Even more links! This time for visiting sites like ARS Electronica, ART+COM and Flong.
Alphabet Synthesis Machine.
walk.in.formation
Interactive Bar.
Duality.
Interactive Model City.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Various Links 2: Electric Boogaloo.
More links from various websites for Media work. Here's some links that I liked that you may or may not find actually interesting in any way.
Bird House Mansion.
Link.
Tokyo's Coca-Cola Robot.
Link.
The Sliding Wall Glass House.
Link.
Recycled Toy Sculptures.
Link.
Intertwined Infosys Building in Kuwait.
Link.
Bird House Mansion.
Link.
Tokyo's Coca-Cola Robot.
Link.
The Sliding Wall Glass House.
Link.
Recycled Toy Sculptures.
Link.
Intertwined Infosys Building in Kuwait.
Link.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Various Links.
A collection of links/videos for the IDN selection work we had to do.
"Surface"
Link.
What Type of Media Does It Use?
Live-action film.
Does it Have a Specific Style or Genre?
Experimental Film.
What is its Purpose?
To show life/daily activities from a viewpoint we can never really see it from.
Why Do You Like It?
For the exact reason mention above, funnily enough.
"All That is Solid Melts Into the Air"
Link.
"What Type of Media Does it Use?
Video and computer animation.
Does it Have a Specific Style or Genre?
Another experimental film, as far as I can tell.
What is its Purpose?
To showcase computer animation and manipulate the shape and fluidity of objects.
Why Do You Like It?
The shifting animation at the end is quite spiffy, and I like the kind of eery ambience the room and music seem to project. It gives the video a very awe-creating feel.
"DFuse"
Link.
What Type of Media Does it Use?
Images/Image manipulation.
Does it Have a Specific Style or Genre?
Electronic.
What is its Purpose?
A mini-portfolio for a collection of artists who deal in various forms of digital media.
Why Do You Like It?
I like the aformentioned electronic style of the pictures, as well at the futuristic atmosphere they (especially the third and fifth images) seem to project.
"Fez"
Link.
What type of media does it use?
Video/gaming.
Does it Have a Specific Style of Genre?
Old-school/16-bit.
What is its Purpose?
To show platform gaming and level design using and switching to multiple 2D planes by using 3D technology.
Why Do You Like It?
The switching and swinging around of the camera to show off new areas of the level is quite neat, as well as an interesting direction for platform-based gaming. Also there's a guy with a monocle, what is always a good thing.
"Fierce Speed"
Link.
What Type of Media Does It Use?
Video and computer animation.
Does it Have a Specific Style or Genre?
Advertisement.
What is its Purpose?
To advertise a brand of shoes in a way that would capture the interest of the audience.
Why Do You Like it?
A shoe flying through the night skies at disturbingly high speeds is quite possibly the most strange and oddly awesome way of selling a brand of them.
"Surface"
Link.
What Type of Media Does It Use?
Live-action film.
Does it Have a Specific Style or Genre?
Experimental Film.
What is its Purpose?
To show life/daily activities from a viewpoint we can never really see it from.
Why Do You Like It?
For the exact reason mention above, funnily enough.
"All That is Solid Melts Into the Air"
Link.
"What Type of Media Does it Use?
Video and computer animation.
Does it Have a Specific Style or Genre?
Another experimental film, as far as I can tell.
What is its Purpose?
To showcase computer animation and manipulate the shape and fluidity of objects.
Why Do You Like It?
The shifting animation at the end is quite spiffy, and I like the kind of eery ambience the room and music seem to project. It gives the video a very awe-creating feel.
"DFuse"
Link.
What Type of Media Does it Use?
Images/Image manipulation.
Does it Have a Specific Style or Genre?
Electronic.
What is its Purpose?
A mini-portfolio for a collection of artists who deal in various forms of digital media.
Why Do You Like It?
I like the aformentioned electronic style of the pictures, as well at the futuristic atmosphere they (especially the third and fifth images) seem to project.
"Fez"
Link.
What type of media does it use?
Video/gaming.
Does it Have a Specific Style of Genre?
Old-school/16-bit.
What is its Purpose?
To show platform gaming and level design using and switching to multiple 2D planes by using 3D technology.
Why Do You Like It?
The switching and swinging around of the camera to show off new areas of the level is quite neat, as well as an interesting direction for platform-based gaming. Also there's a guy with a monocle, what is always a good thing.
"Fierce Speed"
Link.
What Type of Media Does It Use?
Video and computer animation.
Does it Have a Specific Style or Genre?
Advertisement.
What is its Purpose?
To advertise a brand of shoes in a way that would capture the interest of the audience.
Why Do You Like it?
A shoe flying through the night skies at disturbingly high speeds is quite possibly the most strange and oddly awesome way of selling a brand of them.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Get the Glass review.
To get the required boring explanation out of the way, Get the Glass (http://gettheglass.com/) is an attempt by the California Milk Processor Board to promote drinking milk. I have absolutely no idea if it succeeds in doing this, as I think my urge to hit whoever designed the Hot Pursuit and Master Mind sections of the game outweighed the desire to drink milk.
Basically, the entire point of the game is to break into a high security vault so you can get a glass of milk.... For some reason. This task takes the shape of a typical board game, except with some very spiffy production values. It'll absolutely murder the Internet connection for most people trying to load the silly thing, but if you can get to the actual game bit of the game then it's quite impressive to look at.
As you're rolling the die around (by picking it up and throwing it with reckless abandon with the mouse) you're being chased by the Police, who are apparently driving gods taken mortal form, as they never failed to not roll a 4-6 on the die both times I went through the game.
Like pretty much every board game ever, luck is really the only way you'll make it through this one. It does make for some somewhat tense moments, but having the game punish you for simply not being lucky is a pretty lousy design decision, especially when the whole thing revolves around escaping from the Police that're usually right behind you.
If/When the cops do catch up to you, you're thrown into the World's Most Easily Escapable Prison (ie: ugh,.. Milkatraz). If you escape and get caught three times, then the game ends and the poor family you're playing as well never be able to taste the apparent liquid ambrosia that is milk.
To "help" you along the way from escaping from those nasty ol' Rozzers are the Hot Pursuit challenges. I'm not sure if you have to land on a specific square or if they just pop up whenever they darn well feel like it (as no matter what I roll I seem to always hit the same ones), but essentially they're little tasks that you have to complete. Which is kind of annoying, considering they consist of either:
1) Using the mouse to control your get-away car down a bendy road. Unfortunately, the controls for this will only come naturally to anyone who has the completely opposite idea of how to operate a vehicle.
2) Putting flowers into Melissa Adachi's (one of the characters in aformentioned get-away car) hair in a way that mimics the picture you're given. The game seems to be entirely too picky about where they have to go, and as far as I can tell there seems to be a completely invisible and arbitrary order you have to put the flowers in. Yay!
3) Calming Lynn Adachi down. You have to select a particular quote from three other Adachi family members that'll calm Lynn down. I don't really know why her being calm is imperative to the task, but it is, so there.
This would be fine, except you only have 2-3 seconds to read every selection of quotes a family member can say and then choose one of them. Also worth mentioning is that all three people will demand you pick a quote from them in the same 2-3 seconds as well. If you don't select, or pick the wrong one (due to not having 16 eyes and four arms) then Lynn becomes incredibly ticked off and you fail the task.
I think there are a few more Hot Pursuit challenges, but I either forget, or I possessed super-human skills for a brief period of time and got through them happily enough. As for the Master Mind sections, they're pretty much just trivia questions, except with an inexplicably short time limit on them. I can only assume the designer/s were drinking copious amounts of Coffee around the time they got to these bits.
Overall the game is quite fun, and the production values still impress, but.. it's the sort of thing you'd check out once, go, "Huh. Fair enough." and then go do something else. Or get to the first Hot Pursuit section, fail miserably, close the browser down and go on a massive tirade about how overrated milk is.
Either way, really.
Okay, that was more of a very elaborate rant than a review.
Basically, the entire point of the game is to break into a high security vault so you can get a glass of milk.... For some reason. This task takes the shape of a typical board game, except with some very spiffy production values. It'll absolutely murder the Internet connection for most people trying to load the silly thing, but if you can get to the actual game bit of the game then it's quite impressive to look at.
As you're rolling the die around (by picking it up and throwing it with reckless abandon with the mouse) you're being chased by the Police, who are apparently driving gods taken mortal form, as they never failed to not roll a 4-6 on the die both times I went through the game.
Like pretty much every board game ever, luck is really the only way you'll make it through this one. It does make for some somewhat tense moments, but having the game punish you for simply not being lucky is a pretty lousy design decision, especially when the whole thing revolves around escaping from the Police that're usually right behind you.
If/When the cops do catch up to you, you're thrown into the World's Most Easily Escapable Prison (ie: ugh,.. Milkatraz). If you escape and get caught three times, then the game ends and the poor family you're playing as well never be able to taste the apparent liquid ambrosia that is milk.
To "help" you along the way from escaping from those nasty ol' Rozzers are the Hot Pursuit challenges. I'm not sure if you have to land on a specific square or if they just pop up whenever they darn well feel like it (as no matter what I roll I seem to always hit the same ones), but essentially they're little tasks that you have to complete. Which is kind of annoying, considering they consist of either:
1) Using the mouse to control your get-away car down a bendy road. Unfortunately, the controls for this will only come naturally to anyone who has the completely opposite idea of how to operate a vehicle.
2) Putting flowers into Melissa Adachi's (one of the characters in aformentioned get-away car) hair in a way that mimics the picture you're given. The game seems to be entirely too picky about where they have to go, and as far as I can tell there seems to be a completely invisible and arbitrary order you have to put the flowers in. Yay!
3) Calming Lynn Adachi down. You have to select a particular quote from three other Adachi family members that'll calm Lynn down. I don't really know why her being calm is imperative to the task, but it is, so there.
This would be fine, except you only have 2-3 seconds to read every selection of quotes a family member can say and then choose one of them. Also worth mentioning is that all three people will demand you pick a quote from them in the same 2-3 seconds as well. If you don't select, or pick the wrong one (due to not having 16 eyes and four arms) then Lynn becomes incredibly ticked off and you fail the task.
I think there are a few more Hot Pursuit challenges, but I either forget, or I possessed super-human skills for a brief period of time and got through them happily enough. As for the Master Mind sections, they're pretty much just trivia questions, except with an inexplicably short time limit on them. I can only assume the designer/s were drinking copious amounts of Coffee around the time they got to these bits.
Overall the game is quite fun, and the production values still impress, but.. it's the sort of thing you'd check out once, go, "Huh. Fair enough." and then go do something else. Or get to the first Hot Pursuit section, fail miserably, close the browser down and go on a massive tirade about how overrated milk is.
Either way, really.
Okay, that was more of a very elaborate rant than a review.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
QBN Websites.
From browsing around the QBN website, I found a few Interesting pages. Such as:
Pretty Loaded.
http://www.prettyloaded.com/
It features a lot of various and well designed loading screens on a repeating cycle.
Photography.
http://www.joewigdahl.com/galleries/landscape/landscape.html
A few intriguing photoshots with a nice scrolling design to look through categories of them.
Architecture of the Day.
http://www.qbn.com/topics/586759/
Some unique photos and concept art of buildings and structures.
Internet Online Website.
http://www.internetonlinewebsite.com/
Parody/showcase of the usual website layout.
Wonder-Wall.
http://wonder-wall.com/#project/en
A website for a design firm with a spiffy effect when you put your cursor over the images.
Pretty Loaded.
http://www.prettyloaded.com/
It features a lot of various and well designed loading screens on a repeating cycle.
Photography.
http://www.joewigdahl.com/galleries/landscape/landscape.html
A few intriguing photoshots with a nice scrolling design to look through categories of them.
Architecture of the Day.
http://www.qbn.com/topics/586759/
Some unique photos and concept art of buildings and structures.
Internet Online Website.
http://www.internetonlinewebsite.com/
Parody/showcase of the usual website layout.
Wonder-Wall.
http://wonder-wall.com/#project/en
A website for a design firm with a spiffy effect when you put your cursor over the images.