Final Images for 'Mind Storm'

Images from my final application 'Mind Storm'. The full application can be found on my open processing page here.

Artists Statement

I really liked the idea that when you aren't thinking there is nothing happening, it is blank, which I represented using a straight line. I wanted to use a user interaction to show what happens when someone thinks because in your head nerves go crazy and in an image form this looks really awesome.

The interaction I originally had was when the user pressed the mouse button, I chose this as it was representative of when the user started to think about the application and then the line turned would turn into these pathways. They were controlled but random as seen in the images of the lightning, plasma balls and especially brain images. They are controlled in the way that they are only allowed in a particular direction but random in the way that they get to their destination.

I decided to go with using the distance function to create this chaotic active state as I decided to have the passive state mildly active also. In this I mean that it floats around the application of its own accord rotating in a particular way. I did this as the more I thought about how people think I realized that no one is ever not thinking. I also found that using the rotating circle looked better from a visual perspective and it also tied in nicely to having the user thinking as they went. When the mouse comes in contact with the rotating passive line it turns into the active electric state. I found this to be representative also of what the user is thinking. When the user is shown the active state it means they have actively sought out this reaction from the application.

The sound I chose for the application makes the interaction a more exciting experience for the user. I chose a quiet woosh noise with a hint of electric capabilities for the mildly active mode

Therefore I created an application that is passive as the user is passive but keeps them entertained through mild active movements which then turn into complete active movements when the user is being active through the application. This is allowing the user and application to interact and react with each other.

Development + Final Song Selection

I decided to use Electric Wooshes by Glaneur de Sons (http://www.freesound.org/people/Glaneur%20de%20sons/sounds/34172/) and Electrocute by Aust_Paul (http://www.freesound.org/people/aust_paul/sounds/30933/ ) in my final one, this was because the woosh sound had a slow and lazy feel to it which was good for the passive mode however it has a small electrical crackle at the end which hints at the potential for the large active mode. In the active mode the electric garring of the second sound was particularly appealing as it was fast and crazy just like the application in this state. I also played with different speeds of rotation, direction, stroke width for both active and passive.

Colours

To select my colours I used a compination of Kuler and the Colour selector in Processing. I liked blues so I looked at those colours

Sounds

Since the application was very close to electricity and lightning I wanted the sounds to reflect this. Similarly with the active and passive modes of the application. I decided I would use two sounds, one for each stage a passive quieter noise hinting at a bigger thing and a louder crazy electric noise for the active stage. I looked at freesound.org a website which users use creative commons licensing on their work.

These were the sounds that I liked and investigated on my project:

http://www.freesound.org/people/aust_paul/sounds/30933/

http://www.freesound.org/people/Deusi/sounds/128740/

http://www.freesound.org/people/LG/sounds/20223/

http://www.freesound.org/people/Glaneur%20de%20sons/sounds/34172/

http://www.freesound.org/people/pushtobreak/sounds/16796/

I looked up tags like Electricity, Electric, Ambient, Water and Wind. I heard lots of sounds but the above sounds were the ones I considered for my application.

New Mouse

Since the lightning interaction was now moving of its own accord I now needed to reintroduce the mouse. The new plan was to take away the click function and use the distance function. The user would have control of the mouse and their would be something to represent the current point of mouse of the screen (not the cursor). If this came into contact with the rotating line then the interaction would take place. I thought this was good progression from just a standard click. The idea of the brain being active and passive is still there however these is a new way of showing it. The user has to become active in order to pursue the rotating line or they can be passive until the line reaches them. This is similar to thoughts, you can be extremely active in them or you can be passive until you have a brainwave. I liked how this turned out.

Directions

After another session talking with my peers and my tutor it became apparent that having the main part of the application move around the page of its own accord would be a cooler action to take place. I learnt how to make this happen which was good for developing my skill set. I also liked the way this looked on the page. However I removed the style from the previous one in order to enable the user and myself to both see the images more clearly.