First Video Tracking Demo

Here are some screenshots from my first attempts at controlling a shape using the eyes++ actor from in class today. A blob is tracked, and its vertical and horizontal centers determine the horizontal and vertical position of the square. The object width and height are used to control the red and green color values of the square, and the object velocity is used to control the line size of the square.

Danny Coyle’s game project: Green Hill Paradise – Act 2

This is a video game/research project of my own design inspired by the Sonic the Hedgehog game series.

——————————–

Green Hill Paradise was born out of a question. A question that has all but torn the Sonic the Hedgehog community asunder:

Can a Sonic the Hedgehog game be made such that it supplies a rich and robust experience in a fully 3D environment while staying true to its platforming roots?

We are here to answer this question, not through an in-depth analysis video, not through a lengthy forum post, but through a fully playable video game experience. After 10 months of research and development we believe that, yes, Sonic can not only exist in 3D, but he can THRIVE in it. GHP’s massive environment, winding paths, dynamic physics and hidden collectibles provide players with the freedom to choose where they want to go and how they wish to get there. The only limitations are the laws of physics and the player’s own skill.

No Spline paths.
No Boostpads.
No scripted cameras.
No Boost Button.

Gotta Go Fast?
Earn it.

——————————–

Since the game’s release, it has been featured on various websites and YouTube “Let’s Play” videos. I figured it was prudent to share it here with you all as well. If you have any questions about the project, just ask!

Sept 8th 2016 – Pressure Project 1

Pressure Project #1: Generator

Time limit: 5 hours max!

Specific resources needed for this project: Isadora; and the Shapes Actor and Jump++ Actor within.

Required Achievements:

Consider: Conway’s Game of Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2vgICfQawE

Further Consider Cellular Automata: https://www.google.com/#q=cellular+automata

Primary goal:

Create a generative patch in the Isadora programming environment that integrates the use of the Shapes Actor, Jump++ Actor, Eyes or Eyes ++ and ANY other actor(s) that you choose to develop a self-generating patch.

After initializing the patch (“pressing a button”) the patch runs it self through a visual sequence of movement and behavior.

Secondary goal: Maximize the amount of time it takes for the novice viewer of the patch to grok the patch’s behavior. (Grok: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok)

Other Isadora Actors of note for this project: All of the actors under the Calculation heading. But specifically: Random, Wave Generator, Smoother, Curvature, Comparator, Counter, Scale Value, Calculator, Logical Calculator, Inside Range, Hold Range,

This Project is: Pass / Fail | Artistic visions/considerations are highly valued.

For further information:

• Getting started: Complete the first 7 Isadora tutorials available at the following link:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqNw_4AWvvA
• short version of url: http://goo.gl/Z1sPlQ
• (This link is to the first tutorial. The following tutorials can be found in the associated links that pop up on the right of the YouTube interface.)

Paper-based game results and observations:

Our team of two modified the “Boxes” game where the objective is to create boxes from a dot grid, racking up combos in order to defeat your opponent. Our change was simple: allow players to create diagonal lines between dots and have scoring based on triangles rather than squares. This simple change made for twice as many possibilities and opportunities for scoring. The meta-game involves trapping your opponents into situations where they will be forced to set you up for victory. The ability to create diagonal lines creates an environment where these traps can be set more frequently, thus creating a more aggressive style of play.

Next I tried out a variant of Hangman. This version included a life system. Every time you chose an incorrect letter, you lost a life. Lose all of them and, no matter your Hangman’s status, you lose. Guess correctly and you will gain lives. This change in the rule-set creates a dynamic of “momentum” that the game did not have prior to the change. If you begin guessing incorrectly, you will lose more quickly than normal. If you begin guessing correctly and gain more lives, then you are able to take more risks. An interesting dynamic, to be sure.

~Danny

Isadora Video Tracking demo

A very basic layout. Two blobs are tracked and their locations are ported to the locations of squares.

“Trailhead” Final project update

Reflection

Photo by Alex Oliszewski

I am very pleased with how my final iteration of this project went. Not all of the triggers worked perfectly (the same scene was always finicky, which could have called for some final tweaking), but the interactivity I was looking for occurred.

Please refer to my video documentation of the participants experience and experiments with the light projections:

When I had the opportunity to discuss the participants interactions here is the feedback I received as well as my observations.

• One participant suggested I play with the velocity as a reactive element, using slow as well as fast as options. I explained that this actual was a step in the creation process but I preferred the allure of the constant light. I would like to in the future use the velocity in a different way because I agree it would add a lot of interest to the experience.
•  When I asked them to “paint” the light with their hands, they actually rubbed their hands on the ground not in the air like patch necessitated. I realized after the first cycle of participants that using wording more akin to “conducting” would give them the depth information they would need to interact.
• I found that their impetus after interacting for a while was to use try and use their feet to manipulate the light because the light was projected onto the floor. Giving them information about their vertical depth being a factor of body recognition would have helped them. On the contrary though, I did enjoy watching the discovery process unfold on its own as their legs got higher off the ground and the projection began to appear.
• Another participant, when asked how they decided to move after seeing the experiential media said it was in a way of curiosity. They wanted to ask to test the limits of the interaction.
• The most exciting feedback for me was when a final participant expressed their self-proclaimed ‘non-dancer’ status but said my patch encouraged them to move in new ways. Non movers found themselves moving because of the interest the projection generated. So cool!

I wanted to give the participants a little bit of information about the patch but not too much as to spoon feed it to them. The written prompts worked well, but as stated above, the “paint” wording while poetic was not effective.

Kinect to Isadora 

VUO Connection- Feed Kinect depth data into Isadora

Isadora Patch Details

Scene Names/Organization

“Come to me,” “Take a knee: Paint the light with your hands,” and “A little faster now” were all text prompts that would trigger when a person exited the space to give them instructions for their next interaction. The different “mains” was the actual trailing projection itself, separated into different colors. Finally, the “Fin, back to the top!” screen was simply there for a few seconds to reveal they had reached the end and the patch would loop all over again momentarily. This could potentially cause an infinite loop of interactivity, allowing participants to observe others and find new ways of spreading, interacting, hiding and manipulating the projected light.

I am excited to take this patch, intelligence, feedback forward with me into my dance studies. I am going to integrate a variant of this project immediately into my performance in the Department of Dance’s Winter Concert in February of 2016, of which I have a piece of choreography and soon an experiential projection, in.

Photo by Alex Oliszewski

Fin! 

Documentation Pictures From Alex

Hi all,

You can find copies of the pictures I took from the public showing here:

https://osu.box.com/s/ff86n30b1rh9716kpfkf6lpvdkl821ks

Please let me know if you have any problems accessing them.

-Alex