Presenting... two separate, yet integrally intertwined projects from Golan Levin's infamous course on Interactive Art and Computational Design.

/// Ice and Fire ///
Inspiration for this project came like a thief in the night, spiriting away my fancy – A simulated environment where the user becomes a Rain God.

Let There Be Life

The concept was lofty, but straightforward. One hand would control the flow of a rainstorm, while another would serve as a platform for verdant plant growth.

Complications

Unfortunately, this lofty vision was not to be. Despite two solid hours of hacking from computer guru Kaushal, the concept I envisioned was simply not tenable. Libraries weren't cooperating, algorithms crumbled, and the rain wasn't playing nice.

The Answer? Magic.

While attempting to salvage my shipwrecked masterpiece, I discovered a unique interaction opportunity afforded by the simple library I had settled on. Just as quickly as the first, this concept seized my fevered, sleep-deprived imagination. Time was running short, and the only choice was total commitment.

/// Puzzling ///

Puzzling is a creation born from a simple idea – Why do most augmented reality projections have to live so close to their associated markers? What happens when you toy with the spatial relationship between the two? How real can these virtual entities feel, and can they bring people closer together, physically or otherwise?

AR Troopers

The game uses fiduciary markers attached to the participants to project virtual puzzle pieces at a designated distance. The players must, through any sort of bodily contortions possible, fit the projected images together to form a unified whole.

Opening Night

The final version is relatively simple, but thoroughly entertaining. Despite the technically frustrating lighting conditions of the final presentation space, visitors stuck with the game for quite some time, a few even managing to successfully match the pieces!

Date
March - May 2012

Class
Interactive Art and
Computational Design
Carnegie Mellon University
Prof. Golan Levin

Techs
Processing + OpenNI
Open Frameworks
AR Toolkit Plus
Photoshop
Xcode
iMovie
Kinect

Skills
Serendipitous Adaptation
Conceptualization