“Soundscape for Takuya,” a sound design project created based on the motion graphics work of Takuya Hosogane.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Documentation for Super Unique Top Down Puzzle RPG 9001, an experimental gaming experience created by Jonathan Séguin and myself.
Introduction
Super Unique Top Down Puzzle RPG 9001 is a multiplayer video game installation that requires two players to cooperate while separated in physical and virtual space. Our work is driven by the idea that every medium is traditionally limited by the expected interaction it affords: for example, a video game carries the expectation of being seen and heard simultaneously. These conditions are similar in that either element is tied to one of the five senses – but if these “expected” attributes were to be fragmented, how would the end users cope with the changes? We plan to explore this “fragmentation of the senses” by distributing the primary sensory outputs of traditional video games across two very different playing experiences: one player will see the game, and one player will hear the game.
Description
The installation will be set up as a simple computer kiosk. The “seeing” player will be able to view the game screen, as well as navigate the player character through our visual environment using keyboard controls. The “hearing” player will have a set of headphones, attached to the same computer, as well as the ability to explore the game’s soundscape using a rotating potentiometer. The players must act together to ensure their character survives and escapes the dungeon he has been situated in by communicating to each other.
While most games can arguably be navigated through and enjoyed with the sound turned off (relying heavily on visual feedback), we are designing Super Unique so that the seeing player is reliant on the proactive communication of the hearing player. Visual players are first handicapped in that there will be a spotlight with a small radius surrounding the hero, creating a limited vision of the game space. Many traps and puzzles will be set up that communicate strictly aural signals, meaning visual players must consult with their hearing teammates to avoid landmines and pits, as well as to locate hidden platforms, switches and paths. Hearing players can “tune in” to sounds by turning a potentiometer. The visual player can see an arrow on screen that corresponds to the area the hearing player has tuned in to, allowing the visual player to pinpoint the location of any sound the hearing player describes. The game is completed when the seeing player, with the assistance of the hearing player, safely navigates to the final room of the dungeon.
Conclusion
Our system deconstructs what is expected of traditional video games by compartmentalizing essential modes of communication that are typically synchronized and unified (visuals and sound). In our efforts to challenge the user’s expectations of media, we believe that video games lend themselves to our experiment by naturally inviting user participation. In an ever-changing technological society, it is important to continuously challenge the limitations of the mediums we use regularly; our project demonstrates this in an engaging and challenging interactive experience.
Tones is an interactive software piece that generates musical patterns based on colour data from a live camera input. Visuals are fed from the camera and downscaled to a 10x24 pixel grid, where the darkest pixel of each column is marked in orange. Sound is continuously generated and reiterated based on the height of these marked pixels, where the height is either proportional to the pitch of a note or the volume of a track.
The work attempts to create a codependent relationship between two distinct forms of sensory communication, audio and visual, looking at how data can be repurposed and translated from one function to another. Marking the darkest pixel of each column enables users to plainly see how their presence affects the data provided to the computer, but they must uncover on their own how their position and movements contribute to the generated sound. Users are invited to explore how their interaction with the piece contributes to the sound generation without being given any definitive guideline or affordance, in turn creating both a generative output and generative user interaction.
A recent project I worked on with my good friend Jonathan Séguin, entitled “Super Conveniently Head-Controlled Face Fighter 10987654321” (and yes, I know that’s a mouthful).
Face Fighter attempts to transform traditional views of retro and retro-styled video games by means of a non- conventional control interface. Because modern mainstream video games typically use advanced game engines, 3D graphics, and rely on powerful machines to run – retro-styled games are denounced, sanctioned off for independent developers working on low-budget projects, only for their work to be consumed by the nostalgic. We propose a video game that harmonizes new technologies with retro aesthetics. Face Fighter is an old-school “shoot’em up” that is controlled not with a d-pad, but with your face.
The premise of Face Fighter is simple. The player controls a combat ship flying through outer space, being mindful of incoming asteroids (and a dominant “boss” figure, which happens to be a face itself). Instead of using a game controller to influence gameplay, the player controls their ship through a purely camera-based, continuous interface.
Software tracks the player’s head and creates coordinates in the software space, directly corresponding to the direction and speed the ship flies in at any given time. To shoot, the player tilts his or her head downward. This non-conventional interface is juxtaposed with aging visual and audible cues to create an entirely new experience for the participant.
Team Members:
Jonathan Séguin
Konstantino Kapetaneas
“Generic Lava Platformer 5000” is a simple platforming game I worked on (primarily the pixel art and game design, as usual). It carries a retro 8-bit aesthetic and is based on the childhood game “the floor is lava.” The player must avoid the rising lava below by jumping from platform to platform. As time progresses, the lava rises faster and the platforms become smaller. The longer you last, the cooler are!
Team Members:
Konstantino Kapetaneas
Winnie Kwan
Jonathan Séguin
Plasmata is a project that aims to create an educational environment through gameplay. Two iPads function as touchscreen inputs to manipulate colour selectors. Users can then grow “plasmata” or colour orbs, which they launch at the opposing user. In future development plasmata will possess different properties based upon their colour and volume and will introduce fast-paced strategic gameplay based on the interactions between plasmata.
Project Members:
Jonathan Séguin
Konstantino Kapetaneous
Nick Pagee
A pre-cursor to our “Plasmata” project. Ghost Image is an experience made to drive emotion through the simplicity of colour. Users can create orbs (similar to those from a lava lamp) through a custom arcade-esque control interface.
Orbs can be grown by holding down a button on the controller, and are launched once a button has been released. Each button generates an orb of a designated colour, and holding down multiple buttons at the same time will generate an orb of mixed colour.
Team Members:
Konstantino Kapetaneas
Jonathan Séguin
Nick Pagee
The evil wizard that rules our fantasy dungeon game land. You’ll get glimpses of him throughout the dungeon in the form of this lovely statue. This wizard is as vain as they get.
Like in several other action RPGs, there will be endless pits in this Super Unique. This is what our hero looks like as he plummets to his death.
Updated Artist Statement and Description
Introduction
Super Unique Top Down Puzzle RPG 9001 is a multiplayer video game installation that requires two players to cooperate while separated in physical and virtual space. Our work is driven by the idea that every medium is traditionally limited by the expected interaction it affords: for example, a video game carries the expectation of being seen and heard simultaneously. These conditions are similar in that either element is tied to one of the five senses – but if these “expected” attributes were to be fragmented, how would the end users cope with the changes? We plan to explore this “fragmentation of the senses” by distributing the primary sensory outputs of traditional video games across two very different playing experiences: one player will see the game, and one player will hear the game.
Description
The installation will be set up as a simple computer kiosk. The “seeing” player will be able to view the game screen, as well as navigate the player character through our visual environment using keyboard controls. The “hearing” player will have a set of headphones, attached to the same computer, as well as the ability to explore the game’s soundscape using a rotating potentiometer. The players must act together to ensure their character survives and escapes the dungeon he has been situated in by communicating to each other.
While most games can arguably be navigated through and enjoyed with the sound turned off (relying heavily on visual feedback), we are designing Super Unique so that the seeing player is reliant on the proactive communication of the hearing player. Visual players are first handicapped in that there will be a spotlight with a small radius surrounding the hero, creating a limited vision of the game space. Many traps and puzzles will be set up that communicate strictly aural signals, meaning visual players must consult with their hearing teammates to avoid landmines and pits, as well as to locate hidden platforms, switches and paths. Hearing players can “tune in” to sounds by turning a potentiometer. The visual player can see an arrow on screen that corresponds to the area the hearing player has tuned in to, allowing the visual player to pinpoint the location of any sound the hearing player describes. The game is completed when the seeing player, with the assistance of the hearing player, safely navigates to the final room of the dungeon.
Conclusion
Our system deconstructs what is expected of traditional video games by compartmentalizing essential modes of communication that are typically synchronized and unified (visuals and sound). In our efforts to challenge the user’s expectations of media, we believe that video games lend themselves to our experiment by naturally inviting user participation. In an ever-changing technological society, it is important to continuously challenge the limitations of the mediums we use regularly; our project demonstrates this in an engaging and challenging interactive experience.
