Research Proposal v2.0

03Jun09

Two months ago I submitted my research proposal. Now, things have changed. So I’m revising it.

As far as I see it, my current objective and direction is to generate a Flash based interactive gaming environment depicting the story or experiences of a piece of type. In other words, bringing to life something such as a singular type form, giving it humanistic qualities and a will to live. Something it wouldn’t normally have, generating interest and personal character development throughout a story driven experience. From creating the code in Action Script 3, the story and visual aesthetics with illustrations, to the possibility of sound during the experience.

This all came from somewhere, surprisingly. My initial obsession with traditional typeface design, layout and grid systems was a starting point. I began delving into the traditions and obsessions of Swiss and Dutch based typeface and layout design. Also taking a liking to modern approaches to the style or movement reformed by studios such as the well known Experimental Jet Set and even closer to home Experimenta. My Grid layout for our first brief this year is solely based around these principles.

I then attempted to include my interest of modern mediums such as projections in a gallery space, like that of Build’s interactive poster ‘It’s okay to touch’. This interactive poster uses conventional print display systems to create animated posters that come to life. A kind of merged media installational concept, or the intersection of graphic and interaction design. I’ve since come across many inspirational works similar to this. Pushing the boundaries of animation, the inclusion of sound in some cases even music videos, and interactivity. This short music video by Venetian Snares illustrates amazing emotion and atmosphere through the simplistic use of the elements. Following that we have this interactive music video by Labuat which demonstrates how interaction between the viewer can immensely heighten the experience, bringing to it something completely different to that of traditional video formats. I’ve also explored the internet vastly looking at a huge amount of interactive flash websites and environments, applications and the like. Another of partcular interest is that of Yugop.

I’d like to now demonstrate some research I’ve done in the direction of games based around design, and namely typography. A blog that I frequently read was a great starting point. I Love Typography is a huge inspiration for me and a huge resource for all things type related, new and old. On this site is the first of a number of type games I’ll be referring to, and its plainly called ‘FontGame‘. Through this simple web based game, users are tested on their knowledge of typefaces and their names. Its rather difficult. But it’s totally making the process of learning slightly more interesting. Another typographic based game is at Deep.co.uk and is also titled ‘FontGame’. This explores the same principle, although with a bigger approach to the aesthetics and visual flare. Users go about the same task of distinguishing typefaces but use a more advanced gameplay mechanic by which you ’shoot’ the required/incorrect typefaces. Something a little different is this idea of making a static board game to do with type. Like this game called ‘Name That Typeface‘. Although, I’m more interested in the medium of flash and action script for this research project. The most recent typographic game I’ve come across online recently is at Veer.com; and is called ‘Kern in Space‘. An interesting game which you are lead to believe is about kerning, but after playing, its simply a basic ‘Lunar Lander’ type game and doesn’t really have much depth to it at all.

So after exploring some ideas about interaction, design, typography and games, I can now talk about the direction in which I’m heading. I want to create an interactive experience, call it a game, experience or work of art. But primarily its about the experience and how one can control that experience or process. I’ll be illustrating, coding and telling the story of a singular pice of type as it enters the world from conception after being designed, drafted and created. Then following the form as a character through its experience of life, as it explores, and starts being used by designers. To being pressed into posters and printers. The type form then escapes the confines and explores the world, discovering other instances of type around the world and the environment that the player or character moves around in. In comparison, here is a website made by the Wellington studio Resn. Made for the band Minuit, Its an interactive experience, with a platform nature where the viewer becomes the participant, selecting a character which comes to life having a personality, the viewer then becomes enveloped amidst this whole new world, and therefore begins to explore it unravelling its mysteries.

I wish to create a much more story driven experience than the above game references. With complex animations and interactive aspects to the work. With scripted motion events happening to and around the character. I wish to push the boundaries of game interaction rather than it simply being about the participant or viewer only controlling an entity in the game, but to draw them in as part of the experience. I don’t want this to simply be an educational game that one would play to learn about type or design, but for it to be accessible, interesting and exciting to anyone by its narrated story telling nature and enjoyable gameplay mechanics. To do this, I’ll need to increase my knowledge of Action Script, and I plan on continuing to do this during university holidays. In some ways I’m restricted to what I can do because of my knowledge of the software and programming language, but my imagination is not. So the more I learn about the Action Script language the better I can push my imagination into fruition. I do however currently have a working model and example for the flash environment I wish to create but is only a work in progress and nowhere near complete. But its enough to give an idea of what I’m aiming for.

The final product presentation for the end of year submission will include limited edition packaging similar to that of recent video game releases, with box art design, including extras such as a limited edition concept and artwork book, a manual, and also some kind of figurine of the final concept for the character design I’ve settled on. For example, something like this special collectors edition for the game Alone in the Dark.

I’ve now begun generating a series of concept landscape or environmental world ’scapes’ as it were, types of environments that I’d like to utilise through the experience. You can see these in the previous post on this blog, or click here.

REFERENCES:

Experimenta, Wellington, NZ.
http://experimenta.co.nz/

Video of the ‘ITS OK TO TOUCH’ Installation in London:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMKIgmHHWwQ

Documentation of ‘ITS OK TO TOUCH’ poster and print process:
http://www.wearebuild.com/projects/osmotronic

Experimental Jet Set:
http://www.experimentaljetset.nl/

Lecture by Experimental Jet Set [23 ^rd March 2009] on their influences and thought processes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2pzHa6ks0M

Venetian Snares – Szamár Madár Music Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PBeKzVhWHY

Yugop – Graphic Designer with an AMAZING flash based website.
http://yugop.com/

TYPOGRAPHIC GAMES

FontGame at ilovetypography.com
http://ilovetypography.com/fontgame/

FontGame at Deep.
http://deep.co.uk/games/font_game/

Name That Typeface Board Game
http://www.magpienest.org/feathersofhope/511/name-that-typeface

Veer’s ‘Kern in Space’
http://ideas.veer.com/features/kerninspace

OTHER RESOURCES

Resn – Interactive Design Agency based in Auckland.
http://www.resn.co.nz/

Minuit interactive flash based website
http://minuit.co.nz/

Great source of information anything type related:
http://ilovetypography.com/

Rules and informative posts related to modern grid systems:
http://www.thegridsystem.org/

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Tags: Flash, Games, Interaction, Research