IDAT 107: Know what standards you'd need to go for, not veer off course! And also, about the originality of design

As the marks for my last two assignments came back, I now know about the true meaning of a design theme, like for instance, I know know that the true meaning of a web 2.0 logo is something that is completely lower-case, mine didn't feel that way. Although at least I did something modern, maybe I was a bit too vague about the definition (at least in terms of what trends are being done in the world of web 2.0). It's like saying that if something calls for a Disney theme, I'd have to include something that is Disney. I saw an example of compliance in the shape of an electricity pylon that is within the limits of Walt Disney World; the designers knew that the juxtaposition of WDW with the highway meant that they should captivate it, so they designed it in the shape of the silhouette of Mickey Mouse, which in terms of when doing something Disney in specifications, it always ticks all the boxes!

In addition to standards, originality also has to be considered too. During the 3D design part of the coursework, drawing teapots similar to the famous Utah teapot isn't what many consider in the world to be something that is original, because the idea has already been taken, even though my object originally called for something that resembles some kind of teapot (but with a barrel instead of a spout, and a lot more added to it), I had to take it into account that just that isn't going to get me the high esprit-de-corps of originality, so what I decided to do, is create a more surrealistic object, that captivates the spirit of famous surrealists Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, whilst at the same time takes it to a whole new level, kind of like thinking about the windmills of Don Quijote, but making it more literal, and illustrative of one of my favourite design themes, especially since I've done works of something similar at school, I became enamoured of it, and decided to use it to effect in order to have something that I at least have savoir faire in, rather than vaguely presume that it is surrealisim, as it was demonstrated in the digital signature.

IDAT 102: The completed result of Flennis!

After days of trying to weave my way through thousands and thousands of code, and then trying other solutions (in terms of pre-existing examples that are similar to what I'm already doing) online, I've then found an excellent solution that worked better than mine. It turned out that the game needed a bit more of a 'hands-on' approach, and the keyboard input didn't work out good for the game, so instead, I've changed to a mouse-based input that works by moving the mouse up and down on the tennis court to move the racket to hit the ball to the opponent. I've also made a few changes to the original design, which mostly involved moving the game's logo to the bottom left of the screen, rather than in the middle, to accommodate the 'Round's up' text, which occurs after either the player or the opponent reaches a score of 5. I've also included a clock at the bottom right-hand side of the court, which uses the system's time as external influence.

Also, the colour of the court has been changed to a warmer shade of green to match the astroturf/grass colour that most tennis courts have, and proper court markings have been added, in addition to a backdrop for the scoreboard to increase legibility of the numbers. I've also decided to ditch the graphical movie clips in favour of ActionScript-generated shapes because I wanted the game to be more lightweight, whilst at the same time maintaining the replay value of the original. As for the rest of the detail, I've done improvements to the game's source code to make it more challenging (smaller ball with a higher score limit, but at a slower FPS than the original to avoid it becoming a 'speed run', where the game is finished quickly without even realising the outcome).

In conclusion, the game came out as a result that I've expected from the start, but at the same time, it improved on what my original specification included.

You can play the game here: www.elnormo91.co.uk/Flennis.html

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO PLAY: To move the paddle, move the mouse up or down. Try and get the ball behind the opponent to score.

Enjoy!

IDAT 102: Flennis concept drawing

Here's a drawing of my Flash game project so far:

As I've discovered that the collision test points would not be realistic on the handles of the tennis rackets, I decided to remove them, leaving only the upper part of the racket, which is the most obvious point of contact that rackets have when the ball strikes it. However, I don't think that the user would notice as the game is still as addictive as the Pong game was, and still is, in the domain of basic online games worldwide. The custom logo I designed for the game is just a backdrop of the court's astroturf surface, and therefore, does not affect the ball.

IDAT 102: It's pong! No it isn't! It's tennis! No it isn't! It's Flash tennis! Oh yes, in fact, it's Flennis!

As part of an assignment for IDAT102, I decided to go old school with a game that takes the classic side-scrolling table-tennis-based game to another level. As far as I know, I haven't seen any examples of existing Pong games that are themed around actual tennis. Yes, that's right, I've decided to create a game called 'Flennis', which is basically Flash tennis, but maintaining the simplicity and addiction of the classic game that used to grace arcades and homes back in the days before we had PlayStations, Xbox 360s, Nintendo Wiis and the like, but in the time of Atari, its originator, of course. The game uses keyboard control to move the bat up and down to deflect the ball towards the opponent by using collision detection to then make the 'bounce' effect. When the ball hits either the enemy's end or the player's end, the collision detection then registers a score for the enemy and the player, respectively.

At the same time, I'll be combining the look-and-feel of an actual tennis court with the retro look to fit in with the Atari heritage of the game's basis, but also making the game unique in style, and friendly to browser gamers, who like to play games inside their browser because of the convenience that web browsers offer, and the fact that in a work environment, during one's well-earned break, restrictions mean that everything may be restricted to a web browser, provided that Flash and JavaScript are turned on.

SOFT 131 & IDAT 108: JIT (Just In Time)

After the time of Christmas and a few weeks afterwards, the end result of SOFT131's and IDAT108's coursework is now here. Many factors have affected how I tried to get around SOFT131, but after trial-and-error and a few rectifications of the code for the phonics, it has now come all together to form the final piece of the puzzle. Initially, I had problems trying to get the arrays to work, but after I managed, I then had to try and get the sounds to work, however, they didn't seem to work, until I had to change a few things regarding the variables and the syntax of the sound files (file = gender + soundnum[array]), which then resulted in sound. After getting the girl's voices to work, I then changed the code so then it randomly selects between a boy's and a girl's voice, but after changing the code, I was clueless into why it will only play the boy's voice and not randomise between boy and girl (and sometimes even go silent, which turned out to be caused by the randomiser not being coded properly), until I realised that I had to change the scope of the repeat so then it continues for 8 corresponding letters and at the same time also have a wider selection compared to previous. After all that it all works according to the Ronseal method (it does exactly what it says on the tin!) and also according to specification.

The essay was just another story. I was in my depths with my chosen technology as I knew that all the resources will be useful to my essay, and also because I am a huge fan of Apple, I'm familiar with the community side of things and that proved to be a boost when mentioning that the community, in addition to the media, drives the prediction to refinements that results from the first product evolving to add more features that would make Apple the leader in every market they compete in. That said, I have constructed detail that hopefully should result in a very good result, who knows?

These two assignments should pave way to something that is more interesting, whilst at the same time it provides a very good challenge to what I already know and what I will know for the future (at least I do get up for lectures all the time!).

Back to work: things to come

It's been quite a while since I've done an update, but rest assured, I had been busy working on the essay for IDAT108 and the phonics game for SOFT131 (both of which are now complete and are being submitted as of the date of publishing), in addition to starting off the IDAT107 animatic. Christmas has been very good, and although I do miss those homemade chili con carnes and quality Indian takeaways (although I'm pretty sure that somewhere in Plymouth could fill in the gap), I'm glad to be back to uni for many things which will be interesting, and talking of which, there are a lot of things to come, including, but not limited to:

• Bumper video for IDAT107 after the animatic
• Life-sized board game project for IDAT106, crossover with Year 2s
• Beginning work on 3D
• Practicals in IDAT108
• Custom Flash game for IDAT102 (the racing game was just a taster)
• ...and much more

Also, I will start sailing soon, every Wednesday (since there is now a huge gap between SOFT131 on Tuesdays and IDAT107 on Thursdays) and some Saturdays. Looks like 2011 is set to be very eventful and interesting at the same time.

IDAT 101: Reflection and Evaluation of Installation

In my opinion, this term's project was an excellent example showing my example of planning and exploring many areas that I have never been introduced to before, even before university. This has also helped me prepare for when in case I do eventually do produce an actual installation, and possibly even when it comes to the placement year. The challenges this has brought to me and also my team-mates tested how we can (in theory) produce an amazing, immersive and fun installation in such small space (and the fact that the space can get even smaller at peak times, particularly on Fridays and weekends), whilst at the same time we can capitalise on the popularity of technology and the clubbing culture.

The idea of using sequencers, ambient lighting and addressable sensors (which in turn developed from the idea of using Processing and cameras to randomly generate content on a screen) in the installation caught my imagination the most, and that was when we then decided to incorporate these ideas into the project, and also do more research on these areas.

The success of our installation depends on many factors, most of which will involve complying with:

• The requirements of the client, 
• The demographic of the general public that is expected to interact with the installation, 
• And also the, limitations of space, technology and mostly important, safety.

For instance, the requirements of safety have been met by ganging cables with the correct tape and junction boxes, and by ballasting loose equipment onto the floor so then it will become difficult to knock them out of alignment, which would have otherwise compromised our installation. On the other hand, the requirements of the client and the demographic has been met by planning out our installation and using technologies that will mesmerise our audience, and also we decided to capitalise on the idea that the audience can create the music that they want to dance to, as well as allowing the rest of the audience to participate at the same time by dancing with the music, which in turn creates a computer-generated image behind the DJ booth and influences the lighting. Space requirements were also met, by planning the equipment around the given environment, and also bearing in mind the limited dimensions of certain nightclubs.

However, I also felt that there could be room for improvement, especially in terms of team work. After a while thinking about what our installation should be based on, and our environmental and contextual studies, we then went our separate ways to work on individual parts of the project, and then afterwards, we did not have many meet-ups apart from in regular Thursday sessions. We could have been a bit more pro-active in terms of group work and also we could have looked further into working examples. I also felt that a bit more research prior to the project could have been done, but when we went off to do the blogging, I then did more research about the technologies that are to be used inside the installation, mostly focusing on a particular core technology that was researched as part of an assignment for IDAT106. And if it were possible, in resources and time, we could have practically put the installation idea into actual practice.

But nonetheless, I think that our project has been successful, and with the help of team-mates, our ideas have come full circle and were fully thought out very well from the start. Also, we have met all the requirements that our installation demanded, which is an added bonus considering that had we not met them, our installation would not have been fit for purpose, and last-minute adjustments would have been required, which would in turn delay our installation, as well as perceived anticipation by both the client and the audience. The final result turned out very well, and in the future, I could even incorporate these ideas into something that could even equal a huge profit, both to myself and the hypothetical company. Overall, I have enjoyed working on the project and putting all those ideas into the final result, which then resulted in something very interesting and at the same time, captivating to the audience, the client and the developer.

IDAT 101: Alouette, déployer la piste de danse (Deployment of the dance floor project and worst-case scenarios)

When deploying the equipment for the installation, there has to be consideration as to what the environment contains, and how the equipment is to be installed. Because in our instance, our environment is going to be very busy, especially at the peak times (typically around 22:00-02:00), which is why the equipment has to be placed in a way that will not compromise the connections of our sensors, and power cables. Also, the equipment must last at least 5 hours because in case of failures, the installation has to then be rectified, which can cause problems, especially when the equipment is in mid-usage.

In the diagram below, the floor sensors are placed underneath the dance floor using tripods with the cables being fed to a small trap door that leads to the laptop computer and controllers. The example dance floor is also placed carefully near to the emergency exit, in case of emergencies:

The plan of action for the dance floor is as follows:

• Perform research on the environment, context, requirements (according to needs, demands and instinct based on specification from the client, the customer and other needs in terms of environment that the installation is to be placed at, and health-and-safety matters that can arise owing to wires, placement of sensors, cameras and other miscellaneous equipment required for the installation) and possible outcome.
• Obtain the necessary cables and main equipment.
• Plan out setup, where the equipment is to be placed and the times in which the installation session is to start.
• Code/set up Processing (for the cameras and LCD display behind DJ booth and Arduino (for floor sensors), then set up and test controllers for sound and video.
• Set up Ableton Live and MIDI for sequencers, program in samples.
• Pre-assemble floor sensors and then store, ready for transportation
• Have at least 3 days notice before performance to test setup and at least a month before performance to iron out bugs and other faults.
• Before departure to venue, ensure equipment is secure and packed in a way that the equipment will not get damaged en-route.
• Ideally, arrive before the club even opens (with direction from management) and do pre-run tests to ensure that last-minute problems are ironed-out and eliminated.

However, there can be other issues in addition to the aforementioned generic failure. These are also listed as follows:

• Software bugs and sudden errors in operating system can result in non-operation of equipment.
• Missing essential cables and/or tape to cover cables to prevent hazards.
• Samples can be corrupted, resulting in sound problems or unusual anomalies in samples.
• Sensors can be influenced wrongly by many environmental factors, such as a magnetic field interference, spilt drinks (which can also cause damage to equipment if not placed properly) and being near toilets with turbojet hand dryers.
• Settings in the sequencers and the software can be forgotten, thus requiring a manual setup, which can delay the intended start time.
• And also, transportation factors, including traffic, security of equipment and accidents.

IDAT 101: Contextual and Environmental study

To study what we will be expecting in the installation, we branched off to various nightclubs and sizeable bars in and around the city of Plymouth to check out the size, dimensions, suitability and also to measure what sort of audience we are going to target our installation at. Presuming that the sort of crowd will be young (at least of legal drinking age and above, but particularly also, students), we then had an idea about what we will be dealing with in terms of popularity, as well as what sort of requirements we will have to meet.

Because many young people, especially students, will be into latest, immersive and intriguing technologies, our dance floor installation will be without a doubt suitable for the audience. The space in which we are to place the installation at will be very crowded, but nonetheless it will also suit our specification very well, because not only is our installation designed to be fun and immersive, it is also designed to be influenced by the crowd, so basically, it makes them the 'DJ' because the installation is controlled by the crowd themselves, especially when it comes to making beats, basslines, rhythm and sound with special visual effects thrown in at the same time. At the same time, we took various photos (albeit on a low-quality built-in phone camera, but still captures the idea as many will probably have benign phone cameras, although many are anyways switching to better models and some even bring proper compact digital cameras with them) whilst I did a sound sample in a bar to highlight how busy our environment will be (link will be at the bottom).

However, the nightclub environment isn't without space issues. Because the environment will obviously be busy, placement of equipment and wiring will have to be carefully thought out before any implementation can occur, as well as researching the venue. But this should not really be the issue, especially in a large-scale nightclub, because this is what we are targeting this installation at, but we also have to address health-and-safety concerns at the same time, as per law and instinct.

In this example of a generic nightclub, this floor plan gives an impression of how our installation will be laid out in this environment. Although it really depends on how the nightclub dance floor is laid out, and also the size of the room as well, this is a typical representation of a generic nightclub environment that will accommodate all the needs and requirements of the specification. In this floor plan, the motion detectors are placed underneath the floor, with the addressable sensors and cameras placed strategically in order to provide a better triangulation of the dance floor in order to optimise the ambient lighting and randomly-generated images, which builds up the atmosphere of the environment, in addition to inputs generated by the sequencers, which are used by the general public to create his/her/their own music to dance to.

Link to group research: https://tulip.plymouth.ac.uk/Module/IDAT101/Wiki/FunkyTown.aspx

Link to sound recording: http://bit.ly/idat101recording 

IDAT 101: Specification and requirements for our nightclub installation

For our installation, the specification and requirements for our installation is as follows:


Specification:

• KAOSS PAD and/or a Tenori-on sequencer
• Ambient lighting technology with DMX512 control
• Weight sensors for lighting/effects, to be placed under floor if environment permits, otherwise substitute addressable sensors, strategically placed by each side of the installation, or mount on ceiling rack
• Addressable sensors to supplement weight sensors
• A laptop computer (preferably a MacBook Pro, although a Windows laptop can also be used) with suitable software
• Sound interface/mixer to link laptop to speaker system/sequencers
• Suitable wiring for equipment
• An ideal nightclub environment, rightly sized to accommodate large amounts of people in case the installation becomes very popular

Requirements:

Mounting/protection of equipment:

• Mount cameras and projector on lighting equipment railings and/or ceiling
• Embed floor sensors underneath dance floor if possible, otherwise anchor them on the floor and place them in inconspicuous locations
• Place KAOSS Pad, Tenori-on and/or iPad on mounts by DJ booth, laptop to face away from public in order to ensure that the software is not interrupted during installation
• Also, place lighting control equipment towards the laptop, away from the public interfaces
• Cable protection
• Rubber cable tidying strips to be used for cables used in floor sensors
• Cable tidies for equipment leading to central interfaces controlled by laptop and/or lighting interfaces

Contingency plan in case of faults/problem/emergencies:

•  Toolkit to repair equipment
• Duct tape, soldering iron and solder
• Spare cables
• Redundant equipment (multiples of the same equipment)
• Spare ambient lighting floor tiles
• Spare bulbs/LEDS
• Another laptop in case of software fault
•  Fire extinguisher
•  Check presence of CO2 fire extinguisher in premises, failing that, provide one with equipment
•  Location of emergency exits
•  Check nearest location of emergency exit
• Check for obstructions

Transportation:

• If taking own car/van, check route for traffic delays/roadworks/accidents
• If taking public transport, check timetables and live information for delays/strikes

Source of specification and requirements: from own document and group postings on the internal IDAT101 Wiki

IDAT 102: It's here! The completed result

The specifications of the website consist of a conventional layout with a navigation menu to the left-hand side of the page and the content in the main body of the website, with a header consisting of the title and a footer consisting of validation information and links to my Twitter, Facebook and my blog here. The layout is defined by using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which is referenced externally in the HTML code, but stored locally in the folder and on the server the website is hosted at. The website is constructed using XHTML 1.0 Transitional and CSS2. The colour scheme, which matches my personality of minimalism and Apple, will result in less issues regarding colourblindness due to the fact that when there are less colours (especially when they clash), there are less problems, and because the text is bright on a dark background, it's easier on the eyes and because my website did not rely heavily on text-on-images (especially if it had paragraphs on it), my website will not have problems with screen readers.

After ironing out a few things (mostly regarding the validation of the email submit form on the Contact Me page), I now have a completed result of my personal website, which is at http://www.elnormo91.co.uk.

IDAT 107: Digital signature

During the course of a few weeks, we've been doing some Adobe Illustrator stuff. Part of our assignment is to design a digital signature by using fonts, scaling and colours but without stretching or distorting it.

For my digital signature, I have decided to use the font Myriad Pro because this represents my personality as very creative, clean, modern and minimalistic, which is kind of like Apple Inc.'s usage of the font throughout their products, literature and communication. The Norman part of the signature is emphasised in light-blue because it represents the modern-ness of the world and the Web 2.0 generation, which many people can relate to. Also, the 'A's are set in italic because this adds to the effect of the signature, and also highlights the difference between the double-storey 'A's of regular/bold and the script 'A's of italic/bold-italic.