“You take the blue pill and the story ends.
You wake in your bed and you believe
whatever you want to believe.

You take the red pill and you stay
in Wonderland, and I show you how
deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

- Morpheus

I presented the following presentation at the first-ever Nevada Interactive Media Summit last week. My presentation consisted mostly of demonstrations in Adobe Flex Builder but if you plug the code below into Flex, you should be able to follow along. A video of the presentation should be available soon.

Demo #1: RSS Reader

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">

 <mx:HTTPService id="myRSSFeed" url="{rssURL.text}" />

 <mx:Label x="10" y="12" text="RSS URL:" fontWeight="bold" />

 <mx:TextInput id="rssURL" width="357" x="68" y="10" />

 <mx:Button x="371" y="40" label="GO !!" click="myRSSFeed.send()"/>

 <mx:DataGrid id="myDataGrid" dataProvider="{myRSSFeed.lastResult.rss.channel.item}"

 width="417.5" height="144"

 click="{myTextArea.htmlText =

 myRSSFeed.lastResult.rss.channel.item[myDataGrid.selectedIndex].description}"

 x="7.5" y="70">

 <mx:columns>

 <mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Date" dataField="pubDate" textAlign="left"/>

 <mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Title" dataField="title" textAlign="center"/>

 </mx:columns>

 </mx:DataGrid>

 <mx:TextArea id="myTextArea" width="415" height="162" x="10" y="222"/>

 

</mx:Application>

Demo #2: Twitter Search Application

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" title = "Twitter @ NIM" layout="absolute">

 <mx:Script>

 <![CDATA[ 

 private function doSearch(e:MouseEvent):void

 {

 twitterService.url = "http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=" + twitterKeyword.text;

 twitterService.send();

 }

 ]]>

 </mx:Script>

 

 <mx:HTTPService id="twitterService" />

 

 <mx:Label x="10" y="20" text="Twitter Search Term"/>

 <mx:TextInput id = "twitterKeyword" x="10" y="38" width="295"/>

 <mx:Button click = "doSearch(event)" x="379" y="38" label="Search" width="81"/>

 <mx:List dataProvider = "{twitterService.lastResult.feed.entry}" labelField="title" x="10" y="68" width="450" height="282"></mx:List>




</mx:WindowedApplication>

The first-ever Ignite Reno was a great hit! You can check out the videos at http://ignitereno.blip.tv.

Like the morning sun your eyes will follow me
As you watch me wander, curse the powers that be
Cause all I want is here and now but its already been and gone
Our intentions always last that bit too long

- Full Moon by Black Ghosts

Our topic of discussion last class was two-fold: “what is art?” and “what is a computer?” The multidisciplinary nature of our Serious Games class includes art, computer science and journalism so it is important for all of us, coming from different backgrounds and experiences, to understand a little bit about the other fields of interest.

So what is art?
You will be hard pressed to find any two people who will give you the same answer. To me art is any expression of an idea. This expression can be conveyed through any medium and/or utilize any set of tools, mechanics, etc.

Interested in how others would define art, I sent the question out to Twitter and here are some of the responses:

KristenAmazing @colinloretz whatever you want it to be. That is a hard question.

bliccy @colinloretz But seriously… a subjective, expressive interpretation of…anything. Defining art second in line to “meaning of life”.

clustrfck @colinloretz The answer you seek is unobtainable

teepoole @colinloretz A desired communication between an artist and a public.

teepoole @colinloretz Rather, the materialization of.

keith_anderson @colinloretz the seeking of the question (by doing) usually creates the answer.

tahoedrew @colinloretz re: art! an external expression of an internal concept, emotion or world

AngelaRaeBrooks Art is the creative soul inside yourself

Art in Games

For some of the best art that I’ve ever seen in a game, check out Project Offset. Not only is the art stunning but it is all real-time imagery generated by the game engine itself. Ordinarily, you would have to create prerendered cinematic video clips to attain this high level of quality, forcing you to watch it like a movie instead of interacting with it. Check out the videos for more information.

What is art to you?
Leave your opinion in the comments!

Interaction is key.

Art and digital media are very important components of gaming. A game can have a great concept but fall flat on its face without some sort of digital representation, whether it be images, sounds, or even physical feedback such as vibration, that allows us to interact with the code that runs the game.

Art can be applied to gaming in two ways. First there is the art within the game itself, which is usually created by the game developer. The art is used to provide representations with which players can interact with the digital world. The other type of art in gaming consists of artists translating their real world talent to the digital world in games like Second Life, where most of the content is user-generated.

Professor DeLappe’s demonstration of his Ghandi Project in Second Life is a good example of this. By creating an interface between a computer and an old treadmill, DeLappe was able to express himself in Second Life by physically exerting himself in the real world, by walking 240 miles in both realms. Another example of mixing reality with gaming is Aram Bartholl’s first-person shooter glasses, which are below.

My brother introduced me to “augmented reality” a few months ago and I can see a lot of practical applications for displaying data with respect to real world objects. Below is a video of a game that was for the Gizmondo:

If you have a webcam and want to try out augmented reality yourself, check this out: Papervision – Augmented Reality

A little bit about my followers on Twitter, they are:

I started promoting Reno Ignite about a month ago and even with all the details I provided, the number one question I have been getting is “What is Reno Ignite?”

An Ignite event has two parts (three, when you count the beers):

Ignite Contest – Team-based contests in making things such as human-supporting popsicle stick bridges, far-flying paper airplanes, and life-preserving egg drop capsules. Here is a chance for everyone to flex their creative muscles.

Ignite Presentations – 20 slides, 15 seconds each, what will you say?

An Ignite event has two kinds of participants:

Speaker - Each speaker is given 20 slides and each one changes automatically after 15 seconds, giving them a total of 5 minutes on stage. These presentations can be educational, inspirational, or even comical. The speaker’s job is to teach, entertain, or inspire. This might seem like a daunting task but it’s not. If you have an interest in something and can give a presentation on it, odds are good that other people will also be interested. for speakers is now open.

Audience - While the opportunity to speak is available to everyone, you do not have to give a presentation to enjoy Ignite! Come join us for a few drinks and some great speakers. You can RSVP on our Facebook event or drop us a line on Twitter (@igniteReno).

While you may be a spectator, we encourage you to participate in the Ignite Contest that takes place before the presentations.

O’Reilly’s website also has a “What is Ignite” section, here is how they describe it:

Started by Brady Forrest, Technology Evangelist for O’Reilly Media, and Bre Pettis of Etsy.com, formerly of MAKE Magazine, Ignite was inspired by Pecha Kucha Nights, where speakers are given 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds, giving each speaker 6 minutes and 40 seconds of fame. The first Ignite took place in Seattle in 2006, and since then the event has become an international phenomenon, with gatherings in Helsinki, Finland; Paris, France; New York, New York; and many other locations.

Ignite has two parts: the Ignite contest, where people make things, and Ignite talks, where presenters get 20 slides and five minutes to make their point. You can opt to only have talks, but the contest is fun and can serve as a great warm-up for the talks.

We hope to see you at our first event on February 7th March 7th, 2009 at Se7en on West.

As always you can stay in the loop by visiting IgniteReno.com or following us on Twitter: @ignitereno

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” 

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where…” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Stop and reflect. Do you know where you are going?