Computer-Assisted Interactive Documentary and Performance Arts in Illimitable Space

This major component of the research described in this thesis is 3D computer graphics, specifically the realistic physics-based softbody simulation and haptic responsive environments. Minor components include advanced human-computer interaction environments, non-linear documentary storytelling, and theatre performance. The journey of this research has been unusual because it requires a researcher with solid knowledge and background in multiple disciplines; who also has to be creative and sensitive in order to combine the possible areas into a new research direction. [...] It focuses on the advanced computer graphics and emerges from experimental cinematic works and theatrical artistic practices. Some development content and installations are completed to prove and evaluate the described concepts and to be convincing. [...] To summarize, the resulting work involves not only artistic creativity, but solving or combining technological hurdles in motion tracking, pattern recognition, force feedback control, etc., with the available documentary footage on film, video, or images, and text via a variety of devices [....] and programming, and installing all the needed interfaces such that it all works in real-time. Thus, the contribution to the knowledge advancement is in solving these interfacing problems and the real-time aspects of the interaction that have uses in film industry, fashion industry, new age interactive theatre, computer games, and web-based technologies and services for entertainment and education. It also includes building up on this experience to integrate Kinect- and haptic-based interaction, artistic scenery rendering, and other forms of control. This research work connects all the research disciplines, seemingly disjoint fields of research, such as computer graphics, documentary film, interactive media, and theatre performance together.Comment: PhD thesis copy; 272 pages, 83 figures, 6 algorithm

Using emergent narrative

Narrativity in videogames is a complex subject. Most titles prefer delivering traditional narratives that resemble ones from films and books while other titles provide some choice to the player and have distinct endings. Yet, most of them fail at providing dynamic narratives. Unlike other media, in video games the player can interact with the world and the characters in real time. This theoretically provides a system that should be able to accept the player’s input and use it to build a coherent and interesting narrative. Is it possible to build a game with these ideals? and if it is possible, what is the current state of the technology? The main task will be researching, reading and organizing papers. Understanding what the researchers are saying will provide enough knowledge to create a solid work. Case studies will also be done to increase the comprehension of the subject. The final result offers theoretical knowledge about Interactive and Emergent narrative and their procedures as well as in Game Design. At the end there is a “Decalogue” with the most important insights of the work

Responsive Environments for Performance, Including Voice, Speech and Whole Body Interaction Techniques

For my Master of Arts in the Individualised Program, my practice-based research investigates a design and development framework within an artistic context of responsive environments for performance, including voice, speech and movement interaction techniques. To poetically address issues regarding the way people perform and experience a space, responsive environments, as ambient intelligence systems, should be able to coevolve and auto-adapt to its inhabitants and to the environment. Although relevant work and research has taken place in the fields of interactive art and installations, they primarily concern body tracking, while the potential for voice, spoken or written language, and sound has been left floundering. Positioned at the intersection of design, computation arts, performance and physical spaces, I introduce the role of natural language processing as a tool that aims to non-hierarchically co-construct, augment and mediate human experience, interaction and perception in live events. Furthermore, by adopting different interaction design paradigms and collaborating with artists and performers, I am afforded the opportunity to reproducibly and rigorously investigate the potentialities of such systems under the demands of live improvised situations. In addition, these collaborations with non-digital artists and practitioners allowed me to better reflect on the effectiveness of such systems and re-evaluate the way I am developing them. The understanding of interactivity as a quality that exists between different systems and their ability to converse with and respond to any sensorial input correspondingly impacts the aesthetic and affective experience of the participants (performers and spectators). This allows for redefining the role of the participant from a spectator to a co-creator, as well as the role of the space itself. My practical explorations emerged as two complementary trajectories: the development of a responsive audio-visual Storytelling Space, and a technologically augmented - sound and movement improvisation - performance, Orbital Resonance

Computational immersive displays

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-79).Immersion is an oft-quoted but ill-defined term used to describe a viewer or participant's sense of engagement with a visual display system or participatory media. Traditionally, advances in immersive quality came at the high price of ever-escalating hardware requirements and computational budgets. But what if one could increase a participant's sense of immersion, instead, by taking advantage of perceptual cues, neuroprocessing, and emotional engagement while adding only a small, yet distinctly targeted, set of advancements to the display hardware? This thesis describes three systems that introduce small amounts of computation to the visual display of information in order to increase the viewer's sense of immersion and participation. It also describes the types of content used to evaluate the systems, as well as the results and conclusions gained from small user studies. The first system, Infinity-by-Nine, takes advantage of the dropoff in peripheral visual acuity to surround the viewer with an extended lightfield generated in realtime from existing video content. The system analyzes an input video stream and outpaints a low-resolution, pattern-matched lightfield that simulates a fully immersive environment in a computationally efficient way. The second system, the Narratarium, is a context-aware projector that applies pattern recognition and natural language processing to an input such as an audio stream or electronic text to generate images, colors, and textures appropriate to the narrative or emotional content. The system outputs interactive illustrations and audio projected into spaces such as children's rooms, retail settings, or entertainment venues. The final system, the 3D Telepresence Chair, combines a 19th-century stage illusion known as Pepper's Ghost with an array of micro projectors and a holographic diffuser to create an autostereoscopic representation of a remote subject with full horizontal parallax. The 3D Telepresence Chair is a portable, self-contained apparatus meant to enhance the experience of teleconferencing.by Daniel E. Novy.S.M

Computer Game Scenario Representation: A Systematic Mapping Study

Background: Game scenario is an important factor for achieving player enjoyment; consisting a key business success factor. Additionally, the production of early design artifacts is crucial for the success of the development process. However, representing scenarios is a non-trivial task: (a) multiple aspects of the game need to be visualized; and (b) there is a plethora of representation approaches, out of which the game designer needs to select from. Aim: The goal of this work is to provide a panorama of the current scenario representation approaches, to aid game engineers in selecting the most fitting scenario representation approach and understand the existing designing options. Method: We have performed a Systematic Mapping Study, using 4 digital libraries, since the main goal can be achieved through study classification. By following an established search and filtering process, we have identified 717 articles, and analyzed in detail 95. Results: Diagrams are the most common generic approach to represent scenario; Game story is the most usual part of the scenario being represented; Characters are the most common component; and Transitions are the most usual connectors. Conclusion: Researchers may get useful information for empirically investigating several game engineering aspects; whereas game engineers can efficiently select the most fitting approach

Mapping the Intersection of Two Cultures: Interactive Documentary and Digital Journalism

The convergence of digital journalism and interactive and participatory documentary, two forms at the defining edges of their respective fields, is the focus of this report. Why interactive and participatory documentary? Because these immersive, visual and, above all, experimental narratives have developed rapidly over the past few years, offering wide-ranging examples for journalists who seek to reach new audiences, to enhance the relevance of their reporting for an informed, engaged citizenry, and to make better use of the interactive and collaborative potential of today's mobile technologies.This report contextualizes and maps the views of the people who are leading change, charting their ambitions and concerns, tracking their organizations and strategies, and interpreting the larger patterns that emerge as storytellers and producers redefine their arts. It considers such institutional imperatives as reorganizing the production pipeline and means of distribution, listening to and working together with audiences, partnering with other media organizations, and looking to internal assets such as archives.Case studies drawn from organizations such as The New York Times, The Guardian, National Film Board of Canada, NPR, AIR, Frontline, and other sector-leading organizations examine change within particular institutions, as well as alliances between them and the production and distribution of particular joint projects. A broader environmental assessment of the conditions faced by legacy journalism organizations complements and situates the case studies. Against this backdrop, the case studies illustrate innovations and opportunities that have recently emerged at the intersection of journalism and documentary, charting best practices as well as lessons learned that can help quality journalism thrive in this fast-changing ecosystem

Languages of games and play: A systematic mapping study

Digital games are a powerful means for creating enticing, beautiful, educational, and often highly addictive interactive experiences that impact the lives of billions of players worldwide. We explore what informs the design and construction of good games to learn how to speed-up game development. In particular, we study to what extent languages, notations, patterns, and tools, can offer experts theoretical foundations, systematic techniques, and practical solutions they need to raise their productivity and improve the quality of games and play. Despite the growing number of publications on this topic there is currently no overview describing the state-of-the-art that relates research areas, goals, and applications. As a result, efforts and successes are often one-off, lessons learned go overlooked, language reuse remains minimal, and opportunities for collaboration and synergy are lost. We present a systematic map that identifies relevant publications and gives an overview of research areas and publication venues. In addition, we categorize research perspectives along common objectives, techniques, and approaches, illustrated by summaries of selected languages. Finally, we distill challenges and opportunities for future research and development

Abstracts: HASTAC 2017: The Possible Worlds of Digital Humanities

The document contains abstracts for HASTAC 2017