Interactive Games
A series of small interactive games created with Processing, Arduino, Raspberry Pis, and a variety of other tools.
PIAF
Concept: This project explores AI, and gives people a chance to try to teach, learn from, and communicate with one. This AI project involves users guiding an AI character through a maze using unconventional controls like pressure plates, tilt sensors, flexi sensors, and motion detectors. These controls lack predefined meanings, requiring users and the AI to establish meaning through interaction. Users develop a unique language to communicate with the AI, leading to varied levels of success in understanding and collaboration.
ArmY
Concept: This experimental project was inspired by conversations on the violence in video games, and the frequent detachment of the players physical actions (e.g. clicking a mouse, pressing a key) and the action that this caused (e.g. shooting a gun). Counter to this norm, this project connects physical movement to the actions on screen. In this game, the user commands an army. The aggressiveness of the users arm movements, and direction it moves dictate distance and direction of the army. If the movement is not forceful enough, the army doesn't move.
If a time has passed and none of the users input is sufficient, then a screen that follows the user and uncomfortable white noise sounds appear until the user ‘wrests’ control back. The “game” is nihilistic, and purposeless. A constant struggle between the commanding player to keep control of the army and make them obey as their own arms grow increasingly fatigued.
Mechanics: The project utilized the Xbox Kinect which had been hacked to work with a computer. The Kinect was able to identify a person and then track the movement and speed of their arms and the direction that they moved.
