Talk with Alastair MacDonald (Kerb programmer) - notes

I asked Alastair MacDonald about audience engagement in interactive media, and if he had created any games that incorporate sensors or physical interaction. I also told him about my reactions to the brief so far. Comments he made in our conversation are:

He has not incorporated physical interaction in games, but has in installations and other bits and pieces.

He talked about a piece of work that used floor mats and connections to the mouse that meant the feet were using to click rather than the hand.

He confirmed that it is possible to have the user in the work using web cams and code that allows for motion sensors, and that I should look for free code on the internet, because it might be too complicated. He gave me this link relating to it-

www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/webcam_motion.html

Also, when asked about control in terms of who has it, user or creator, he said that although there are boundaries, it can also be said that there are physical boundaries such as the keyboard and screen itself that can be considered, and that making things happen that are unexpected can be a great way of making something successful, and humorous.


Thoughts /Inspirations gained from the talk:

It is encouraging to know that it could be possible in this project to create some sort of interactive installation, such as a flash based application that allows the user control in the sense that they can bring something totally unique and individual to the interactive experience they, well, experience.

It also got me thinking about the idea of having an installation that has the computer screen embedded in a screen, and allows the user to explore beyond the boundaries of the screen, and navigate the space around it, perhaps having a projection of an extended screen. Or perhaps a humorous approach could be a ‘behind the scenes’ sort of projection around the edges so you veer off into a dark, mechanical space with lots of matrix style code where odd things happen to the cursor.

It also got me wondering if I can get an old mouse or joystick or keyboard or sound or microphone and experiment with hooking it up to interact. I will have a look over the next week at bits and pieces and explore ideas regarding this.

Also this talk prompted an idea about creating something that uses a touch screen to get the user to mentally figure out how to proceed to the next page of a website/program. i.e, parents use blocks and shape holes in a box to encourage learning in children, and I like the thought of having to stimulate the page in a certain way, so you have to touch it in a variety of places or with a certain shape, to proceed, and the clues are within the page, so the user has to interact mentally to proceed. (would need ideas on what to make as an incentive to do so). This also led onto thoughts about an interactive puzzle, as it’s quite similar, and the idea that the tv show ‘lost’ is quite interactive, because to get the most you can from it, you have to really be alert and observant. There are so many connections between characters in thier flashbacks that when I watch it with my family we almost turn it into a game, trying to observe all of them, and pause and rewind to watch them because as individuals, we can never notice them all alone, it is watching in a group that means we all get more from the experience. It has turned into a whole web movement, almost, lost connections websites and people theorizing what all the weird clues could mean. They even advertised fake products in the show that people looked up. EVERYTHING is becoming interactive. EVERY media is encouraging user participation. MENTALLY.