Interactive Fiction in Cinematic Virtual Reality: Epistemology, Creation and Evaluation

This dissertation presents the Interactive Fiction in Cinematic Virtual Reality (IFcVR), an interactive digital narrative (IDN) that brings together the cinematic virtual reality (cVR) and the creation of virtual environments through 360\ub0 video within an interactive fiction (IF) structure. This work is structured in three components: an epistemological approach to this kind of narrative and media hybrid; the creation process of IFcVR, from development to postproduction; and user evaluation of IFcVR. In order to set the foundations for the creation of interactive VR fiction films, I dissect the IFcVR by investigating the aesthetics, narratological and interactive notions that converge and diverge in it, proposing a medium-conscious narratology for this kind of artefact. This analysis led to the production of an IFcVR functional prototype: \u201cZENA\u201d, the first interactive VR film shot in Genoa. ZENA\u2019s creation process is reported proposing some guidelines for interactive and immersive film-makers. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the IFcVR as an entertaining narrative form and a vehicle for diverse types of messages, this study also proposes a methodology to measure User Experience (UX) on IFcVR. The full evaluation protocol gathers both qualitative and quantitative data through ad hoc instruments. The proposed protocol is illustrated through its pilot application on ZENA. Findings show interactors' positive acceptance of IFcVR as an entertaining experience

PRINCIPLES OF METADESIGN Processes and Levels of Co-Creation in the New Design Space

In the tight of the material and cultural conditions of the present world and within the context of current design theories, this research aims to provide an understanding of Metadesign as emerging design cutture, and to integrate and advance its conceptual framework and principles through a tra nsdisci pli nary dialogue with the aesthetics and practice of Net Art. By rejecting the notion of Metadesign as an established design approach and practice, the creation of an etymological hypothesis based on the meanings of the prefix "-meta" (behind, together, between) becomes possible. Following this historical and cultural path, the research describes theories, frameworks and practices of Metadesign that have occurred in art, culture and media since the 1980s, in fields, such as, graphic design, industrial design, software engineering, information design, interaction design, biotechnotogical design, telecommunication art, experimental aesthetics, and architecture. The comparison and integration of all these approaches and viewpoints attows the identification of some design trends. More significantly, however, such an analysis enables the deconstruction of clusters of concepts and the production of a map of coherent etements. The anticipatory, participatory and sociotechnical issues raised 4 by the emerging and interconnected concepts that underlie Metadesign can be articulated and summarized in a three-fotd path based on the initial epistemological hypothesis. This can be characterized by three specific terms: 1) behind (designing design); 2) with (designing together); 3) betweenlamon3 (designing the "inbetween "). Interactive Art practitioners and theorists, both at an aesthetic and practical level, also share concerns about interaction, participation and co-creation. Compared to more financially oriented fields, Interactive Art, and collaborative practices of Net Art specificalty, have been We to answer to the new materiat and existentiat condition outlined by interconnectivity with a more dismantling experimentalism. The insights and advances they have produced in relation to the embodied and intersubjective dimension of human experience and creativity are stilt to be fully explored. Such insights can significantly fortify the three-fold path elaborated by this research, particutarty the third fo(d, which is concerned with the design of the 0rinbetween ". Focusing on collaborative systems for graphical interaction, as more suitable to the goal of understanding basic embodied and intersubjective processes of co-creation, the research identifies and analyses three projects of Net Art as case studies (GL&n6rateur Po*i 6tique, Open Studio, SITO Synergy Gridcosm). The results of these case studies provide an understanding of the experience of co-creation, a grasp of motivationat paths to co-creation, and a description of the features of the computationat environment which can sustain co-creation

Image and Evidence: The Study of Attention through the Combined Lenses of Neuroscience and Art

: Levy, EK 2012, ‘An artistic exploration of inattention blindness’, in Frontiers Hum Neurosci, vol. 5, ISSN=1662-5161.Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This study proposed that new insights about attention, including its phenomenon and pathology, would be provided by combining perspectives of the neurobiological discourse about attention with analyses of artworks that exploit the constraints of the attentional system. To advance the central argument that art offers a training ground for the attentional system, a wide range of contemporary art was analysed in light of specific tasks invoked. The kinds of cognitive tasks these works initiate with respect to the attentional system have been particularly critical to this research. Attention was explored within the context of transdisciplinary art practices, varied circumstances of viewing, new neuroscientific findings, and new approaches towards learning. Research for this dissertation required practical investigations in a gallery setting, and this original work was contextualised and correlated with pertinent neuroscientific approaches. It was also concluded that art can enhance public awareness of attention disorders and assist the public in discriminating between medical and social factors through questioning how norms of behaviour are defined and measured. This territory was examined through the comparative analysis of several diagnostic tests for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), through the adaptation of a methodology from economics involving patent citation in order to show market incentives, and through examples of data visualisation. The construction of an installation and collaborative animation allowed participants to experience first-hand the constraints on the attentional system, provoking awareness of our own “normal” physiological limitations. The embodied knowledge of images, emotion, and social context that are deeply embedded in art practices appeared to be capable of supplementing neuroscience’s understanding of attention and its disorders

FACING EXPERIENCE: A PAINTER’S CANVAS IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This research investigates how shifts in perception might be brought about through the development of visual imagery created by the use of virtual environment technology. Through a discussion of historical uses of immersion in art, this thesis will explore how immersion functions and why immersion has been a goal for artists throughout history. It begins with a discussion of ancient cave drawings and the relevance of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Next it examines the biological origins of “making special.” The research will discuss how this concept, combined with the ideas of “action” and “reaction,” has reinforced the view that art is fundamentally experiential rather than static. The research emphasizes how present-day virtual environment art, in providing a space that engages visitors in computer graphics, expands on previous immersive artistic practices. The thesis examines the technical context in which the research occurs by briefly describing the use of computer science technologies, the fundamentals of visual arts practices, and the importance of aesthetics in new media and provides a description of my artistic practice. The aim is to investigate how combining these approaches can enhance virtual environments as artworks. The computer science of virtual environments includes both hardware and software programming. The resultant virtual environment experiences are technologically dependent on the types of visual displays being used, including screens and monitors, and their subsequent viewing affordances. Virtual environments fill the field of view and can be experienced with a head mounted display (HMD) or a large screen display. The sense of immersion gained through the experience depends on how tracking devices and related peripheral devices are used to facilitate interaction. The thesis discusses visual arts practices with a focus on how illusions shift our cognition and perception in the visual modalities. This discussion includes how perceptual thinking is the foundation of art experiences, how analogies are the foundation of cognitive experiences and how the two intertwine in art experiences for virtual environments. An examination of the aesthetic strategies used by artists and new media critics are presented to discuss new media art. This thesis investigates the visual elements used in virtual environments and prescribes strategies for creating art for virtual environments. Methods constituting a unique virtual environment practice that focuses on visual analogies are discussed. The artistic practice that is discussed as the basis for this research also concentrates on experiential moments and shifts in perception and cognition and references Douglas Hofstadter, Rudolf Arnheim and John Dewey. iv Virtual environments provide for experiences in which the imagery generated updates in real time. Following an analysis of existing artwork and critical writing relative to the field, the process of inquiry has required the creation of artworks that involve tracking systems, projection displays, sound work, and an understanding of the importance of the visitor. In practice, the research has shown that the visitor should be seen as an interlocutor, interacting from a first-person perspective with virtual environment events, where avatars or other instrumental intermediaries, such as guns, vehicles, or menu systems, do not to occlude the view. The aesthetic outcomes of this research are the result of combining visual analogies, real time interactive animation, and operatic performance in immersive space. The environments designed in this research were informed initially by paintings created with imagery generated in a hypnopompic state or during the moments of transitioning from sleeping to waking. The drawings often emphasize emotional moments as caricatures and/or elements of the face as seen from a number of perspectives simultaneously, in the way of some cartoons, primitive artwork or Cubist imagery. In the imagery, the faces indicate situations, emotions and confrontations which can offer moments of humour and reflective exploration. At times, the faces usurp the space and stand in representation as both face and figure. The power of the placement of the caricatures in the paintings become apparent as the imagery stages the expressive moment. The placement of faces sets the scene, establishes relationships and promotes the honesty and emotions that develop over time as the paintings are scrutinized. The development process of creating virtual environment imagery starts with hand drawn sketches of characters, develops further as paintings on “digital canvas”, are built as animated, three-dimensional models and finally incorporated into a virtual environment. The imagery is generated while drawing, typically with paper and pencil, in a stream of consciousness during the hypnopompic state. This method became an aesthetic strategy for producing a snappy straightforward sketch. The sketches are explored further as they are worked up as paintings. During the painting process, the figures become fleshed out and their placement on the page, in essence brings them to life. These characters inhabit a world that I explore even further by building them into three dimensional models and placing them in computer generated virtual environments. The methodology of developing and placing the faces/figures became an operational strategy for building virtual environments. In order to open up the range of art virtual environments, and develop operational strategies for visitors’ experience, the characters and their facial features are used as navigational strategies, signposts and methods of wayfinding in order to sustain a stream of consciousness type of navigation. Faces and characters were designed to represent those intimate moments of self-reflection and confrontation that occur daily within ourselves and with others. They sought to reflect moments of wonderment, hurt, curiosity and humour that could subsequently be relinquished for more practical or purposeful endeavours. They were intended to create conditions in which visitors might reflect upon their emotional state, v enabling their understanding and trust of their personal space, in which decisions are made and the nature of world is determined. In order to extend the split-second, frozen moment of recognition that a painting affords, the caricatures and their scenes are given new dimensions as they become characters in a performative virtual reality. Emotables, distinct from avatars, are characters confronting visitors in the virtual environment to engage them in an interactive, stream of consciousness, non-linear dialogue. Visitors are also situated with a role in a virtual world, where they were required to adapt to the language of the environment in order to progress through the dynamics of a drama. The research showed that imagery created in a context of whimsy and fantasy could bring ontological meaning and aesthetic experience into the interactive environment, such that emotables or facially expressive computer graphic characters could be seen as another brushstroke in painting a world of virtual reality

Interactive Technologies for the Public Sphere Toward a Theory of Critical Creative Technology

Digital media cultural practices continue to address the social, cultural and aesthetic contexts of the global information economy, perhaps better called ecology, by inventing new methods and genres that encourage interactive engagement, collaboration, exploration and learning. The theoretical framework for creative critical technology evolved from the confluence of the arts, human computer interaction, and critical theories of technology. Molding this nascent theoretical framework from these seemingly disparate disciplines was a reflexive process where the influence of each component on each other spiraled into the theory and practice as illustrated through the Constructed Narratives project. Research that evolves from an arts perspective encourages experimental processes of making as a method for defining research principles. The traditional reductionist approach to research requires that all confounding variables are eliminated or silenced using methods of statistics. However, that noise in the data, those confounding variables provide the rich context, media, and processes by which creative practices thrive. As research in the arts gains recognition for its contributions of new knowledge, the traditional reductive practice in search of general principles will be respectfully joined by methodologies for defining living principles that celebrate and build from the confounding variables, the data noise. The movement to develop research methodologies from the noisy edges of human interaction have been explored in the research and practices of ludic design and ambiguity (Gaver, 2003); affective gap (Sengers et al., 2005b; 2006); embodied interaction (Dourish, 2001); the felt life (McCarthy & Wright, 2004); and reflective HCI (Dourish, et al., 2004). The theory of critical creative technology examines the relationships between critical theories of technology, society and aesthetics, information technologies and contemporary practices in interaction design and creative digital media. The theory of critical creative technology is aligned with theories and practices in social navigation (Dourish, 1999) and community-based interactive systems (Stathis, 1999) in the development of smart appliances and network systems that support people in engaging in social activities, promoting communication and enhancing the potential for learning in a community-based environment. The theory of critical creative technology amends these community-based and collaborative design theories by emphasizing methods to facilitate face-to-face dialogical interaction when the exchange of ideas, observations, dreams, concerns, and celebrations may be silenced by societal norms about how to engage others in public spaces. The Constructed Narratives project is an experiment in the design of a critical creative technology that emphasizes the collaborative construction of new knowledge about one's lived world through computer-supported collaborative play (CSCP). To construct is to creatively invent one's world by engaging in creative decision-making, problem solving and acts of negotiation. The metaphor of construction is used to demonstrate how a simple artefact - a building block - can provide an interactive platform to support discourse between collaborating participants. The technical goal for this project was the development of a software and hardware platform for the design of critical creative technology applications that can process a dynamic flow of logistical and profile data from multiple users to be used in applications that facilitate dialogue between people in a real-time playful interactive experience

THE VARIETIES OF USER EXPERIENCE BRIDGING EMBODIED METHODOLOGIES FROM SOMATICS AND PERFORMANCE TO HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION

Embodied Interaction continues to gain significance within the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI). Its growing recognition and value is evidenced in part by a remarkable increase in systems design and publication focusing on various aspects of Embodiment. The enduring need to interact through experience has spawned a variety of interdisciplinary bridging strategies in the hope of gaining deeper understanding of human experience. Along with phenomenology, cognitive science, psychology and the arts, recent interdisciplinary contributions to HCI include the knowledge-rich domains of Somatics and Performance that carry long-standing traditions of embodied practice. The common ground between HCI and the fields of Somatics and Performance is based on the need to understand and model human experience. Yet, Somatics and Performance differ from normative HCI in their epistemological frameworks of embodiment. This is particularly evident in their histories of knowledge construction and representation. The contributions of Somatics and Performance to the history of embodiment are not yet fully understood within HCI. Differing epistemologies and their resulting approaches to experience identify an under-theorized area of research and an opportunity to develop a richer knowledge and practice base. This is examined by comparing theories and practices of embodied experience between HCI and Somatics (Performance) and analyzing influences, values and assumptions underlying epistemological frameworks. The analysis results in a set of design strategies based in embodied practices within Somatics and Performance. The subsequent application of these strategies is examined through a series of interactive art installations that employ embodied interaction as a central expression of technology. Case Studies provide evidence in the form of rigorously documented design processes that illustrate these strategies. This research exemplifies 'Research through Art' applied in the context of experience design for tangible, wearable and social interaction

Diálogos com a arte. Revista de arte, cultura e educação, nº 6

The journal " Diálogos com a Arte. Revista de Arte, Cultura e Educação " is an indexed annual journal of international circulation, published since 2010, and edited by the School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (ESE-IPVC) in collaboration with the Center for Research in Child Studies of the University of Minho (CIEC-UM). The journal offers students, teachers and researchers in the arts the possibility of reflecting on both national and international theories and practices about art, culture and education The editorial board defines cooperation as a form of cultural activism that necessitates acting on problems and sharing actions and experiences. Cooperation is successfully accomplished when all the participants’ objectives are shared and the results are beneficial for everyone. This requires constant dialogue and ensuring relations in educational programs, projects, community interventions, artistic and cultural training, and teacher education.A revista “Diálogos com a Arte. Revista de Arte, Cultura e Educação” é uma revista anual indexada, de circulação internacional, publicada desde 2010, e editada pela Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo (ESSE-IPVC) em colaboração com o Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança da Universidade do Minho (CIEC-UM). A revista oferece a alunos, professores e investigadores no campo das artes a possibilidade de reflexão sobre teorias e práticas artísticas, culturais e educacionais nos âmbitos nacional e internacional. A equipa editorial define a cooperação como uma forma de activismo cultural que precisa de acção sobre os problemas e de partilha de experiências. A cooperação é alcançada com sucesso quando todos os objectivos dos participantes são partilhados e os resultados são benéficos para todos. Isto exige uma diálogo constante e a garantia do estabelecimento de relações entre programas educacionais, projectos, intervenções comunitárias, formação artística e cultural e formação de professores

Issues, opportunities and concepts in the teaching of programming to novice programmers at the University of Lincoln : three approaches.

This thesis describes three small-scale, computer-based approaches developed and used by the author in her teaching of programming concepts to novice programmers, using Pascal as a first language, within a higher education context. The first approach was the development of a piece of tutorial CAL, the second was the development of an on-line help system and the third the development of a pattern language. For the first two, the author created the product. For the pattern language, she designed the template. These three approaches are described and the results obtained outlined. The work also looks at the kind of research methodologies and tools available to the author and present a rationale for her choices of method and tools. This work also briefly reviews some learning theories that could be used to underpin the design, use and evaluation of CAL. The thesis looks at a range of topics associated with the teaching of programming and the use of CAL. It looks at issues around the psychology and human aspects of learning to program, such as confirmatory bias and vision. It looks at other research efforts aimed at developing software to support inexperienced programmers, including new programming languages specifically designed to teach programming concepts and sophisticated programming support environments. The work briefly reviews various types of CAL and their uses. It also examines some key projects in CAL development from the 1960s onwards, with particular emphasis on UK projects from the early 1970s to the late 1990s. It looks at what conclusions can be drawn from examining some of the many CAL projects in the past. Finally, the work reviews the various strands of the author's research efforts and presents a brief overview and some initial suggestions for the teaching of programming to novice programmers