Major Studio: Interface
Children of the Shred
Introduction
In computer and video games, players engage in “action at a distance,” much like remotely manipulating a robot, but in a far more fine-grained fashion. Cognitive research suggests that such fine-grained action at a distance actually causes humans to feel as if their bodies and minds have stretched into a new space [1], a highly motivating state [2]. Children of the Shred is a real-time computer game in which two players can challenge each other’s music improvisational skills by playing out a narrative adventure by using digital or analog instruments. This game was built with Python, PyGame and Max/MSP. It was produced for a final project for Major Studio: Interface at Parsons in Fall 2008 in collaboration with Clay Ewing.
Concept
The objective of the game is to emulate an immersive virtual environment that is geared towards musical skill development and music improvisation. Audio signals from the players’ instruments directly affect the virtual environment and provide immediate visual feedback in the form of game characters. All learning and gameplay involves ‘playing a character.’ In a science classroom, learning works best if students think, act, and value like scientists. Games can show us how to get people to invest in new identities or roles, which can, in turn, become powerful motivators for new and deep learning in classrooms, workplaces, and everyday life [3].
The game offers possibilities for remote skill development and improvisation unlike systems such as Rocket Networks which support the sharing of music files in order to allow musicians to collaborate on composing a piece of music together [4]; and JamSpace, which explores real-time networked improvisation, and is more focused on simple collaborative rhythmic musical scenarios, such as drumming circles, which are among the easiest ways to engage musical novices [5].
The game draws heavily from popular culture and attempts to make a common connection between music, gaming and popular culture domains. Giroux and Simon [6] have claimed that popular culture ‘raises important questions about the relevance of everyday life, student voice, and the investment of meaning and pleasure that structure and anchor the why and how of learning’ [7].
Children of the Shred is presented as a fictional post-apocalyptic scenario in which the world as we know it has ceased to exist. It is now divided into two sects – one ruled by the Zombie Lord and the other by the Zombie Slayer – who are constantly battling to rule the world. Players can choose to be the Zombie Lord and unleash zombies, which resemble Michael Jackson from 1983’s Thriller video (one of the most famous appearances of zombies on television). Or they can choose to be the Zombie Slayer and destroy their opponent’s zombies.
Conceptually the game borrows from the game ‘Typing of the Dead’. There is no obvious connection between zombies and touch-typing or guitar playing. However, as Repenning and Lewis note, learning how to type (in this case, play the guitar) is highly connected to subconscious motor skills, and hence connected to a game context such as Typing of the Dead or Children on the Shred. Both games are able to balance typing or guitar playing challenges and skills through a game context, which relates to the notion of flow [8] [9].
Documentation
Download Source
References
[1] Clark, A. 2003. Natural-Born Cybrogs: Why Minds and Technologies Are Made to Merge. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
[2] Gee, J.P. 2003 What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. University of Wisconsin-Madison. ACM Computer in Entertainment, Vol. 1, No. 1, October 2003.
[3] Gee, J.P. 2003 What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. University of Wisconsin-Madison. ACM Computer in Entertainment, Vol. 1, No. 1, October 2003.
[4] Bryan-Kinns, N. 2004 Daisyphone: The Design and Impact of a Novel Environment for Remote Group Music Improvisation. DIS2005, August 1-4, 2004, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
[5] Gurevich, M. 2006 JamSpace: A Networked Real-Time Collaborative Music Environment. CHI 2006, April 22-27, 2006, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
[6] Giroux, H. A. and Simon, R. I. 1989. (eds.). Popular Culture, Schooling, and Everyday Life. New York: Bergin and Garvey.
[7] Cheung, C. K., 2001. The use of popular culture as a stimulus to motivate secondary students’ English learning in Hong Kong. ELT Journal Volume 55/1 January 2001. Oxford University Press.
[8] Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1991. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Perennial.
[9] Repenning, A. and Lewis, C. 2004. Playing a Game: The Ecology of Designing, Building and Testing Games as Educational Activities. University of Colorado at Boulder.
Categorized as @Parsons, Fall08, @Parsons, Fall08, Major Studio: Interface
Across the Universe
Introduction
‘Across the Universe’ is a public space project we (Stephen Varga and me) conducted at Union Square to gain insight on peoples’ behavior when a non-familiar object is installed in a familiar environment, to purposely disrupt normal transition patterns. We also study how a metaphor and a narrative, influences their reactions or choices in interacting with the object.
Post Mortem
This paper describes the motivations and objectives behind the concept and the design process we followed to conceive it.
Documentation
Here’s you’ll find several PPT presentations, videos and pictures that document the entire design process.
- Initial Observations of the space
- Initial Prototypes
- Revised Prototypes
- Final Concept
- Final Presentation
Images
Videos
First Prototype
Second Prototype
Final Prototype
Tagged as public space project + Categorized as @Parsons, Fall08, @Parsons, Fall08, Major Studio: Interface