and get involved in the production of augmented reality applications as a 3D modeler and animator. As part of the pipeline of production, this experience gave me a new view about interaction and communication with the consumer using non conventional tools, for example ID cards and pieces of paper.

These are some videos of my previous experience with AR. 

I apologize for the audio, is in Spanish